Honor In Old Regime

This excerpt highlights how aristocratic privilege trumped concepts of ‘honor’ in Old Regime France and exasperated class tensions over aristocratic privilege. According to Loyseau, in early modern France, the social hierarchy of the three Estates was “. . . willingly observed through honor, and certainly they are more honorable when they come from a voluntary respect . . .” (Loyseau 17). Without the observance of honor and rank, Loyseau claimed “there would only be confusion among us.” (Loyseau 17). Consequently, the chevalier in the case, a noble, should never have pursued Noailles, the daughter of a merchant. Although Noailles resisted the chevalier’s advances because of the difference in their ranks, the chevalier continued to pursue her, leading to her kidnapping and, to protect her honor in the aftermath of the kidnapping, their
. . is there one single man who, after having seduced a woman, after having run off with her, after having made reparations by marriage, can then retract his promises, falsify his words, relegate his victim into the lowest class of citizens?” (45). However, de Vieuzac’s arguments were ineffective and although the Parlement of Toulouse found the chevalier guilty of seduction, they did not find him guilty of bigamy and the settlement was considerably reduced from what was initially demanded. The verdict, which Toussaint claimed to be “a monument to the wisdom and enlightenment of the magistrates who delivered it,” suggests that aristocratic privilege was more important than the chevalier’s duty to preserve Noailles’ honor, which was only in peril because of his actions (46). This excerpt is significant because it demonstrates the power of aristocratic privilege, which exasperated social tensions and contributed to the start of the