Question

Who were Marianne and Germania? What was the importance of the way in which they were portrayed?

Answer 1

Hint:
During the French revolution, artists used the female allegory to portray the ideas such as Liberty, Justice and the Republic. Some female allegories were invented in the 19th century namely Marianne and Germania.

Complete step by step solution:
Historians in the 18th and 19th century found a way of personifying a nation. In other words, they represented the country, as if it were a person. The nations were portrayed as female figures. These figures had no relevance to any woman in real life. The ideas such as Liberty, Justice and Republic were depicted through definite objects or symbols e.g, liberty as the red cap or broken chair, justice as blindfolded women with a pair of weighing scales etc.

Marianne’s characteristics were drawn from those of Liberty and Republic – the red cap, the tricolour and the cockade. She was the symbol of the nation of France. She became the national symbol of unity. She held a place of honour in the French town halls and law courts. Her profile stood out on the official seal of the country, is engraved on French Coins and appeared on French postage stamps.

Similarly, Germania became the allegory of German Nation and thus personified german nationalism. She wears a crown of oak leaves as oak was the symbol of heroism. She wears a drape of colours black, red and gold. She holds the sword ‘Joyesuse’ (the personal sword of Charlemagne, in her right hand. In post -1871 depiction, she is portrayed as holding the black white and red flag of the German empire.

Note:
Even in India, the concept of a female allegory is accepted in the form of the Bharat Mata. Usually, she is represented as a woman draped in a saffron sari, dressed as a sadhvi, carrying a book and an Indian national flag, and often accompanied by a lion. As a concept, Bharat Mata was first perceived to be an image of India 's territory, as depicted by Bankimchandra Chatterjee in his 1882 book Anand Math.