Anatole France’s “The Gods Will Have Blood” is set in the late era of the French Revolution. The story gives accounts of the attitude and events or the era. There is hunger within the villages and political unrest. Clergy, nobles, and aristocrats are overthrown by people of the Republic and any opposition to the Republic or loyalty to monarchs is punishable by death. It is this Republic ideal that provokes the accusations of conspiracy and mass executions also known as the Reign of Terror.
The main character of the story, Évariste Gamelin, is an example of a person who was so influenced by the ideas and events of the French Revolution that he took on a hatred for anyone who was suspected of sympathizing with monarchs. When he was given the job
Violence was a big theme of Anatole’s story. It is through violence that the people of France were inspired into the ideas of the Revolution. The death of Marie Antoinette and other suspects of royalist thinking helped instigate Revolutionary attitudes. Violence, in general, provokes actions within men. The idea of it is so savage and extreme that it can be used instrumentally to incite strong emotions within people. It’s possible that violence is necessary to motivate revolution since it has proven to do so in the past.
as a magistrate he took advantage of his power and used it to murder any suspects. He even went so far as to execute Revolutionary leader, Robespierre for being too moderate, and even the woman who had helped him obtain his posit