Charlotte Corday's Assassination of Marat: A Terrorist Act That Backfired
On July 13, 1793, Charlotte Corday, an aristocrat from Normandy, stabbed radical revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat to death. She declared, 'I have killed one man to save a hundred thousand.' The article draws a parallel to the Pazzi conspiracy, suggesting that if the killer had struck correctly, it would have remained a single murder, but instead it escalated into a drama culminating in the sack of a world city. Corday's act, intended to lead France to happiness, instead paved the way for a new wave of terror.
Key facts
- Charlotte Corday was an aristocrat from Normandy.
- She assassinated Jean-Paul Marat on July 13, 1793.
- Marat was a radical revolutionary.
- Corday said: 'I have killed one man to save a hundred thousand.'
- The article compares the event to the Pazzi conspiracy.
- The author argues that a correctly executed murder could have prevented further violence.
- Corday's act led to a new wave of terror in France.
- The article is published in NZZ Feuilleton.
Entities
Institutions
- NZZ Feuilleton
Locations
- France
- Normandy