By Daryl Cagle
Like Lady Liberty in the United States, Marianne of France is a symbol of the French state and values, especially the values of liberty, brotherhood, and egalitarianism. She is probably one of the most recognizable and distinctive symbols of France. The concept for Marianne of France appears to have arisen during the French Revolution, when a woman warrior came to be used as a symbol of freedom, and as a symbol of the common people. By the 1840s, Marianne of France had become an enduring representative of France. Today, she weeps in response to last Friday’s attacks in Paris.
