Caroline Rémy de Guebhard (27 April 1855 – 24 April 1929) was a French journalist with

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

views, best known under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Séverine. Around 1880, Caroline Rémy became involved with

Jules Vallès Jules Vallès (11 June 1832 – 14 February 1885) was a French journalist, author, and left-wing political activist. Early life Vallès was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. His father was a supervisor of studies (''pion''), later a teac ...

' socialist publication, ''Cri du Peuple''. Vallès eventually gave her control over the newspaper due to his poor health. Becoming increasingly militant, she befriended journalist and feminist

Marguerite Durand Marguerite Durand (24 January 1864 – 16 March 1936) was a French stage actress, journalist, and a leading suffragette. She founded her own newspaper, and ran for election. She is also known for having a pet lion. For her contributions to t ...

but, following a confrontation with the

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

Jules Guesde Jules Bazile, known as Jules Guesde (; 11 November 1845 – 28 July 1922) was a French socialist journalist and politician. Guesde was the inspiration for a famous quotation by Karl Marx. Shortly before Marx died in 1883, he wrote a letter ...

, left the newspaper in 1888. She continued writing for other papers in which she promoted women's emancipation and denounced social injustices, including the

Dreyfus affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

. In 1897, she began writing for Durand's feminist daily newspaper ''La Fronde''. A staunch

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, Rémy backed a number of

causes, including the defense of

Germaine Berton Germaine Berton (7 June 1902, in Puteaux – 6 July 1942, in Paris) was a French anarchist and trade unionist. She is known for the murder of Marius Plateau, an editor for the '' Action Francaise'' journal and a leader in the royalist organisat ...

, and participated in the 1927 efforts to save

Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a ...

. She supported the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

and, in 1921, joined the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

, resigning a few years later in order to maintain her membership of the Human Rights League.

Bernard Lecache Bernard Lecache (16 August 1895 – 14 August 1968) was a French journalist. In 1927, he founded the League Against Pogroms, which the following year, became the International League Against Anti-Semitism, and in 1979, became the Internationa ...

, a founding member of the Committee of Honor of International League Against Anti-Semitism (LICA), (now

International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism—or Ligue internationale contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme (LICRA) in French—was established in 1927, and is opposed to intolerance, xenophobia and exclusion. In 1927, French journ ...

(LICRA)), wrote her biography. Her portrait was painted by

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

in 1885 and now hangs in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

Caroline Rémy died in 1929 at her home in Pierrefonds,

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...

department in the

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

region of France. Some of her papers can be found in the

Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand The Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand is a specialized public library run by the Paris municipal library system. History Created from a massive collection started in 1897 by journalist and activist Marguerite Durand. It was initially located at th ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Shortly before her death, she took part in the campaign to support the candidacy of Dr.

Albert Besson Albert Besson (18 April 1896 – 17 May 1965) was a French hygienist, physician and member of the French Académie Nationale de Médecine. Biography He was born in Montgeron. In 1916, as officer cadet, he was seriously injured at the fort Vaux, d ...

, who was elected councilor of the district

Saint-Fargeau Saint-Fargeau is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, in the historical region of Puisaye. Main sights * Saint-Ferréol church, built in Gothic style in the 14th and 15th centuries. Notable bur ...

, general counselor of the Seine then deputy chairman of the Council of Paris and the general council of the Seine. In 1933, in her memory, he had the Paris council vote for the attribution of the name "Séverine" to the square created at his initiative Porte de Bagnolet (Paris 20).

Gallery

File:Séverine suffragettes.jpeg File:Séverine Peace Congress 1925.png File:Obsèques Sévérine Pierrefonds.png

References

External links

*
Caroline Remy
at the Anarchist Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Remy de Guebhard, Caroline 1855 births 1929 deaths French anarchists French Communist Party members 20th-century French journalists French socialists French suffragists People associated with the Dreyfus affair Writers from Paris French socialist feminists 19th-century French women writers 19th-century French journalists 20th-century French women