Marcelle Capy is the pseudonym adopted by Marcelle Marquès (1891–1962), a French novelist, journalist,

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 ...

and militant

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

. She published a number of works from 1916 to 1950, all devoted to her interest in pacifism. She is remembered in particular for her award-winning ''Des hommes passèrent'' (Men Passed By), published in 1930. As a journalist, she contributed to many papers, especially ''La Vague'' which she co-founded in 1918. In the early 1930s, she was an active member of the ''Ligue internationale des combattants de la paix'' (International League of Fighters for Peace).

Early life and education

Born on 16 March 1891 in

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

, Eugénie Marie Marcelle Marquès was the second daughter of Jean Marquès, a naval officer, and his wife Marceline Capy. As a child, she frequently stayed with her maternal grandparents on their farm in Pradines in south-western France. She learnt about the futility of war from her grandfather who had fought in the Franco-Prussian War. She grew so close to her grandparents that she adopted their name, becoming Marcelle Capy. She attended secondary school in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, matriculating with excellent results. Still in Toulouse, intending to become a teacher, she went on to take the preparatory classes for the

École normale supérieure de Sèvres École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

but, after listening to a lecture on Tolstoy by the socialist politician Jean Jaurès when she was 18, she decided instead to become a journalist in

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 ...

. From then on, her life's work was to target pacifism, the role of women in contemporary society, and humanitarian socialism addressing in particular suffering and poverty.

Career

She was soon contributing articles to a number of journals, including '' La Voix des femmes'', the ''Journal du peuple'' and ''Hommes de jour''. From September 1913, her articles in the trade union paper '' Bataille syndicaliste'' covered the dreadful conditions imposed on women working in France's weaving mills, based on her own experience of working beside them. In August 1915, together with her partner

Fernand Desprès Fernand Désiré Alfred Desprès (or Després depending on the source) (13 April 1879 – 14 February 1949) was a French shoemaker, anarchist, journalist and later a Communist activist. As a young man he was a close friend of the poet Gaston Cout ...

, she was forced to leave the ''Bataille syndicaliste'' which supported the pro-government '' Union sacrée'' during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, while the couple remained ardent pacifists. While continuing to write journal articles, in 1916 Capy published her first major work, ''Une voix de femme au-dessus de la mélée'' (A Women's Voice in the Fray) with a preface by Romain Rolland, criticising the glories of war and the heroism of soldiers. As a result of the First World War, the work was heavily censored. Similar works followed, including ''La défense de la vie'' (1918) and ''L'Amour roi'' (1925), the latter combining her neo-Christian beliefs with her focus on pacifism. Her most successful work was the novel ''Des hommes passèrent'' which was awarded the Séverine prize in 1930. It tells the story of German prisoners working on French farms after the local workforce had been called to the front. A call for fraternity, it is set in Pradines where Capy has spent much of her childhood. A competent public speaker, she participated in conferences in Europe, the United States and Canada. In 1924, she founded a pacifist education association called ''Les Amis de la Paix'' and attended the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom conference in

Washington, D.C. ) , 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, ...

In 1926, she addressed the ''Femmes pour la Paix et la Liberté'' conference in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. She continued to work as a journalist, but was denounced by the Nazis as a Communist in 1943 and her home in Pradines was raided. Back in Paris, in 1944 she contributed to the pacifist journal ''Germinal'', writing human interest articles. After the war, she travelled to Egypt with her sister Jeanne Marquès, publishing ''L'Egypte au coeur du monde'' in 1950.

Later life

In the late 1950s, she returned to her home in Pradines. She died there on 5 January 1962, after becoming a devout Christian in her later years. She is buried with her maternal relatives in the Pradines cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capy, Marcelle 1891 births 1962 deaths French women journalists French novelists French women writers French feminists French pacifists Pacifist feminists Libertarian socialists People from Cherbourg-Octeville French socialist feminists 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French women 20th-century pseudonymous writers

Early life and education

Career

Later life

See also

References