Jacques Roux (1752-1794)

The Historical Roux

Jacques Roux began his political life as a priest, as he embraced an interpretation of Christianity as a credo of community and compassion.  Having failed to reconcile his beliefs with those of the mainstream church, he elected to leave the former institution for the tumultuous political world of the French Revolution. He became an atheist, later founding cult of the worship of reason along with Pierre Chaumette. He may be seen as the forerunner to the extreme left wing thinkers such as Karl Marx and V.I. Lenin who would evolve into the founders of the Communist Party.

He was a member of the Enragés, a faction of the French Revolution best known for its radical positions. A relatively small group of Parisian radical extremists, they saw rising prices and food shortages as justification to pillage Paris food stores. Led by Roux, they demanded draconian economic controls and petitioned for the overthrow of the Girondists .

During the beginning of the Reign of Terror, with the ravages of the revolution and the ensuing scarcity of supplies and infrastructure problems that caused inflation and depression, Enragés’ demands included legislation for price control and tax reform.  This platform increased grass-roots support, not only for Roux, but also for the party as a whole. As a result of his political influence, Roux became a member of the Paris Commune in 1792.

He took major part in the Paris uprising of 1793, which overthrew the Girondins, the political moderates of the French Revolution. So called because of their connection to the Gironde deputy, Girondist leaders had been in favor of war with Austria, and represented the bourgeoisie. Made up of many educated “professionals,” they tended to be of both urban and rural background.  Therefore, they tried to represent the concerns of the provinces. The group counted among its members many lawyers, journalists, and merchants. Though they were not strictly “royalists,” they advocated reconciliation with the nobility and desired a constitutional government. Early in 1792 they succeeded, against Maximillian Robespierre’s opposition, in having war declared on Austria. In the Revolutionary assembly, the Convention, they opposed the positions of Robespierre and Marat. They contested the trial of King Louis XVI, but could not prevent his execution.  They also provoked widespread antagonism from their rivals in Paris by the proletariate demand for economic controls. As a result of popular pressure, the leaders of the Girondists were executed, leading to the preeminence of Jacques Roux in government.

He continued to speak loudly in the Convention against capitalism, which he regarded as “commercial aristocracy,” and considered worse than either the nobility or the clergy. During his life, Marat was a bitter foe of Roux and his faction.  Indeed, immediate suspicion was cast upon Roux after Marat’s assassination in 1793.  This passed quickly, however, and the former priest soon became known as le petit Marat.

The tide soon turned against the Enragés party, however.  In the political upheaval known as the Montagnarde Convention, even Roux’s former supporter Jacques Hébert had to part with him politically due to the excessive radicality of Enragés’ positions. In September 1793, Roux committed suicide rather face trial by the Revolutionary Tribunal. These events would be the prelude to the Reign of Terror, which was the violent manifestation of the declaration of martial law leading to dictatorship in the name of national emergency.

 

Weiss’s Roux

In Marat/Sade an inmate plays Roux.  Roux is presented in a straightjacket, but it cannot be assumed that the apparatus is fitted for the either the inmate or as part of the costume to make the inmate become Roux.  Weiss does not specify any diagnosis for the inmate, which is key.  After all, Charenton was filled with both the psychologically infirm and the politically incorrect. 

In order to determine the temperament of both the inmate playing Roux and possibly the disposition of Roux himself, it is important to consider not Axis I mental health diagnoses, but perhaps Axis II conclusions.  Of particular interest is the borderline personality disorder.

301.83 Borderline Personality Disorder

          Beginning  by early adult life, the patient has unstable impulse control, interpersonal relationships, moods, and self-image.  These persistent or recurrent qualities are present in a variety of situations and shown by at least five of the following:

o       Frantic attempts to prevent abandonment, whether this is real or imagined (don’t include self-injurious or suicidal behaviors, covered below)

o       Unstable relationships that alternate between idealization and devaluation

o       Identity disturbance (severely unstable self-image or sense of self)

o       Potentially self-damaging impulsiveness in at least two areas, such as binge eating, reckless driving, sex, spending, substance use (don’t include suicidal or self-mutilating behaviors)

o       Self-mutilation or suicide thoughts, threats, or other behavior

o       Severe reactivity or mood leading to marked instability (mood swings of intense anxiety, depression, or irritability, lasting a few hours to a few days)

o       Chronic feelings of emptiness

o       Anger that is out of control or inappropriate and intense (demonstrated by frequent temper displays, repeated physical fights, or feeling constantly angry)

o       Brief paranoid ideas or severe dissociative symptoms related to stress.

Case Study of Borderline Personality Disorder

“I’m cutting myself!” The voice on the telephone was high-pitched and quavering.  “I’m cutting myself right now!  Ow! There, I’ve started.”  The voice howled with pain and rage.

Twenty minutes later, the clinician had Josephine’s address and her promise that she would come in to the emergency room right away.  Two hours later, her left forearm swathed in bandages, Josephine Armitage was sitting in an office in the mental health department.  Criss-crossing scars furrowed her right arm from wrist to elbow.  She was 33, a bit overweight, and chewing gum.

“I feel a lot better,” she said with a smile.  “I really think you saved my life.”

The clinician glanced at her nonswathed arm.  “This isn’t the first time, is it?”

“I should think that would be pretty obvious.  Are you going to be terminally dense, just like my last shrink?” She scowled and turned 90 degrees to look at the wall. “Sheesh!”

Her previous therapist had seen Josephine for a reduced fee, but had been unable to give her more time when she requested it.  She had responded by letting the air out of all four tires of the therapist’s new BMW.

Her current trouble was with her boyfriend.  One of her girlfriends had been “pretty sure” James had been out with another woman two nights ago.  Yesterday morning, Josephine had called in sick to work and staked out James’s workplace so she could confront him.  He hadn’t appeared, so last evening she had banged on the door of his apartment until neighbors threatened to call the police.  Before leaving, she’d kicked a hole in the wall beside James’s door.  Then she got drunk and drove up and down the main drag, trying to pick up a date.

“Sounds dangerous,” observed the clinician.

“I was looking for Mr. Goodbar, but no one turned up.  I decided I’d have to cut myself again.  It always seems to help.”  Josephine’s anger had once again evaporated, and she had turned away from the wall.  “Life’s a bitch, and then you die.”

“When you cut yourself, do you ever really intend to kill yourself?”

“Well, let’s see.” She chewed her gum thoughtfully.  “I get so angry and depressed, I just don’t care what happens.  My last shrink said all my life I’ve felt like a shell of a person, and I guess that’s right.  It feels like there’s no one living inside, so I might just as well pour out the blood and finish the job.”