ABSTRACT

That majority of the inhabitants of France composed of women, children, paupers, criminals and the insane had in common dependency on the decisions of others for the regulation of their lives. In looking together at the parallel histories of this diverse category in its relations with the holders of power, it will be possible to see how certain ideological, socio-economic and political developments taking place in all western societies were affected by specifically French preoccupations and conditions, and how, therefore, the experiences of French people differed from those of others.