ABSTRACT
W ho the C om m unards1 were has b een taken as the acid test of w hat sort o f revolution the C om m une was. T he question can be posed in several ways, each p roceed ing from d ifferen t conceptual assum ptions. If we th ink th a t revolutions are fundam entally class conflicts, we shall focus on the C om m unards’ occupations to see w hether they rep resen ted a m ore ‘m o d e rn ’ working class. If we th ink th a t social an d political solidarities are shaped by ideas, language an d images, we shall wish to see how the C om m unards visualized and described themselves an d th e ir enem ies. If we th ink th a t fo r interests and solidarities to be translated in to acts social networks and form al organizations are crucial, th en we n eed to look at w hat these were an d how they operated . These d ifferen t approaches are n o t all incom patible - people have m ultiple identities an d m otivations - b u t the following discussion will a ttem p t to assess the ir value in explain ing who the C om m unards were. F urtherm ore , in terest in g en d er history has recently revived a p rob lem th a t fasci nated contem poraries: w om en d u rin g the C om m une. W ere they playing a new, separate an d self-conscious role? To try to m ake the boundaries o f C om m unard identity clearer, we shall also look at those - the m ajority o f Parisians - who were lukewarm , noncom m itta l o r hostile.
