Opposing views of the French Revolution

The French Revolution was a time of change not only for the citizens of France, but for all of Europe. Many citizens of France’s neighboring country England were very opinionated on the events taking place. Many English regarded the revolution with the highest esteem, praising the French. To these citizens it provided them with a sense of Hope that perhaps England would follow suit. However, others scorned the revolution and thought it was criminal. These opposing views can be reflected in the writings of Thomas Paine and Edmund Burke. While these two men may seem to have a lot in common, both born in England with liberal tendencies, their ideas on the revolution could not be any more different.
Burke appeared a man with strong liberal beliefs. "He castigated Britain's handling of Ireland, urging the emancipation of Irish trade, the Irish Parliament, and Irish Catholics. He endorsed William Wilberforce's movement for the abolition of the slave trade, worked for the reform of the East India Company's abuses in India, and argues for better treatment of and greater autonomy for the American Colonies." (pg. 1356) Following these thoughts shows Burke's liberal nature and would make it easy to mistake that he would also be in favor of the Revolution in France and welcome it with open arms. Yet Burke was far from loving the Revolution! Burke actually "supported Britain's right to tax the colonies and was a celebrated opponent of the French Revolution, denouncing it as an unparalleled disaster in modern history." (pg. 1356) Burke's most widely known work is his Reflections on the Revolution in France. In his Reflections Burke depicts just how against the Revolution he really is. Reflections led way to countless discussions of the revolution. While some agreed with Burke and defended every word of it, others took the matter into their own hands and wrote rebuttals. Thomas Paine was a member of the later category.
Thomas Paine took a much different approach to expressing his views of the French Revolution. In his influential writing The Rights of Man, Paine approached everything almost completely opposite of how Burke wrote Reflections. In many instances, he directly calls Burke out on ideas which he disagrees with. I personally found Paine much easier to read and his ideas were very similar to mine on the events which took place. Probably the reason it was much easier for me to read Paine's writing was because unlike Burke who aimed his writing towards the level of the few "educated elite", Paine wrote on a level simple enough for the common reader to grasp. This is just one of many differences between the two works.
In Paine’s writing where he discusses “The Doctrine of Equal Rights”, I found to be especially insightful. Here Paine relates the rights of man back to the creation of man. Paine suggests that between the sexes the only difference is physical. Burke is very vocal about suggesting that men are perhaps superior to women. The only mention during the creation of difference between the sexes is, “In the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (1378) Nowhere in this creation account does God give superiority to men. In the equality of men all humans should be equal and sexes should thus be equal as well. Paine linking this to the creation shows that this is not a modern thought but perhaps a historical idea often ignored. Burke's brash views on the differences of men and women is argued not only by Paine but also famously by Mary Wollstonecraft and many others. Paine also believes that the unity and equality of men should be synonymous.
Burke lists apparent “barriers” that distances man from his maker. Included on that list are kings, parliaments, duty to magistrates, priest and nobility. These are all things which Burke and many Europeans feel are what you must go through in order to enter the gates of heaven. Paine uses an analogy of passing through “turnpike gates” which I thought to be very clever. The thing which Paine finds most surprising which Burke has left off the list is Saint Peter who keeps the gates of heaven. Paine dismisses Burke’s list and points out that there are only two “barriers”. First and foremost, man has a duty to God, and the other point is respect to his neighbor.
The French Revolution brought about many new ideas to all of Europe. It created controversy and discussion across the continent and paved the way for many of the modern influences of literature. I found it interesting to see just how much debate it sparked between such similar minds. I also never realized the impact it truly did have on modern literature.