G+Erika+Diary+Entries+Ant+Farm

Journal Entry #3 November 21, 1802

"I'm terribly sorry for neglecting you for years, journal. Many things had happened over the past eleven years. War in France had ended, a relief to everyone, including me. Because of the revolution and war, there were many food shortages, definitely affecting my bakery and amount of profit I am earning. Prices drastically increased over the years, so much that I could barely even buy enough to make dozens of bread. Ah, yes, and I got married in the middle of all of this chaos. I got married to a man named Artur Durandal, remember him? We were childhood friends ever since the age of five, and I haven't seen him for ages. We just so happened to meet on the streets, while I was on my way back from buying ingredients. It was quite shocking, actually. He said that he was in Versailles for work, construction work. We chatted for a bit, and kept on meeting each other because his construction work was going to take a while. He's still the same, a strong, violent person. Nevertheless, he still is a great person, a diligent worker, without a doubt. We got married on August 1, 1794. Our eight years of marriage was great, although some fights between us were inevitable. He is a violent person, after all. Many people were executed, such as Danton and Marie Antoinette. King Louis was executed, too. They were all executed years ago, but that brought change to France. No one really liked King Louis' rule, after all. People were sick of the Terror, the time in which the horrifying Maximilien Robespierre ruled France. It was absolutely terrible, I say. I had no other choice but to raise bread prices because of the expensive costs of ingredients, leading to unhappy customers, damaging my business. Thankfully the Terror ended in 1794, and not too long after, I got married. Things aren't looking too bad, for now. There's now a man named Napoleon who came into power, a person who was called a hero when he was in the army. He said that he wants to restore order in France. To me, he sounds like a good leader, wanting to help France restore peace. It still seems like yesterday when the revolution was happening. It was foolish, if you ask me, for it did not help women at all. The Declaration of Rights of Women was rejected, and so how could everyone say that us, women, have our own rights? We were not allowed to join the National Assembly, too. All the revolution did to me was affect my business, that's what. Although it may have affected the men, but it most certainly did not affect me."

Journal Entry #2 August 14, 1791

"I haven't written in my journal for a while, and many things had happened throughout the years. Most importantly, the declaration of rights of women that was published by Olympe de Gouges, was rejected. I am not at all that surprised, for women was never perceived as an intellectual, superior gender. Although the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen promised equal justice and rights, it most definitely does not apply to everyone. The rejection of Gouges' ideas is absolute evidence. The news of the rejection spread like an epidemic, and one of my valued customers told me while purchasing some of my fresh bread. I wonder when things will be in place. Is this revolution even worth the trouble? Not only does revolution bring violence and food shortages, but it also means death. Ah, I forgot to mention that an interesting assistant came to my shop, today. Her name is Barnadette Adéle, and she claims to be Chef Zander's assistant at his bakery. I absolutely miss Zander, for I still adore him. Apparently, she came to deliver some of Zander's stocks, and a nice sweet letter. The letter just briefly explained how his shop was going, and how he needed some ingredients from Versailles. One of his valued customers heard that he had a friend, which is me, in Versailles, and wanted Zander to bake bread from Versailles ingredients. It is, without a doubt, the most absurd thing I ever heard, for all ingredients are similar in Paris. However, it seems that that customer is an obstinate one. I, myself, lacked some ingredients, so I brought Barnadette out with me to buy groceries. On the way, I found a exquisite pocket watch. It was lying on the floor, so I picked it up, fearing that it would be trampled on. My arm was violently grasped by a man, and he demanded why I had his pocket watch. Barnadette explained the whole story to him, and he apologized sincerely. He introduced himself as Luis Alexander, and claims to be a lawyer. I could see that he was in the Second Estate, for he wore lavish clothes and a somewhat tight air around him. We all talked about the current situation of the Revolution, Barnadette, Luis, and I. It was clearly visible that Luis was not at all good with communicating with women, or perhaps, the Third Estate. His expressions were awkward and his words were carefully chosen. We all had things to do, so we did not chat for long. Barnadette and I bought the cheapest ingredients, for prices were increasing drastically, and went back home. Barnadette had a long way back to her own place, so she had to leave very early. I went back to my shop, which was temporarily closed, and opened it back up again."

Journal Entry #1 July 1, 1789

"It's been about a month since the Third Estate declared itself as a "National Assembly". King Louis was far from happy, but the Third Estate did not back down. Life itself got more merciless; the farmers could not harvest a lot of crops due to massive crop failures. That, of course, affected the prices of grain and wheat. I cannot afford too much of it, anymore, considering the fact that I still got taxes to pay. Many peasants came to me, while I was baking my morning bread, begging for food. The massive crop failures let to a shortage of food, and there are many people going hungry. Although I could help them before these shortages and crop failures, but now it's more arduous. I met a man in my bakery yesterday, and he was here to buy his daily bread. He claims to be an owner of a cotton mill, but his clothes are quite clean. He looks like a pragmatic man, frugal and kind. His name is Leone Louis, and we talked for a few minutes, and he went back to work. He is a part of the Third Estate, just like me. Just from the way he talked, it seems like he is well informed about events happening daily. Unfortunately, he did not join the National Assembly, much to my disappointment. After all, he is a man, unlike me."