I think that Mme du Barry's conduct at the scaffold was in keeping with her life. In other words she was a generous soul and loved life. She clung to that life until the end: she desperately tried to buy her way out of trouble at the last minute with her jewelry, which was hidden around her property at Louveciennes. To no avail. And she was different to the Royal family in that she was not an aristocrat, nor of noble blood, far from it. The fact that she came back from London in 1793 showed that she had some kind if blind ill-advised confidence in the goodwill of the people towards her. But she soon realized her mistake when they rolled her lover Brissac's severed head onto her terrace. Association with nobility or royalty was enough evidence for the Revolutionary tribunal at that time.

Wow, that was really interesting information, thank you.

It was great information,he's very intelligent

To that one can only reply with a courtly bow and a discreet half smile....

In fact I've heard it said that many people contrasted Dubarry's reported behavior with that of Marie-Antoinette, who supposedly stepped on the executioner's foot and said immediately, "Please excuse me. I assure you it was not intentional."

I've always thought that if it WAS intentional, this was all the more well-bred.

Otherwise, here's another account of Dubarry's death (and trial, if you page back):
http://books.google.com/books?id=Rv7RAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA386&dq=dubarry+trial

A note on the next page tells how her brother-in-law, brought to trial, refused to defend himself "remarking that the few years left him to live - he was then about seventy - were not worth arguing about."

There is in fact a whole lore of last moments on the guillotine, some of which I read when France celebrated the Bicentennial in 1989. The one story I remember is of a young aristocrat who read a book the whole time he was in the tumbrel, being jeered by the crowd.

When he got to the guillotine, he turned down one corner of the page to keep his place.

holy cow, great info

i've heard that Madame du Barry was quite the over reactor at the scaffold but could anyone tell me why she was executed?

She was associated with the aristocracy and had been the last royal mistress - enough of a reason for her death to the revolutionaries.
Stanley Loomis wrote a book on Madame DuBarry that is quite good.

On the way and at the scaffold - I do not think she was a coward, just terrified. Can anyone say they wouldn't be?
Like the old Countess(?) of Shrewsbury in England - she ran around screaming and made the executioner catch her - caused quite a ruckus before he literally hacked her to death with his ax. She wasn't going down without a fight!

Yes, especially because royal mistresses were particularly hated, being seen as sources of big expenses and extravagances!

What is an over-reaction to someone preparing to kill you?

Aside from her symbolic role in having helped drain the country's coffers, there's the fact that she had hidden quite a few jewels, which I'm sure they were happy to confiscate (after she naively told her questioners where they were, thinking that would save her.)

It's also true that the Revolution had a puritanical side, which only reached its height with the ghastly Robespierre. The September massacres included quite vicious killings of prostitutes (many of whom of course had probably been driven to that by poverty).

Never underestimate the power of sexual morality to make people feel superior. No matter what their own actual behavior is.

Sorry I've been gone for so long, all. I just started High School and it's very busy...

About conduct at the scaffold: it would also be interesting to consider the different conducts of the Revolutionaries who were guillotined. For example, I read Danton told the executioner: "Don't forget to show my head to the people: it's well worth the trouble". If it's true, it was quite brave!

It is brave, however personally I find Danton annoyingly audacious and cruel. So I don't like him. But he was brave, that's true

Neither do I But I admit his last sentence was worth some effect.
I'd be curious to know about other revolutionaries. I read Robespierre was apparently very shocked, while St. Just acted as a impasssive Stoic...But I don't know much.

Yes, Robespierre was shot that's why he couldn't speak at all-
Other revolutionaries, I don't know much about them, either... I miss an expert of this topic!