Background
Nathalie Lemel was born in Brest on 26 August 1827. Her parents, the Duvals, owned a café.
Nathalie Lemel was born in Brest on 26 August 1827. Her parents, the Duvals, owned a café.
At the age of 12 when Natalie became a bookbinder. In 1861 the business she and her at the time husband ran in Brest went bankrupt and Nathalie moved to Paris to work as a bookbinder and book retailer. During her time in Paris, she became involved in socialist activism. Her first action was when the newly founded First Socialist International supported the French bookbinder’s strike of 1864. Lemel joined the First International and when a second strike was called a year later she was elected a union delegate and a member of the strike committee, which was rare for women at the time. Additionally to her socialist activism, she also used her position to fight for feminist causes, mainly equal salary for men and women and women’s right to vote should democracy be re-established. France at the time was ruled by Napoleon III in the style of an absolutist monarchy but in 1868 slow attempts at re-democratization were made. One of these measures was the repeal of the prohibition on public meetings. Additionally to the discussion of the social question, many meetings were held concerning the "question of women" mainly by socialists like Lemel. This lead to the general politicization of women in France, which should become a major factor in the Paris commune a few years later.
In the 1870 war between France and Germany broke out. Paris was under siege by German forces and as unrest grew, riots broke out. Socialists and other left-wing revolutionaries seized this opportunity to form a city government that would govern the city according to socialist principles. The so-called Paris Commune was the first attempt in history to create a socialist order in any form of governance. It existed for two months, from March 18 to May 28, 1871. Nathalie Lemel was closely involved in the Commune. Not only did she fight against German as well as French government troops but she also was closely involved in Commune politics. Together with other like-minded women, she formed the Union of Women in an attempt to further feminist politics in the Paris Commune. The Union had about 1800 members and was the biggest women’s organization in Paris. Its members organized public talks on the rights of women, were involved in the fight against enemy troops not only by supporting men in combat but by fighting themselves. Lemel and the co-founders such as Elisabeth Dimtrieff were also big critics of Commune politics, especially since there was no woman in the Commune’s government and its rulers did not introduce women’s suffrage arguing that this was not the time given the precarious military situation.
The Paris Commune was ended in a very bloody fight in May of 1871. Unlike many of her fellow fighters, Lemel did survive the Commune’s end and was banished from France’s mainland to New Caledonia from where she returned in 1880 to continue her fight for socialism and women’s rights through publishing several magazines until her death in 1921.
Nathalie Lemel is famous as a union des femmes leader who called upon women to "take up arms for the Commune and fight to the last drop of blood." She commanded women fighting at a barricade, she was the only older woman amid a group of young girls, all armed with rifles and wearing ambulance nurses' arm-bands as well as red scarfs.
One of the biggest achievements of Lemel and the Union was that they organized women’s labor. They created places to work and founded soup kitchens and other places of supply for all of the Paris’ population.
Through active participation in all areas of life during the time of the Commune Lemel and the members of the Union of Women basically proofed that the cause of socialism could not go on without including women.
In 1865, Nathalie Lemel joined the First International.
Natalie was one of the founders of the Union of Women.
Natalie, though intelligent, was "highly exalted" - that adjective being used regularly by the police and magistracy for people who held and lived by strong political convictions. Natalie was forever calling attention to herself in the various bookbinding shops where she worked because she used to read aloud from "bad" newspapers.
Quotes from others about the person
"One of the loveliest and most intelligent women I have ever known. Her eloquence and good sense merit great praise." - Rochefort
"A remarkable intelligence, a clear and wise spirit." - Henry Bauer
"Nathalie Duval, the wife of Le Mel, is 46 years of age; she practices the profession of a bookbinder. Her appearance is very simple, being that of a worker: a black dress and shawl, and, on her head, a linen cap. The conduct of the accused is as simple as her appearance. However, she expresses herself with great ease and truly remarkable purity of language. No grandiloquence, no bravado, no gestures, no cries: truth without pomp." - Corsaire
In 1845, Natalie married Jérôme Lemel. They had three children. When the couple declared bankruptcy due to Jérôme's drinking problem, Nathalie left him with their three children.
