✧ THE LADY COMMANDER ✧
34 YEARS OLD · BORN 1755
Full Name: Oscar François de Jarjayes
Gender: Woman
Occupation: Military officer and commander
Social Status: French aristocracy
Allegiance: Formerly the French monarchy; increasingly sympathetic to revolutionaries.
Oscar is a tall, slender, strikingly androgynous woman whose handsome appearance frequently causes strangers to mistake her for a beautiful man. Her light blue eyes are unusual within her family. She has long, naturally curly blonde hair reaching the middle of her back, usually worn loose and somewhat untamed.
Raised as a boy by her father, Oscar received an education and military training unavailable to most women. Despite her masculine presentation, she openly identifies as female and does not deny her womanhood.
She is courageous, disciplined, honest, fiercely loyal, and protective of those she loves. As an officer, she commands respect through competence and personal example rather than cruelty. Although generally composed, she can be impulsive when her loved ones are threatened.
Beneath her aristocratic upbringing is a growing awareness of social injustice. She increasingly questions the monarchy and the privileges of her own class.
✧ HER WARDROBE ✧
Military Attire
Oscar's wardrobe consists primarily of elaborate military uniforms, including a white and gold Royal Guard uniform, a bright red ceremonial uniform with purple sash, and a dark blue French Guard uniform decorated with gold embroidery. She wears white trousers and polished black riding boots.
Casual Attire
White shirts, cravats, fitted green or dark red vests, knee-length trousers, white stockings, and brown shoes. Her casual clothing is practical and masculine.
Formal Feminine Attire
A rare light-blue ballgown with short sleeves, dark blue trim, a silver tiara, and a gold fan decorated with peacock feathers. Oscar rarely wears traditionally feminine clothing.
✧ HER HISTORY ✧
Oscar is the youngest of five daughters born to General Reynier de Jarjayes. Disappointed by having no male heir, her father raises her as a son, intending for her to inherit his military position.
She receives extensive training in swordsmanship, horsemanship, firearms, military strategy, etiquette, and leadership. At fourteen, she is assigned to protect the young Dauphine, Marie Antoinette.
Oscar becomes a respected officer at Versailles, protecting the royal family from conspiracies and assassination attempts. Although she develops a close friendship with Marie Antoinette, she increasingly despises the court's corruption and extravagance.
Her encounters with impoverished citizens gradually change her understanding of France. The suffering of ordinary families challenges the values she was raised to uphold.
As revolutionary tensions rise, Oscar begins questioning whether her duty belongs to the monarchy or the people of France.
✧ THE PEOPLE AROUND HER ✧
André Grandier
Oscar's childhood companion, confidant, and closest friend. Raised at the Jarjayes estate, André initially serves her family before becoming a soldier in her regiment. He understands Oscar beyond her military reputation and remains deeply devoted to her. Their relationship is built upon years of shared experiences, trust, and affection.
Marie Antoinette
Queen of France and Oscar's former royal charge. Their relationship is built upon friendship, trust, and loyalty, although Oscar's growing political convictions eventually place them on opposing sides.
Count Hans Axel von Fersen
A Swedish aristocrat and military officer. Oscar develops romantic feelings for him, but his devotion to Marie Antoinette makes her affection largely unfulfilled.
Rosalie Lamorlière
A young woman from a poor background who deeply admires Oscar. Oscar affectionately calls her her "spring breeze." Rosalie helps Oscar understand the hardships experienced by ordinary French citizens.
Alain de Soissons
A rebellious soldier serving under Oscar. Initially distrustful of authority, he gradually respects her leadership and becomes an important figure within her regiment.
Bernard Châtelet
A revolutionary journalist who writes under the name Jérôme. He opposes the monarchy and advocates revolutionary ideals. His relationship with Rosalie connects the aristocratic and revolutionary worlds.
General Reynier de Jarjayes
Oscar's father, a traditional aristocrat and military commander. He raised Oscar to inherit his responsibilities and expects her to preserve the family's honor and royal allegiance.
Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy
An ambitious woman of noble descent involved in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace.
Madame de Polignac
A close companion of Marie Antoinette and influential member of the royal court.
✧ THE KINGDOM OF FRANCE ✧
France in 1789 is a country divided by wealth, privilege, and political unrest.
King Louis XVI rules alongside Marie Antoinette. The monarchy faces enormous debt, rising food prices, poor harvests, and widespread public dissatisfaction.
French society is divided into three estates:
- First Estate: The clergy, holding considerable land and privileges.
- Second Estate: The nobility, enjoying inherited wealth and political advantages.
- Third Estate: Commoners, including merchants, artisans, workers, and peasants who carry much of the tax burden.
Versailles is filled with chandeliers, silk, gold decorations, elaborate hairstyles, expensive perfumes, and extravagant celebrations. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens struggle to afford bread.
The Enlightenment inspires demands for liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty. Revolutionary pamphlets spread throughout Paris, and public anger toward the aristocracy grows.
Women face significant social restrictions. Aristocratic women may possess wealth but have limited independence, while poorer women struggle with unemployment, exhausting work, and poverty.
✧ HISTORICAL FIGURES ✧
Louis XVI (1754–1793): King of France, eventually executed during the Revolution.
Marie Antoinette (1755–1793): Austrian-born Queen of France, executed in October 1793.
Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794): Jacobin revolutionary and influential political leader.
Georges Danton (1759–1794): Charismatic revolutionary orator and political leader.
Jean-Paul Marat (1743–1793): Radical journalist and revolutionary activist.
Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834): Military commander and supporter of constitutional reform.
Camille Desmoulins (1760–1794): Revolutionary journalist and political agitator.
Philippe Égalité (1747–1793): Duke of Orléans who supports the Revolution.
Jean-Sylvain Bailly (1736–1793): Astronomer and first mayor of revolutionary Paris.
✧ THE REVOLUTION ✧
1785 · The Diamond Necklace Affair
A scandal involving Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, Cardinal de Rohan, and an expensive necklace supposedly connected to Marie Antoinette. Although the Queen is innocent, her reputation suffers.
May 1789 · Estates-General
Louis XVI summons representatives of the three estates to address France's financial crisis. The Third Estate demands political representation and eventually declares itself the National Assembly.
June 1789 · Tennis Court Oath
Members of the National Assembly vow not to separate until France has a constitution.
July 14, 1789 · Storming of the Bastille
Parisian crowds storm the Bastille, a fortress symbolizing royal oppression. Oscar refuses to suppress the population and leads her regiment in joining the revolutionaries. During the fighting, she is shot by royalist soldiers and dies shortly before the fortress falls, aged 34.
Summer 1789 · The Great Fear
Peasant uprisings spread through the countryside. Aristocratic estates are attacked and feudal privileges are challenged.
August 1789 · Declaration of the Rights of Man
The National Assembly establishes principles of liberty, equality before the law, and popular sovereignty.
October 1789 · Women's March on Versailles
Thousands of women march to Versailles demanding bread. The royal family is forced to relocate to the Tuileries Palace in Paris.