Question

What do you understand by the term allegory? How did a female figure become an allegory of the nation

Answer 1

Explanation:

Nations were then portrayed as female figures. The female form that was chosen to personify the nation did not stand for any particular woman in real life, rather it would give an abstract idea of the nation in concrete form. This is how the female figure became an allegory of the nation.

The female figures as an allegory of the nation:

Artists found a way out to represent a country in the form of a person.

Then nations were portrayed as female figures.

The female figure was chosen to personify the nation did not stand for any particular woman in real life.

It gave the abstract idea of the nation a concrete form.

Thus, the female figure became an allegory of the nation.

During the French Revolution artists used the formal allegory to portray idea such as Liberty, Justice and the Republic.