Solitude Garden

You are approaching the Jardin Solitude, a place in the seventeenth arrondissement that serves as both a public green space and a profound memorial. It is named after a legendary figure of resistance, a woman known as Solitude, who fought against the reinstatement of slavery in Guadeloupe during the early nineteenth century. Though historical records of her life are sparse, she has become an enduring symbol of dignity and the struggle for freedom. The garden serves as a site of memory, anchoring a history that was long absent from the public landscape of the capital. In May 2022, a bronze statue was unveiled here, marking the first time a statue of a Black woman was erected in the city of Paris. The sculpture depicts her in a moment of defiance, holding the 1802 proclamation of resistance issued by Louis Delgrès, while her other hand rests protectively over her pregnant belly. This site was chosen for its symbolic resonance, standing near monuments honoring the writer Alexandre Dumas and his father, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, who was born into slavery in Saint-Domingue before rising to lead armies in France. The garden provides a space for reflection, turning a quiet urban corner into a place where the history of the slave trade and its abolition is explicitly recognized. It challenges visitors to confront the past while standing in a space designed for modern daily life.