Women of Modern France

de La Fayette, Mme.

century the richest in naissant ideas, and the eighteenth the greatest in the way of developing and formulating those ideas;

vation of thought, dignity in manner and bearing, and brilliancy in conversation-attributes which they have left to posterity in numberless exquisite and charming letters, in interesting and invaluable memoirs, or in consummate psychological and social portraitures incorporated into the form of no

e leading spirit by force of her extraordinary faculty for making friends, her wonderful talent as a writer, her originality and her charming disposition. She gave the tone to letters; M. Faguet says that her epistles were all masterpieces of amiable badinage, lively narration, mat

th century, and the H?tel de Rambouillet to the beginning of the seventeenth century. She represented the style, esprit, elegance, and go?t of this greatest of French

grandmother; at ten, her grandfather on her mother's side; she was thus left with her paternal grandmother, Mme. de Chantal, who had her carefully educated under the best maste

n her immense fortune, in spite of the precautions of her uncle, the Abbé of Coulanges. Henceforward, her interests in life were centred in the education of her two child

much demand by the successors of Mme. de Rambouillet. While the women of the reign of Louis XIII.-Mmes. de Hautefort, de Sablé, de Longueville, de Chevreuse, etc.-were

l the eminent women of the seventeenth century, she had the greatest number of lovers-suitors who frequently became her tormentors. Ménage, her teacher, who threatened to leave her never to see her again, was brought back to her by kind words, such as: "Farewell,

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d of her literary friends; the second, of those enamored, impassioned suitors, loving her from good motives or from the opposite, who strove to compensate her for the unfaithfulness

st tell you, madame, that I do not think there is a person in the world so generally esteemed as you are. You are the delight of humankind; antiquity would have erected altars to you, and you would certainly have been a goddess of something. In our century, when we are not so lavish with incense, and especially for living

embellishes your person so well that there is not another one on earth so charming as you when you are animated in a conversation in which all constraint is banished. Your soul is great, noble, ready to dispense with treasures, and incapable of lowering itself to the care of amassing them. You are sensible to glory and ambition, and to pleasures you are less so; yet you appear to be born for the latter, and

alth of resource, intensity, sincerity, and frankness. M. Scherer said she possessed "surpris

r daughter)-we gladly leave her to her mother's exclusive affection, feeling infinitely obliged to her for having existed, inasmuch as her mother wrote letters to her. Mme. de Sévigné's letters to her daughter are superior to all her other epistles, charming as they all are; when she writes to M. Pompon

ssly to make room for your cousin." By marrying her daughter to such a man she encouraged all the questionable proprieties of the time. Mme. de Sévigné's affection for that daughter amounted almost to idolatry; it was to her that most of the mother's letters were writte

de Grignan (you can imagine in what key). Then I went to Mme. de La Fayette's, and she redoubled my griefs by the interest she took in them; she was alone, ill, and distressed at the death of one of the nuns; she was just as I should have desired, I returned hither at eight; but oh, when I came in! can you conceive what I felt as I mounted these stairs? That room into which I always used to go, alas! I found the doors of it open, but I saw everything upturned, disarranged, and your little daughter, who reminded me of mine.... The wakenings of the night were dreadful. I think of you continuously-it is what devotees call habitual thought, such

e time. To be modest and moderate, friendly, and conciliatory, to be content with one's lot and to bow to circumstances, to be sincere, to cultivate good sense and good gr

he scene described, so vivid as to be under the illusion of being present in reality; and this is done with so much grace, charm, happy ease and naturalness, tha

it be? In what condition? Shall I suffer a thousand, thousand pains which will make me die desperate? Shall I have brain fever? Shall I die of an accident? How shall I be with God? What shall I have to show Him? Shall fear, shall necessity bring me back to Him? Shall I have sentiment except that of dread? What can I hope? Am I worthy of heaven? Am I worthy of hell? Nothing is such madness as to leave one's salvation in uncertainty, but nothing is so natural. The stupid lif

emed to be dead to nature's beauty, in her striking descriptions of nature. A close observer, she knew how to

bourrée in the fields, I consent to say adieu; the country alone will cure me.... I have come here to end the beautiful days and to say adieu to the foliage-it is still on the trees, it has only changed color; instea

n lively movement, and imagination in the expression"-two qualities which Mme. de Sévigné possessed in a high degree. The slow and grave development, the just and harmonious equilibrium, the amplitude, are in

create the French language. Her most striking expressions are her own-newly coined, not taken from the vocabulary in usage. Her style cannot be duplicated, and for this reason she has few imitators. Her letters sh

lery-Radot leaves the following picture of her: "A blonde, with exuberant health, a transparent complexion, blue eyes, so frank, so limpid, a nose somewhat square, a mouth rea

ptive of the prejudices, superstitions and tastes of her caste (or of even her coterie), with her pen hardly tender for her neighbor-her daughter and intimates excepted. A manager and a woman of imagination, a Frondist at the bottom of her soul, and somewhat of a Jansenist-not enough, however, not to cry out that Louis XIV. will obscure the glory of his predecessors because he had just danced with her-faithful to her friends (Retz, Fouquet, Pomponne) in disgrace and detesting their persecutors, seeking the favor of court for her children. In the salons, she is celebrated for her espri

m; of a very impressionable nature, she was gifted with a natural eloquence which enabled her to express her various emotions in a light or gay vein which often bordered

e was the first to go, after having trembled for the life of her daughter, whom she had nursed back to hea

rson, so tender and so weak towards all whom she loved, showed nothing but courage and piety when she believed that her hour had come; and, impressed by the use she managed to make of that good store in the last momen

Sévigné holds in the opinion of the average Frenc

wishing or knowing it, by an intimate correspondence which is, to-day, universally regarded as one of the most precious treasures and one of the most original monuments to French literature. To deceive the ennui of absence, she wrote to her daughter all that she had in her heart and that came to her mind-what she did, wished to do, saw and learned, news of court, city, Brittany, army, everything-sadly or gayly, according to the subject, always with the most keen, ardent, delicate, and touching sentiments of tenderness and symp

nd attachment for La Rochefoucauld. She was born in 1634, and, with Mme. de Sévigné, was probably the best educated among the great women of the seventeenth century. She was faithful to her husband, the Count of La Fayette,

ter. These three prominent women illustrate remarkably well that predominant trait of French women-faithfulness to a chosen cause; each one of the three was vit

s, in fact, knew nothing about them, and consequently never schemed to use her favor at court for purposes of self-interest. Two qualiti

calmness, and depth of reason, the very basis of her nature, are reflected in her works. Sainte-Beuve says that "her reason and experience cool her passion and temper the ideal with the results of observation." She was one of the very few women playing any r?le i

for its own worth, it is dear to me because it is at present the only one I have. Time and old age have taken all my friends away from me.... I must tell you the state I am in. I am, first of all, a mortal divinity, and to an excess inconceivable; I have obstructions in my entrails-sad, inexpressible feelings; I have no spirit, no force-I cannot read or apply myself. The slightest things aff

ts in the life of Mme. de La Fayette is obtained from their letters. Said Mme. de Sévigné: "Never did we have the smallest cloud upon our friendship. Long habit had not made her merit stale to me-the flavor of it was always fresh and new. I

e some. I don't know-I think I will have some by and by. Let me have some soup and some chicken this evening.... Here is the evening, and there are the soup and the chicken; I don't desire them. I am nauseated, I will go to bed-I prefer sleeping to eating. I go to bed, I turn round, I turn back, I have no pain, but I have no sleep either. I call-I take a book-I close it. Day comes-I get up-I go to the window. It strikes four, five, six-I go to

, after the death of the queen, who was one of her best friends, she was sel

hat she had good reason for not going out and for being melancholy. Her reins and her heart were all gone-was not that enough to cause those fits of despondency of which

leted the ruin of her health. M. d'Haussonville said: "It is true that he took possession of her soul and intellect, little by little, so that t

oucauld, and that at that age women rarely ally themselves with men from emotions of physical love merely. At that age it is reason that mutually attracts two beings; and this feeling was probably the predominant one in that case, because her entire career was one of the most extreme reserve, con

g, the members of which were as intimate, took as much interest in each other's affairs, showed as much sympathy for

ngueville, of which mention has been made in the chapter relating to Mme. de Longueville. In his later period, he had settl

h them, a certain gentleness which is not met with among us; and it seems to me, besides, that they ex

nce over him was supposed to have somewhat modified his ideas on women and to have softened his tone in general. She wrote: "He gave me wit, but I reformed his heart." M. d'Haussonville has proved, without doubt, that her restraint modified many of his maxims that were tinged with the spirit of the commo

. de Maintenon, whose friend she was until the trouble between this lady and Mme. de Montespan occurred. The latter was the intimate friend of Mme. de La Fayette. As for her literary work proper, her desire to write was possibly encouraged, if not created, by her indulgence in the general fad of writing portraitures, in which she was especially successful in portraying Mme. de Sévigné. Her

he same sentiments and in the same language. There was no pretension to truth in the portraying of manners and customs.-A reaction was natural and took the form of either a kind of parody or gross realism. These novels, of which Francion

e impersonal-no one of the characters is recognizable; yet their atmosphere is that of the court of Louis XIV., and the language, never so correct as to be unnatural, is that used at the time. Her novels reflect perf

r much in vogue at the time; in 1678, La Princesse de Clèves, her masterpiece, stirred up one of the first real quarrels of literary criticism. For

t subtile of human emotions. Mme. de La Fayette was, also, the first to elevate, in literature, the character of t

also, has struggled and suffered." The writer confesses her weakness and leaves us witness of her virtue. All the soul struggles and interior combats represented in her work the authoress herself has experienced. As an example o

e never shown a sign of weakness, and I would not fear of ever showing any, if you permitted me to withdraw from court, or if I still had, in my efforts to do right, the support of Mme. de Chartres. However dangerous may be the action I take, I take it with pleasure, that I may be worthy of your acti

d in itself and in the austere enjoyment of duty accomplished. "It is a work that will endure, and be a c

as having been inspired by that masterpiece of Mme. de La Fayette. He says: "In fact, novels in general, that dep

nted for the sake of painting and did not think of attempting to surpass her predecessors. She reflects a society whose scrupulous care was to

gar, brutal, or excessively realistic. Her creations contain the most minute analyses of heart and soul emotions, but these never become purely physiologi

The poetry of Mme. des Houlières was for a long time much in vogue; to-day, however, it is not read. The memoirs of Mlle. de Montpensier are more occupied with herself than with events of the time or the numerous princes who tarried about her as longing lovers. Guizot sa

with a very pleasing expression; lips vermilion, not fine, but not frightful, either; my eyes are blue, neither large nor small, but sparkling, soft, and proud like my mien. I talk a great deal, without saying silly things or using bad words. I am a very vicious enemy, being very choleric and passionate, and that, added to my birth, may well make my enemies

d woman and one of whom French women are proud; during her last years she enjoyed the reputati

rity, have denied us all learning; Mme. Dacier is an example proving that we are capable of learning. She has associated erudition and good manners; for, at present, modesty has been

e young daughter, present at all the lessons given to her brothers, acquired, unaided, a solid education; her father, amazed at her marvellous faculty for comprehending and remembering, soon devoted mos

quest her to assist him in preparing the Greek text for the use of the dauphin. She soon eclipsed all scholars of the time by her illuminating studies of Greek authors and of the quality of the new editions which she prepar

st intellectual woman of the seventeenth century. In 1635, when nearly thirty years of age, she married M. Dacier, the favorite pupil of her father, librarian to the king and transl

h gained them royal favor, and Louis XIV. granted them a pension of two thousand livres. Sainte-Beuve states that their conversion was perfectly sincere and conscientious. In all their subseque

n of the Iliad and Odyssey (1711-1716), which gave her a prominent place in the history of French literature, especially as it appear

mer, in which the author announced that his aim was to purify and embellish Homer by ridding him "of his barbarian crudeness, his uncivil familiarities, and his great length," the ire of Mme. Dacier was aroused, and in defence of her god she w

avorite only detracted from his opponent's favor and grace. Voltaire said: "You could say that the work of M. de La Motte was that of a woman of esprit, while that of Mme. Dacier was of a homme savant. He translated the Iliad very poorly, but attacked very wel

would never have suspected her of knowing more than the average woman." She was an incessant worker and had little time for social life; in the evening, after having worked all m

e. de Maintenon. It was she who, partly through compulsion, partly of her own free will, undertook the rearing of the young and beautiful Marthe-Marguerite de Villette. Mme. de Maintenon was then at the height of her power, and naturally her beautiful, clever, and witty niece was soon overwhelmed by p

d somewhat superficial character and her freedom of manners and speech, did not fail to attract many admirers. Her frankness in expressing her opinions was the source of her disgrace; Louis XIV. took her at her word when she exclaimed, in speaking of the court: "This

ned her former favor and friends. From that time she was the constant companion of Mme. de Maintenon, until the king's death, when she ret

was famous for her extraordinary acting in the performance, at Saint-Cyr, of Racine's Esther. Mme. de Sévigné wrote: "It is Mme. de Caylus who makes Esther."

e these Souvenirs-so fluently written, so unpretentious, with neither dates nor chronological order, but upon which, for more than a century, all historians have drawn! How much is contained in this little book which teaches more in a few lines than int

chief attribute of literary style-naturalness. What pure, what ready wit! What good humor, what unconstraint, what delightful ease! What a series of charming portraits, each more li