Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné
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| - | :"Only consider, my love, how you have carried your lack of foresight to the point of exaggeration."[[Talk:Letters of a Portuguese Nun|full text]] | + | '''Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, [[marquise]] de Sévigné''' (5 February 1626 – 17 April 1696) was a [[France|French]] aristocrat, remembered for her letter-writing. Most of her letters, celebrated for their wit and vividness, were addressed to her daughter. These letters are known today as ''[[Letters of Madame de Sévigné to her daughter and her friends]]''. |
| - | The '''''Letters of a Portuguese Nun''''' (Fr. ''Les Lettres portugaises''), first [[published anonymously]] by [[Claude Barbin]] in Paris in [[1669]], are a work believed by most scholars to be [[epistolary fiction]] (comprising five [[love letter]]s) written by Gabriel-Joseph de La Vergne, comte de Guilleragues (1628–1685). | + | ==Life== |
| - | + | Marie de Rabutin-Chantal was born in [[Paris]], to an old and distinguished family from [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundy]]. Her father, Celse Bénigne de Rabutin, [[baron]] de Chantal, was the son of [[Saint Jane Frances de Chantal]], friend and disciple of [[Saint Francis de Sales]]; her mother was Marie de Coulanges. Her father was killed during the English descent on the [[Isle of Rhé]] in July 1627. His wife did not survive him many years, and Marie was left an orphan at the age of seven. She then passed into the care of her maternal grandparents. | |
| - | Until the 20th century, the letters were ascribed to a 17th century Franciscan [[nun]] in a convent in [[Beja, Portugal]], named in 1810 as [[Mariana Alcoforado]] (1640-1723), who was said to be writing to her French [[lover]], the Marquis de Chamilly (1635-1715), who came to Portugal to fight on behalf of the Portuguese in their struggle for independence from 1663-1668. Looking from her window, the ''janella de Mertola'', she had seen the young aristocratic officer only once. | + | When her grandfather, Philippe de Coulanges, died in 1636, her uncle, Christophe de Coulanges, abbé de Livry, became her [[legal guardian|guardian]]. She received a good education in his care. |
| - | The passionate letters were a European [[publishing sensation]] (in part because of their presumed [[authenticity]]) and set a precedent for [[sentimentalism]] and for the literary genres of the [[sentimental novel]] and the [[epistolary novel]] into the 18th century. A 2006 book written by [[Myriam Cyr]] argues that the letters are in fact authentic. | + | Marie de Rabuin-Chantal married Henri, marquis de Sévigné, a nobleman from [[Brittany]] allied to the oldest houses of that province, but of no great estate. The marriage took place on 4 August 1644, and the couple went almost immediately to the Sévigné's manor house of Les Rochers, near [[Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine|Vitré]], a place which she was to immortalize. She gave birth to a daughter, [[Madame de Grignan|Françoise]], on 10 October 1646 (whether at Les Rochers or in Paris is not certain), and to a son, [[Charles de Sévigné|Charles]], at Les Rochers on 12 March 1648. |
| - | Dated between December 1667 and June 1668, the five letters described the successive stages of faith, doubt and despair through which the author passed. The letters could also be considered pieces of unconscious psychological self-analysis. The five short passionate, lyrical letters, written by Mariana to "expostulate her desertion", form one of the few documents of extreme human experience and reveal a passion which, in the course of three centuries, has lost nothing of its heat. Their absolute candour, exquisite tenderness, absolute passion, hope, pleas and despair and entire self-abandonment have excited the wonder and admiration of great men and women in every age from [[Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné|Madame de Sévigné]] to [[William Ewart Gladstone|Gladstone]]. | + | On 4 February 1651, Henri de Sévigné was mortally wounded in a duel with the Chevalier d'Albret after a quarrel over his mistress, Mme de Gondran, and died two days later. Though only twenty-six when her husband died, Mme de Sévigné never married again. Instead, she devoted herself to her children. She spent most of 1651 in retirement at Les Rochers, but returned to Paris that November. Thereafter, she divided her time between the city and the countryside. In Paris, she frequented [[Salon (gathering)|salons]], especially that of [[Nicolas Fouquet]], superintendent of finances to King [[Louis XIV]]. |
| - | ==Publication and Authorship== | + | Mme de Sévigné's most amusing correspondence before her daughter's marriage was addressed to her cousin and friend [[Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy|Roger de Bussy-Rabutin]]. However, in 1658, she quarreled with him. |
| - | The letters, it was said, came into the possession of the comte de Guilleragues, director of [[La Gazette de France]], who translated them into French; the Portuguese "original" of the five letters was said to be lost. Because of their honest and gripping portrayal of amorous passion and their presumed authenticity, the letters were a major literary sensation from their publication in 1669, and they ran through five editions in their first year. A Cologne edition of the same year stated that the marquis de Chamilly was their addressee, which was confirmed by [[Claude de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon|St Simon]] and [[Charles Pinot Duclos|Duclos]], but the name of their authoress remained undivulged. | + | On 29 January 1669, her daughter Françoise married [[Comte de Grignan|François Adhémar de Monteil, comte de Grignan]], a nobleman from [[Provence]], who had been married twice before. The couple intended to live in Paris, but Grignan was soon named [[lieutenant governor]] of Provence, necessitating that they live there. Mme de Sévigné was very close to her daughter, and sent her the first of her famous letters on 6 February 1671. Their correspondence lasted until Mme de Sévigné's death. |
| - | In the same year 1669 the original publisher, Claude Barbin, published a sequel, again written by a Portuguese "lady of society" with seven new letters added to the original five. Later, several hack writers wrote serial stories on the same theme. To exploit their popularity, sequels, replies and new replies were published in quick succession, and they were distributed in translation throughout Europe. Besides the French editions, versions were published in [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[English language|English]] and [[German language|German]]. | + | By 1673, Mme de Sévigné's letters were being copied and circulated. Therefore, she knew that her letters were semi-public documents and crafted them accordingly. |
| - | The interest in these Portuguese [[love letter]]s was so strong in the 17th century, that the word "portugaise" became synonymous with passionate love letters. | + | The year 1676 saw several important events in Mme de Sévigné's life. For the first time she was seriously ill and did not thoroughly recover until she had visited [[Vichy]]. The letters depicting life at this 17th century spa are among her best. The trial and execution of [[Marie-Madeleine-Marguerite d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers|Mme de Brinvilliers]] took place that same year. This event figures in the letters. |
| - | Their authenticity was asserted by their numerous followers. But some critics, such as [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] (himself the author of [[Julie, ou la Nouvelle Héloïse]], the protagonists of which were assumed to be actual persons by the work's fans) were ready to wager they were written by a man. By the 18th century however, the principal critics of Portugal and France had decided against the detractors. In 1810, [[Jean François Boissonade de Fontarabie]] discovered Mariana's name written in a copy of the first edition in a contemporary hand, and the truth of this claim was supported by the investigations of Luciano Cordeiro, who found a tradition in Beja connecting the French captain and the Portuguese nun. | + | The following year, in 1677, she moved into the [[Hôtel Carnavalet]] and welcomed the whole Grignan family to it. She returned to Provence in October 1678. On 17 March 1680, she had the grief of losing [[François de la Rochefoucauld|La Rochefoucauld]], the most eminent and one of her closest friends. The proportion of letters that we have for the decade 1677-1687 is much smaller than that which represents the decade preceding it. In February 1684, her son Charles married Jeanne Marguerite de Mauron, a young lady from Bretagne. In the arrangements for this marriage, Mme de Sévigné divided all her fortune between her children, and reserved for herself only part of the life interest. |
| - | The attribution to Gabriel-Joseph de La Vergne, comte de Guilleragues was first put forward by F. C. Green in 1926, and further substantiated by J. Rougeot and F. Deloffre in 1962. It is now generally recognised that the letters are not a verbatim translation from the Portuguese, but instead a work of fiction by the comte de Guilleragues, a confidante of [[Madame de Sablé]], who served as ambassador to [[Constantinople]] from 1677 to his death in 1685. | + | In 1688, the whole family was greatly excited by the first campaign of the young marquis de Grignan, Mme de Grignan's only son, who was sent splendidly equipped to the siege of [[Philippsburg]]. In the same year, Mme de Sévigné attended the [[Saint-Cyr]] performance of [[Racine]]'s ''Esther'', and some of her most amusing descriptions of court ceremonies and experiences date from this time. |
| - | The 2006 book ''Letters of a Portuguese Nun: Uncovering the Mystery Behind a 17th Century Forbidden Love'' by [[Myriam Cyr]] argues that Mariana Alcoforado did in fact exist; that, as an educated nun of the period, she could have written the letters; and that she was in fact their author. None of the arguments presented by Myriam Cyr, however, differs significantly from the 19th century debate on the authenticity of the work, and the bulk of the critical evidence continues to favor the thesis of Guilleragues's authorship. | + | The year 1693 saw the loss of two of her oldest friends: her cousin Roger de Bussy-Rabutin and [[Madame de La Fayette]]. Another friend almost as intimate, Mme de Lavardin, followed in 1694. |
| - | ==References to the letters in other works== | + | During an illness of her daughter in 1696, Mme de Sévigné caught a "fever" (possibly influenza or pneumonia), and died on 17 April at [[Grignan]], and was buried there. Her daughter was not present during her illness. |
| - | *[[Madeleine L'Engle]]'s 1966 novel ''The Love Letters'' is based on the legend of [[Mariana Alcoforado]] and the Marquis de Chamilly, switching between a set of contemporary characters and Marianna's world of the 1660s. | + | |
| - | *Even in recent years these letters have been transformed into two short movies (1965 and 1980) and a stage play "Cartas". It was performed in New York in the Bleecker Theatre’s Culture Project in 2001. | + | |
| - | *The letters play a small but significant role in the 2005 movie "The Secret Life of Words" ("La Vida secreta de las palabras"). | + | |
| - | ==See also== | + | ==Works== |
| - | *[[French literature of the 17th century]] | + | Mme de Sévigné corresponded with her daughter, for nearly thirty years. A clandestine edition, containing twenty-eight letters or portions of letters, was published in 1725, followed by two others the next year. Pauline de Simiane, Mme de Sévigné's granddaughter, decided to officially publish her grandmother's correspondence. Working with the editor Denis-Marius Perrin of Aix-en-Provence, she published 614 letters in 1734-1737, then 772 letters in 1754. The letters were selected according to Mme de Simiane's instructions: she rejected those that dealt too closely with family matters, or those that seemed poorly written. The remaining letters were often rewritten in accordance with the style of the day. This raises a question of the letters' authenticity. |
| - | {{GFDL}} | + | |
| + | Of the 1120 known letters, only 15 per cent are signed, the others having been destroyed soon after they were read. However, in 1873, some early manuscript copies of the letters, directly based on Mme de Sévigné's originals, were found in an antique shop. These accounted for about half of the letters to Mme de Grignan.{{GFDL}} | ||
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Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné (5 February 1626 – 17 April 1696) was a French aristocrat, remembered for her letter-writing. Most of her letters, celebrated for their wit and vividness, were addressed to her daughter. These letters are known today as Letters of Madame de Sévigné to her daughter and her friends.
Life
Marie de Rabutin-Chantal was born in Paris, to an old and distinguished family from Burgundy. Her father, Celse Bénigne de Rabutin, baron de Chantal, was the son of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, friend and disciple of Saint Francis de Sales; her mother was Marie de Coulanges. Her father was killed during the English descent on the Isle of Rhé in July 1627. His wife did not survive him many years, and Marie was left an orphan at the age of seven. She then passed into the care of her maternal grandparents. When her grandfather, Philippe de Coulanges, died in 1636, her uncle, Christophe de Coulanges, abbé de Livry, became her guardian. She received a good education in his care.
Marie de Rabuin-Chantal married Henri, marquis de Sévigné, a nobleman from Brittany allied to the oldest houses of that province, but of no great estate. The marriage took place on 4 August 1644, and the couple went almost immediately to the Sévigné's manor house of Les Rochers, near Vitré, a place which she was to immortalize. She gave birth to a daughter, Françoise, on 10 October 1646 (whether at Les Rochers or in Paris is not certain), and to a son, Charles, at Les Rochers on 12 March 1648.
On 4 February 1651, Henri de Sévigné was mortally wounded in a duel with the Chevalier d'Albret after a quarrel over his mistress, Mme de Gondran, and died two days later. Though only twenty-six when her husband died, Mme de Sévigné never married again. Instead, she devoted herself to her children. She spent most of 1651 in retirement at Les Rochers, but returned to Paris that November. Thereafter, she divided her time between the city and the countryside. In Paris, she frequented salons, especially that of Nicolas Fouquet, superintendent of finances to King Louis XIV.
Mme de Sévigné's most amusing correspondence before her daughter's marriage was addressed to her cousin and friend Roger de Bussy-Rabutin. However, in 1658, she quarreled with him.
On 29 January 1669, her daughter Françoise married François Adhémar de Monteil, comte de Grignan, a nobleman from Provence, who had been married twice before. The couple intended to live in Paris, but Grignan was soon named lieutenant governor of Provence, necessitating that they live there. Mme de Sévigné was very close to her daughter, and sent her the first of her famous letters on 6 February 1671. Their correspondence lasted until Mme de Sévigné's death.
By 1673, Mme de Sévigné's letters were being copied and circulated. Therefore, she knew that her letters were semi-public documents and crafted them accordingly.
The year 1676 saw several important events in Mme de Sévigné's life. For the first time she was seriously ill and did not thoroughly recover until she had visited Vichy. The letters depicting life at this 17th century spa are among her best. The trial and execution of Mme de Brinvilliers took place that same year. This event figures in the letters.
The following year, in 1677, she moved into the Hôtel Carnavalet and welcomed the whole Grignan family to it. She returned to Provence in October 1678. On 17 March 1680, she had the grief of losing La Rochefoucauld, the most eminent and one of her closest friends. The proportion of letters that we have for the decade 1677-1687 is much smaller than that which represents the decade preceding it. In February 1684, her son Charles married Jeanne Marguerite de Mauron, a young lady from Bretagne. In the arrangements for this marriage, Mme de Sévigné divided all her fortune between her children, and reserved for herself only part of the life interest.
In 1688, the whole family was greatly excited by the first campaign of the young marquis de Grignan, Mme de Grignan's only son, who was sent splendidly equipped to the siege of Philippsburg. In the same year, Mme de Sévigné attended the Saint-Cyr performance of Racine's Esther, and some of her most amusing descriptions of court ceremonies and experiences date from this time.
The year 1693 saw the loss of two of her oldest friends: her cousin Roger de Bussy-Rabutin and Madame de La Fayette. Another friend almost as intimate, Mme de Lavardin, followed in 1694.
During an illness of her daughter in 1696, Mme de Sévigné caught a "fever" (possibly influenza or pneumonia), and died on 17 April at Grignan, and was buried there. Her daughter was not present during her illness.
Works
Mme de Sévigné corresponded with her daughter, for nearly thirty years. A clandestine edition, containing twenty-eight letters or portions of letters, was published in 1725, followed by two others the next year. Pauline de Simiane, Mme de Sévigné's granddaughter, decided to officially publish her grandmother's correspondence. Working with the editor Denis-Marius Perrin of Aix-en-Provence, she published 614 letters in 1734-1737, then 772 letters in 1754. The letters were selected according to Mme de Simiane's instructions: she rejected those that dealt too closely with family matters, or those that seemed poorly written. The remaining letters were often rewritten in accordance with the style of the day. This raises a question of the letters' authenticity.
Of the 1120 known letters, only 15 per cent are signed, the others having been destroyed soon after they were read. However, in 1873, some early manuscript copies of the letters, directly based on Mme de Sévigné's originals, were found in an antique shop. These accounted for about half of the letters to Mme de Grignan.
