Léopoldine Hugo
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Hélas ! vers le passé tournant un oeil d'envie, Je verrai cet instant jusqu'à ce que je meure,
Alas! turning an envious eye towards the past, I will see that instant until I die, |
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Léopoldine Cécile Marie-Pierre Catherine Hugo (28 August 1824 – 4 September 1843) was the eldest daughter of Victor Hugo and Adèle Foucher.
Victor Hugo was devastated when his oldest and favorite daughter, Léopoldine Hugo, died at age 19 in 1843, shortly after her marriage. She was drowned in the Seine at Villequier, pulled down by her heavy skirts, when a boat overturned. Her young husband died trying to save her. Victor Hugo was traveling with his mistress at the time in the south of France, and learned about Léopoldine's death from a newspaper as he sat in a cafe. He describes his shock and grief in his poem À Villequier: