Francine Faure (6 December 1914 in

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

, Algeria – 24 December 1979) was a French pianist specializing in

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

and a mathematician.. She was the second wife of

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

, whom he met in 1937 in Algiers. They were married in Lyon on 3 December 1940. She came from a middle-class French family in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, which was a French colony at the time. She also taught mathematics, sometimes as a

substitute teacher A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is absent or unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, maternal leave and so on. "Substitute teacher" (usually abbreviated as "sub") is the most co ...

Personal life

Francine's father Fernand Martial François Faure died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, at

the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

, where Camus' father had also died. Her mother, Marie-Fernande Charlotte "Fernande" Faure (née Albert), was considered by Camus biographer Olivier Todd to be domineering. Her grandfather had built part of the Oran harbor. Her maternal grandmother Clara Albert (née Touboul) (1868–1940) was a Berber Jew and was born in Oran to Fredj Touboul (also reported as Fredja Abitboul) and Messaouda Touboul (née Tabet) (1834–1890). Although Camus was indifferent if not hostile to formal marriage, the couple had twins, Catherine and Jean Camus, in Paris in 1945 after the city's liberation. Francine had moved there from Algeria after two years' separation from Albert, who was participating in the French resistance at the time. She was different from Camus' string of ''petites amies''. Her beauty was striking, but her presence was reserved, unassuming, and gentle. And she had a ''cœur droit'', in the words of Camus. Francine suffered from and was hospitalized for depression, for which insulin and electroshock therapy were at various times prescribed. At one point she attempted to throw herself from a balcony, whether to escape the hospital or to kill herself is not known. Her depression was blamed in part on her husband's infidelities, and above all on his affair with

María Casares María Casares (21 November 1922 – 22 November 1996) was a Spanish-born French actress and one of the most distinguished stars of the French stage and cinema. She was credited in France as Maria Casarès. Early life Casares was born María V ...

. Camus told Francine, "They think I'm the guilty one." Tombe Albert Camus et épouse

Shortly after being awarded the Nobel Prize, Albert Camus mentioned in a letter to her cousin Nicole Chaperon how he was moved by the generosity of Francine, "whom I have never stopped loving in my bad way." In the same letter he said that Francine had "forgiven" him. She and Camus are buried together in

Lourmarin Lourmarin (; oc, Lormarin) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Lourmarinois''. Geography Lourmarin is located in the French region of Provence, ...

.Luberon 2012 Dominique Auzias, Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, Collectif, Jean-Paul Labourdette – 2012 "La tombe de Camus et de son épouse Francine Faure ressemble à deux jardinets piqués de romarins, de lavande et d'iris."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faure, Francine 1914 births 1979 deaths 20th-century French mathematicians Berber Jews French people of Algerian-Jewish descent People from Oran Migrants from French Algeria to France