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Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné (5 February 1626 – 17 April 1696), also widely known as Madame de Sévigné or Mme de Sévigné, was a French aristocrat, remembered for her letter-writing. Most of her letters, celebrated for their wit and vividness, were addressed to her daughter,
Françoise-Marguerite de Sévigné Françoise-Marguerite de Sévigné, comtesse de Grignan (10 October 1646 – 13 August 1705), was a French aristocrat, remembered for the letters that her mother, Madame de Sévigné, wrote to her. Life Françoise-Marguerite was born in Paris, ...
. She is revered in France as one of the great icons of French 17th-century literature.


Life

Marie de Rabutin-Chantal was born in the fashionable
Place des Vosges The Place des Vosges (), originally Place Royale, is the oldest planned square in Paris, France. It is located in the ''Marais'' district, and it straddles the dividing-line between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements of Paris. It was a fashionabl ...
(then called the ''Place Royale''),
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, to an old and distinguished family from Burgundy. Her father, Celse Bénigne de Rabutin,
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
de Chantal, was the son of Saint Jeanne Françoise de Chantal, a friend and disciple of
Saint Francis de Sales Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...
; her mother was Marie de Coulanges. Her father was killed during the English attack on the
Isle of Rhé An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...
in July 1627, which began the Anglo-French War of 1627-1629. His wife did not survive him by 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 of Livry, became her
guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
. She received a good education in his care and often referred to him in her correspondence as "le Bien Bon" he very good Marie de Rabutin-Chantal married Henri, marquis de Sévigné, a nobleman from
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
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 manor house of Les Rochers, near Vitré, a place which she was later to immortalize. She gave birth to a daughter,
Françoise Françoise () is a French feminine given name (equivalent to the Italian Francesca) and may refer to: * Anne Françoise Elizabeth Lange (1772–1816), French actress * Claudine Françoise Mignot (1624–1711), French adventuress * Françoise Adn ...
, on 10 October 1646 (whether at Les Rochers or in Paris is not certain), and to a son,
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
, at Les Rochers on 12 March 1648. Henri was a serial philanderer who spent money recklessly, but through her uncle's careful financial oversight Marie was able to keep much of her fortune separate. 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-four 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 Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (27 January 1615 – 23 March 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV. He had a glittering career, and acquired enormous wealth ...
, superintendent of finances to King
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...
. Mme de Sévigné's most amusing correspondence before her daughter's marriage was addressed to her cousin and friend
Roger de Bussy-Rabutin Roger de Rabutin, comte de Bussy (13 April 1618 – 9 April 1693), commonly known as Bussy-Rabutin, was a French memoirist. He was the cousin and frequent correspondent of Madame de Sévigné. Born at Epiry, near Autun, he represented a fami ...
. However, in 1658, she quarrelled with him. On 29 January 1669, her daughter Françoise married
François Adhémar de Monteil, comte de Grignan François Adhémar de Monteil, comte de Grignan (15 September 1632 – 30 December 1714) was a French aristocrat, remembered chiefly for being Lieutenant-Governor of Provence and the beloved son-in-law of Madame de Sévigné. Life and career ...
, a nobleman from
Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
who had been married twice before. The couple intended to live in Paris, but Grignan was soon appointed as 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 Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...
. The letters depicting life at this 17th-century spa are among her best. The trial and execution of
Madame de Brinvilliers Marie-Madeleine d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers (22 July 1630 – 16 July 1676) was a French aristocrat who was accused and convicted of murdering her father and two of her brothers in order to inherit their estates. After her death, ther ...
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 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 from Brittany. In the arrangements for this marriage, Mme de Sévigné divided all her fortune among 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 Philippsburg () is a town in the district of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim". The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718. The town is named after ...
. In the same year, Mme de Sévigné attended the Saint-Cyr performance of
Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...
's ''Esther'', and some of her most amusing descriptions of court ceremonies and experiences date from this time. In 1689, she wrote positively of the preacher Antoine Anselme. The year 1693 saw the loss of two of her oldest friends: her cousin Roger de Bussy-Rabutin and
Madame de La Fayette Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne, Comtesse de La Fayette (baptized 18 March 1634 – 25 May 1693), better known as Madame de La Fayette, was a French writer; she authored ''La Princesse de Clèves'', France's first historical novel and one ...
. There was a family connection between these two great writers: in 1650, Mme de La Fayette's mother, then widowed, married Renaud de Sévigné, uncle of the great letter writer. 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 Grignan (; oc, Grinhan) is a commune in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. It has a Renaissance castle and is mentioned in the letters that Madame de Sévigné wrote to her daughter, Madame de Gr ...
, and was buried there. Her daughter was not present during her illness.


Works

Madame 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 1,120 known letters, only 15 percent 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. Mme de Sévigné's letters play an important role in the novel '' In Search of Lost Time'' by Marcel Proust where they figure as the favorite reading of the narrator's grandmother, and, following her death, his mother. De Sévigné is the model for María, Marquesa de Montemayor, in
Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...
's novel ''
The Bridge of San Luis Rey ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' is American author Thornton Wilder's second novel. It was first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and was the best-selling work of fiction that year. Premise ''The Bri ...
''.


Portrayals in film and television

*''
Si Versailles m'était conté ''Royal Affairs in Versailles'' (French title: ''Si Versailles m'était conté'') is a 1954 French-Italian historical drama directed by Sacha Guitry. Described as "a historical film showing Versailles from its beginnings to the present day", it t ...
''... (1954). Feature film written and directed by Sacha Guitry. Madame de Sévigné is played by
Jeanne Boitel Jeanne Boitel (; 4 January 1904 – 7 August 1987) was a French film actress. She played a role in the Resistance during World War II, using the surname of ''Mozart''. She met Jacques Jaujard during her resistance activities in the war, and marr ...
. *''La Marquise de Rabutin-Chantal'' *''Madame de Sévigné'' (TV). Madame de Sévigné is played by
Claude Jade Claude Marcelle Jorré, better known as Claude Jade (; 8 October 1948 – 1 December 2006), was a French actress. She starred as Christine in François Truffaut's three films '' Stolen Kisses'' (1968), '' Bed and Board'' (1970) and '' Love on th ...
. *' (1977). TV series in five episodes, directed by Yannick Andréi. The young Marie de Rabutin-Chantal is played by Aniouta Florent. *''Madame de Sévigné: Idylle familiale'' (1979). Madame de Sévigné is played by Évelyne Grandjean. *''Madame de Sévigné à Grignan'' (2000). Documentary film directed by Claude Vernick. *''Sévigné'' (2005). Feature film written and directed by
Marta Balletbò-Coll Marta Balletbò-Coll (born 1960, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat) is a Catalan actress, film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. Biography Balletbò-Coll earned a degree in analytical chemistry from the Faculty of Chemistry of the ...
. In this film, the life of Júlia Berkowitz, a prestigious theatre director based in Barcelona, takes an unexpected turn when she decides to produce a play based on Madame de Sévigné. Berkowitz/ Sévigné is played by Anna Azcona. The film was awarded "Best Feature Film" at the 2005 edition of the Philadelphia Film Festival. *''Le Roi, l'Écureuil et la Couleuvre'' (2010, TV). Madame de Sévigné is played by Carole Richert.


Notes


References

* *. *. *Montoya, Alicia C. "Madame Sévigné's Aristocratic Medievalism," in:
Cahier Calin: Makers of the Middle Ages. Essays in Honor of William Calin
', ed. Richard Utz and Elizabeth Emery (Kalamazoo, MI: Studies in Medievalism, 2011), pp. 8–10. *Sévigné, Madame de (1973–78). '. Texte établi, présenté et annoté par
Roger Duchêne Roger Duchêne (3 February 1930 – 25 April 2006) was a French biographer specializing in the letters of Madame de Sévigné. Duchêne became a member of l'Académie de Marseille in 1972, and received the Grand Prize of l'Académie du Vaucluse e ...
. Paris:
Bibliothèque de la Pléiade The ''Bibliothèque de la Pléiade'' (, "Pleiades Library") is a French editorial collection which was created in 1931 by Jacques Schiffrin, an independent young editor. Schiffrin wanted to provide the public with reference editions of the c ...
. 3 tomes. * * *


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sevigne, Marie De Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise De 17th-century French women writers French letter writers Women letter writers Deaths from smallpox Writers from Paris Marquesses of Sévigné 1626 births 1696 deaths Infectious disease deaths in France 17th-century French writers Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine 17th-century letter writers French marchionesses