Suzanne Georgette Anna Déchevaux-Dumesnil (Argenteuil 7 January 1900 – Paris 17 July 1989)Suzanne Dechevaux-Dumesnil
at findagrave.com was the lover and later wife of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

. In the 1930s, Beckett chose Déchevaux-Dumesnil as his lover over the heiress

Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemian and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with t ...

. Six years older than Beckett, Déchevaux-Dumesnil was an austere woman known for avant-garde tastes and

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political%20ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically in ...

. She was a pianist. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Beckett joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. For over two years, he and Déchevaux-Dumesnil hid from the Germans in a village in the South of France.Context
of '' Happy Days'' at sparknotes.com Beckett's '' Waiting for Godot'' has been called "a metaphor for the long walk into

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the reg ...

, when Beckett and Suzanne slept in haystacks... during the day and walked by night..." During the relationship between Beckett and Déchevaux-Dumesnil, which lasted more than 50 years, she maintained a private circle of friends and is credited with having influenced Beckett to produce more work. During the late 1950s, Beckett often stayed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he met

Barbara Bray Barbara Bray (née Jacobs; 24 November 1924 – 25 February 2010) was an English translator and critic. Early life Bray was born in Maida Vale, London; her parents had Belgian and Jewish origins. An identical twin (her sister Olive Classe was al ...

, a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

script-editor, a widow in her 30s. James Knowlson writes of them: "Beckett seems to have been immediately attracted to her and she to him. Their encounter was highly significant for them both, for it represented the beginning of a relationship that was to last, in parallel with that with Suzanne, for the rest of his life." Soon, their association became "a very intimate and personal one". In a visit to

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 ...

in January 1961, Bray told Beckett she had decided to move there.Knowlson, ''op. cit'', p. 480 His response was unusual. In March 1961, he married Déchevaux-Dumesnil in a civil ceremony in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

. On the face of it, this was to make sure that, if he died before her, Déchevaux-Dumesnil would inherit the rights to his work because there was no

common-law marriage Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, marriage, informal marriage, or marriage by habit and repute, is a legal framework where a couple may be considered married without having formally registered their relation as a civil ...

under French law. He may also have wanted to affirm his loyalty to her. In June 1961, Bray moved to Paris, and despite his recent marriage, Beckett spent much of his time with her. This side of his life was not well known, as Beckett's reserve was "allied to his fear of giving offence to Suzanne".Cronin, ''op. cit.'', pp. 517-518 Beckett's play '' Play'' (1963) seems to be inspired by these events. Déchevaux-Dumesnil died at age 89 in July 1989, five months before Beckett. They are interred together in the

cimetière du Montparnasse Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dechevaux-Dumesnil, Suzanne 1900 births 1989 deaths 20th-century French women Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery Place of birth missing Samuel Beckett