Marie-Thérèse Levasseur (; 21 September 1721 – 12 July 1801; also known as ''Thérèse Le Vasseur'', ''Lavasseur'') was the domestic partner,
mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...
, wife and widow of
Genevan
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ...
philosopher
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
.
Biography
Thérèse Le Vasseur came from a respected family that had fallen on hard times; her father had a small official position relating to currency in Orléans, which he lost by 1744, and her mother was a shop-keeper; this business having failed, Thérèse and her mother moved 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. Si ...
to find work, and were later joined by her father.
Le Vasseur met Rousseau in Paris in 1745. Le Vasseur was working as a laundress and chambermaid at the Hotel Saint-Quentin in the rue des Cordiers, where Rousseau took his meals. She was 24 years old at the time, he was 33. According to Rousseau, Thérèse bore him five children, all of whom were given to the
Enfants-Trouvés foundling home, the first in 1746 and the others in 1747, 1748, 1751, and 1752. Thérèse is described in Rousseau's ''
Confessions'' as a woman of low intelligence, exploited by her family.
They went through a legally invalid marriage ceremony at
Bourgoin
Bourgoin-Jallieu (; frp, Brégon) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of the ...
on August 29, 1768. Therese provided Rousseau with support and care, and when he died, she was the sole inheritor of his belongings, including manuscripts and royalties.
After Rousseau's death in 1778, she married Jean-Henri Bally, a valet of
René de Girardin
René Louis de Girardin (25 February 1735 – 1808), Marquis of Vauvray, was Jean-Jacques Rousseau's last pupil. He created the first French landscape garden at Ermenonville. It was inspired by Rousseau's ideas. De Girardin was the author ...
, in November 1779. They lived together in
Le Plessis-Belleville
Le Plessis-Belleville () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France.
See also
* Communes of the Oise department
The following is a list of the 679 communes of the Oise department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following ...
until her death in 1801.
References
* Jean-Daniel Candaux, ''Thérèse Levasseur ou les avatars d'une image (1762-1789)''. In: Cahiers Isabelle de Charrière/Belle de Zuylen Papers 7, 2012 p. 99-108.
* Giovanni Incorvati, ''Translations dissymétriques: crimes et droits d’un couple dans la ''Correspondance'' de Rousseau'', in : Jacques Berchtold and Yannick Séité (eds.), ''Lire la correspondance de Rousseau'', Droz, Genève 2007 (''Annales de la Société Jean-Jacques Rousseau'', XLVII), p. 75-123.
* Guyot, Charly, ''Plaidoyer pour Thérèse Levasseur'' (Neufchâtel: Ides et Calendes, 1962).
Therese Levasseur, Rousseau's companion for 33 yearsMount Lavasseur
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levasseur, Therese
1721 births
1801 deaths
People from Orléans
Jean-Jacques Rousseau