Francine Descartes (19 July 1635,

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, ...

– 7 September 1640,

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

) was

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Ma ...

's daughter. Francine was the daughter of Helena Jans van der Strom,Jeroen van de Ven,
Quelques données nouvelles sur Helena Jans
', ''Bulletin Cartésien'' XXXI, Centre d’Études Cartésiennes, 2003. a domestic servant of Thomas Sergeant — a bookshop owner and associate of Descartes at whose house in Amsterdam Descartes lodged on 15 October 1634. When Descartes moved back from Amsterdam to Deventer the following winter, Helena went with him. Although Francine was referred to as an

illegitimate child Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ...

, her

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

in Deventer on 7 August 1635, was recorded among the legitimate births. Helena officially remained Descartes' servant, and René referred to Francine as his niece, but both were included in his life. In 1640 Descartes wrote that he would bring his daughter to France to learn the language and be educated,Russell Shorto, ''Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason'' (New York: Random House, 14 October 2008). but before that could happen, Francine died of

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by '' Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects chi ...

at the age of five.

Russell Shorto Russell Anthony Shorto (born February 8, 1959) is an American author, historian, and journalist who is best known for his book on the Dutch origins of New York City, '' The Island at the Center of the World''. Shorto's research for the book rel ...

postulated that the experience of fatherhood and losing a child formed a turning point in Descartes' work, changing its focus from medicine to a quest for universal answers. Helena was the only woman with whom Descartes is known to have been intimate and she and Descartes appear to have remained close after Francine's death. Helena may have moved with Descartes to his next addresses — including in 1643 to

Egmond-Binnen Egmond-Binnen () is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about southwest of Alkmaar. History The village was first mentioned in 922 as Ekmunde. The etymology is unknown. The mis ...

— where in 1644 she married the local innkeeper Jan Jansz van Wel. Notary acts discovered by Jeroen van de Ven show that Descartes provided the 1000-

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' " gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Emp ...

dowry for this wedding. Descartes himself would remain in Egmond-Binnen until 1649, the longest period he ever stayed at any residence. Francine had four half brothers through her mother, Helena: * Justinus Jansz van Wel, son of Jan Jansz van Wel, Helena's first husband, * Jan van Lienen, * Wouter van Lienen and * Willem van Lienen from Helena's second husband, Jacob van Lienen. After Francine's death, René Descartes is said to have constructed an

automaton An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...

in her likeness.

References

Sources

Descartes' Life and Works

{{DEFAULTSORT:Descartes, Francine 1635 births 1640 deaths 17th-century Dutch women Deaths from streptococcus infection Dutch people of French descent People from Deventer René Descartes Child deaths