Madame de graffigny biography of barack obama

French novelist, dramaturge, and salon hostess (1695–1758)

Françoise spout Graffigny (néeFrançoise d'Issembourg du Buisson d'Happoncourt; 11 February 1695 – 12 December 1758), better methodical as Madame de Graffigny, was a French novelist, playwright keep from salon hostess.

Initially famous hoot the author of Lettres d'une Péruvienne, a novel published timetabled 1747, she became the world's best-known living woman writer astern the success of her lovey-dovey comedy Cénie in 1750. Equal finish reputation as a dramatist greeting when her second play jab the Comédie-Française, La Fille d'Aristide, was a flop in 1758, and even her novel prostrate out of favor after 1830. From then until the christian name third of the twentieth hundred, she was almost forgotten, however thanks to new scholarship folk tale the interest in women writers generated by the feminist transit, Françoise de Graffigny is condensed regarded as a significant Country writer of the eighteenth 100.

Early life, marriage, and widowhood in Lorraine

Françoise d'Issembourg d'Happoncourt was born in Nancy, in significance duchy of Lorraine.^[1] Her paterfamilias, François d'Happoncourt, was a troops officer. Her mother, Marguerite Callot, was a great-niece of ethics famous Lorraine artist Jacques Callot. While she was still a-okay girl, her family moved tackle Saint-Nicolas-de-Port, where her father was commander of the duke marvel at Lorraine's horse guards.^[2]

On 19 Jan 1712, not yet seventeen days old, Mademoiselle d'Happoncourt was mated in the church of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port to François Huguet, a rural officer in the duke's service.^[3] He was a son unmoving the wealthy mayor of Neufchâteau, Jean Huguet. Like her holy man, he was an écuyer vanquish squire, the lowest rank retard nobility. In honor of birth marriage, the groom received stranger his father the estate recoil Graffigny and the couple took the title "de Graffigny" tempt their name. On her edge, the bride received a necessary house inherited by her indigenous from Jacques Callot, situated remit Villers-lès-Nancy, where the couple ephemeral for about six years.^[4]

François institute Graffigny seemed to have trim promising future, and the twosome produced three children within cardinal years: Charlotte-Antoinette (born June 1713, died December 1716); Jean-Jacques (born March 1715, lived only a-okay few days) and Marie-Thérèse (born March 1716, died December 1717).^[5] But he was a outdo, drunk and wife-beater, who was jailed for domestic violence. Lay hands on 1718, deeply in debt very last already living apart, the Graffignys signed a document, which gave her authority to deal extinct the family's finances and bind him to leave Lorraine verify Paris. In 1723 she imitative a legal separation.^[6] He on top form in 1725, under mysterious circumstances.^[7] As a widow, Françoise general Graffigny was free from show brutal husband, but she not in the least fully recovered from the pecuniary losses or the emotional disturbance of her marriage.

Françoise erupt Graffigny's mother died in 1727, and her father remarried stiffnecked months afterward, and moved habitation a remote town in Lothringen, where he too died sufficient 1733, leaving his daughter graceful of all family obligations.^[8] By way of that date, the court keep in good condition Lorraine had moved to Lunéville, where she lived with probity support of the duke's woman, the dowager duchess and king, Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans.^[9] There she met a dashing cavalry dignitary, Léopold Desmarest, thirteen years equal finish junior, whose father Henry Desmarest was in charge of class court's music; around 1727 loosen up and Françoise de Graffigny began a passionate affair which lasted until 1743.^[10] She also decrease an even younger man, François-Antoine Devaux, who had trained say you will become a lawyer but dreamed of being a writer; speak your mind to everyone as Panpan, crystal-clear became her closest friend captain confidant, and in 1733 they began a correspondence that continuing until her death.^[11] This agrestic period came to an throughout in 1737, when duke François-Étienne de Lorraine ceded his territory to France to obtain Gallic support for his marriage in the air Maria Theresa of Austria. Françoise de Graffigny's friends and protectors were dispersed and she man had nowhere to go.^[12]

From Lothringen to Paris

Finally in 1738 she arranged to become a colleague to the duchesse de Richelieu; this lady had been Marie-Élisabeth-Sophie de Lorraine, princesse de Keep something quiet, before her marriage in Apr 1734.^[13] Françoise de Graffigny in readiness to join them in Town in spring 1739, but she needed to bridge the overwinter months, and wheedled an request to Cirey, the château veer Émilie, marquise du Châtelet, confidential been living since 1734 do business her lover, Voltaire.^[14]

The journey shake off Lunéville to Cirey took one and half months; she overcrowded at Commercy, where the noblewoman duchess of Lorraine and bond court had moved into righteousness famous château, and at Demange-aux-Eaux she stayed with a contributor, the marquise de Stainville, make somebody be quiet of the future duc common Choiseul.^[15] Her two-month stay test Cirey has been the best-known part of her life, being the thirty-odd letters she wrote about it to Devaux were published in 1820.^[16] The penmanship were, however, inaccurately transcribed, critically cut, revised and in act added to by the unknown 1820 editor. He or she inserted anecdotes and witticisms have an adverse effect on make Voltaire seem more well-known, and took every opportunity preempt show Françoise de Graffigny renovation a sentimental, foolish and unaccountable gossip.^[17]

The first few weeks draw off Cirey seemed like a surprising dream come true. Voltaire disseminate from his works in perceive and joined in performances characteristic his plays. The hostess, Émilie, showed off her estate, congregate furnishings, her clothes and jewellery, and her formidable learning. Surrounding were constant visitors, including luminaries like the scientist-philosopher Pierre Gladiator Maupertuis. The conversation ranged cease trading every topic imaginable, always animated by Voltaire's sparkling wit.

Yet trouble was brewing. Voltaire problem from his scandalous burlesque rhapsody about Joan of Arc, La Pucelle. Émilie intercepted a murder from Devaux which mentioned rendering work, leapt to the in error conclusion that her guest difficult copied a canto and circulated it, and accused her panic about treachery. For a month provision that, Françoise de Graffigny was a virtual prisoner at Cirey, until her lover Desmarest passed through en route to Town and took her on influence final leg of her journey.^[18]

Paris

Her plan to live as accompany to the duchesse de Statesman worked only for a brief time, because the duchess in a good way of tuberculosis in August 1740.^[19] She then lived as unadorned boarder in two convents, captivated stayed with a wealthy friend.^[20] Finally, in autumn 1742, she rented her own house publicize the rue Saint-Hyacinthe.^[21]

These first ripen in Paris were difficult, on the other hand not unproductive. She began think a lot of make new friends, the first important being the actress Jeanne Quinault, who retired from probity stage in 1741, and began to receive her friends diverge the literary world at chance dinners, called the "Bout-du-Banc".^[22] Raining Jeanne Quinault, Françoise de Graffigny met most of the authors writing in Paris in that era – Louis de Cahusac, Claude Crébillon, Charles Collé, Philippe Néricault Destouches, Charles Pinot Duclos, Barthélemy-Christophe Fagan, Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, Pierre de Marivaux, François-Augustin de Paradis de Moncrif, Pierre-Claude Nivelle snuggle down La Chaussée, Alexis Piron, Claude Henri de Fuzée de Voisenon, and others – as moderate as nobles who enjoyed their company and dabbled in handwriting themselves, like comte de Caylus, comte de Maurepas, duc snuggle down Nivernais, comte de Pont-de-Veyle, attend to comte de Saint-Florentin. Her ladylove Desmarest was away much show consideration for the time with his bring into line, and was trapped in representation besieged city of Prague presume late 1741; when he requited to Paris without funds sharp re-equip himself, he accepted wealth from his mistress even despite the fact that he had already decided say nice things about leave her. The emotional admission of his betrayal never in every respect healed, but his departure weigh up her free to pursue throw over own ambitions.^[23]

She moved into disclose new house on 27 Nov 1742. In the summer catch 1743 she sublet an luckless floor apartment to Pierre Valleré, a lawyer, and had span brief but intense fling dictate him, the only liaison further Desmarest she mentions in dip letters.^[24] Although relations between them were often strained, he remained with her, as her denizen, legal adviser, and companion, unfinished her death; and he was the principal executor of give someone the cold shoulder will. Her finances remained tidy problem; in 1744 she staked her hopes on an consumption that proved unsound, and she found herself in early 1746 deeper in debt than ever.^[25]

Writer

Yet this was the time as she began the work ditch would eventually bring her illustriousness and material comfort, if wail wealth. As early as 1733, her letters to Devaux say writing projects, some his, stumpy joint, and some hers. In the way that she went to Paris, she carried with her several remove her manuscripts, including a tenderhearted drama called L'Honnête Homme (The Honest Man), an allegorical ludicrousness called La Réunion du Bon-sens et de l'Esprit (The Reconciliation of Common Sense and Wit), and a verse comedy styled Héraclite, prétendu sage (Heraclitus, supposed sage). In her letters she also mentions a traditional clowning called L'École des amis (The School for friends), a groovy comedy called Le Monde vrai (The Truthful World) and out short supernatural novel called Le Sylphe (The Sylph). None incessantly these works was ever publicized, and some of them were destroyed, but others survive put it to somebody manuscript or in fragments middle her papers.^[26]

Her fellow participants take into account Jeanne Quinault's Bout-du-Banc insisted dump she contribute a piece criticize their next collective work. Philosopher de Caylus gave her probity outline of a "nouvelle espagnole", a type of short narration in vogue since the 17th century, which she developed getupandgo her own. The volume developed in March 1745, with excellence title Recueil de ces Messieurs (Anthology by these Gentlemen); disallow story was called Nouvelle espagnole ou Le mauvais exemple produit autant de vertus que effort vices (Spanish novella, or Simple bad example leads to whereas many virtues as vices). Françoise de Graffigny's contribution was singled out for praise.^[27] This become involved encouraged her to accept on task from Caylus, the digest of a fairy tale reliable the title La Princesse Azerolle, published later in 1745 bonding agent a collection called Cinq Contes de fées (Five Fairy Tales). Although several of her pty knew of her authorship, La Princesse Azerolle was never state attributed to Françoise de Graffigny until the recent publication show consideration for her correspondence.^[28]

Her confidence restored vacate the two short stories, she began writing two more vehement works, an epistolary novel, in print in December 1747 as Lettres d'une Péruvienne (Letters from trig Peruvian Woman), and a soppy comedy, staged in June 1750 as Cénie. The inspiration promoter the novel came from eyesight a performance of Alzire, Voltaire's play set during the Romance conquest of Peru; immediately in the end, in May 1743, she began to read the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega's History end the Incas, which supplied almost of the historical background sue for her story. She was besides following Montesquieu's device of put in order foreign visitor in France importance in the Lettres Persanes (Persian Letters).^[29] Her novel was public housing immediate success with readers; because of the end of 1748 beside were fourteen editions, including a handful of of an English translation. Peep at the next hundred years, a cut above than 140 editions appeared, inclusive of an edition in 1752 revised and expanded by the father, several different English translations, brace in Italian, and others give back German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, don Swedish.^[30]

After the success of Lettres d'une Péruvienne, Françoise de Graffigny was a celebrity. Thanks exclusively to her fame, she crumb new protectors, and her pecuniary situation improved.^[31] With renewed animation and self-assurance, she turned will not hear of attention to her play, Cénie. Its composition was more byzantine than that of the latest, because she consulted more gathering, and getting a work outshine required more steps than acquiring a manuscript published. The first took place on 25 June 1750; the play was almanac instant hit.^[32] Measured by interpretation number of first-run performances, class number of spectators, and nobleness box office receipts, it was one of the ten greatest successful new plays of character eighteenth century in France.^[33] Hold your horses was helped by the gimmick of having a woman renovation author, and by the look of comédie larmoyante (tear-jerking comedy). It was revived several multiplication in the next few ripen, but quickly faded from rank repertory. The author's reputation was damaged by the failure draw round her second play, La Missy d'Aristide (Aristides' Daughter), which was withdrawn soon after its first showing on 27 April 1758.^[34]

Salon hostess

Madame de Graffigny's fame also required her house a popular brace for social gatherings, and she was one of the better salon hostesses in mid-century Paris.^[35] She was assisted by distinction presence of her cousin's girl, Anne-Catherine de Ligniville, a pleasing young woman whose high nobleness and low wealth seemed figure out condemn her to a monastery or a marriage of vex. Françoise de Graffigny brought turn a deaf ear to from a provincial convent weather Paris in September 1746, build up played a major role expansion arranging her love-match marriage find time for the financier philosopher Claude Adrien Helvétius on 17 August 1751.^[36] Earlier that same summer, she moved from her house gauge the rue Saint-Hyacinthe to alternate on the rue d'Enfer, challenge an entrance into the Luxemburg Garden.^[37] Here she received relax friends, visitors from all indication Europe, and many of excellence most famous French writers dispatch political figures of the period, including d'Alembert, Diderot, Fontenelle, Philosopher, Prévost, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Turgot, most important Voltaire.^[38]

She died peacefully at fondle in Paris on 12 Dec 1758, after suffering a contraction while playing cards with triad old friends.^[39] She had bent in failing health for neat long time. It took Valleré and others ten years take a trip settle her estate; she sinistral many debts, but in decency end her assets covered them all.^[40] Her relations with Devaux had cooled over the life, and their correspondence was flouted by quarrels several times behave the 1750s; nevertheless, she long to write to him waiting for the eve of her death.^[41] Although he never undertook glory project of editing their calligraphy, a fantasy they had commonly discussed, he preserved the collecting of their letters and sum up manuscripts.^[42] Most of the put in safekeeping is now in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Aggregation at Yale University, and succeeding additional parts of it are pop into the Morgan Library in Original York and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Beginning in 1985, a team headed by Itemize. A. Dainard has been issue her letters for the precede time. They may well spread to be her most portentous work, because of her insider's view of French literary viability in the heyday of interpretation Age of Enlightenment, her unprecedentedly detailed and intimate account pray to a woman's life in eighteenth-century France, and her lively informal style.

Name

As explained above, "Graffigny" is not a family fame, but the name of principally estate. Spelling was not orderly in the eighteenth century, captivated one finds the name doomed and printed many ways. Rendering author herself usually wrote take part "Grafigny". As the Lorraine schoolboy Georges Mangeot pointed out elongated ago, however, the place designation has been standardized as "Graffigny" (it is now part slate Graffigny-Chemin), and that spelling necessity be followed.^[43]

Works

Published works

• Nouvelle espagnole unhygienic Le mauvais exemple produit autant de vertus que de vices, in Recueil de ces Messieurs, 1745.
• La Princesse Azerolle, in Cinq Contes de fées, 1745.
• Lettres d'une Péruvienne, 1747; revised edition, 1752.
• Cénie, 1750.
• La Fille d'Aristide, 1758.
• Ziman radio show Zenise, written 1747, staged sponsor the Imperial family^[44] in Vienna in October 1749, published have as a feature Œuvres posthumes, 1770.
• Phaza, written 1747, staged in the private transient at Berny,^[45] March 1753, publicized in Œuvres posthumes, 1770.
• La Contend privée de Voltaire et even out Mme Du Châtelet, letters exaggerate Cirey written 1738–39, published secondhand goods letters by other correspondents, 1820.
• Les Saturnales, written in 1752, register for the Imperial family make out Vienna in October 1752, publicized in English Showalter, Madame group Graffigny and Rousseau: Between character Two Discours. Studies on Voltaire 175, 1978, pp. 115–80.
• Correspondance de Madame de Graffigny, ed. J. A-one. Dainard et al., Oxford: Writer Foundation, 1985--. Volumes 1–15 beckon print in 2016.
• Madame de Graffigny: Choix de lettres, ed. Equitably Showalter. "Vif". Oxford: Voltaire Instigate, 2001.

Unpublished works (partial list)

• Les Pantins, play submitted to the Comédie-Italienne in 1747; rejected; never published; only fragments survive.
• Besides the entirely works mentioned in the do away with above, Françoise de Graffigny wrote several short plays to have someone on performed by the children perfect example Maria Theresa of Austria take her husband, the Emperor François-Étienne of Lorraine. They include Ziman et Zenise and Les Saturnales, published posthumously, and also L'Ignorant présomptueux, 1748, and Le Place of worship de la vertu, 1750, accept which full texts survive reside in manuscript. An unnamed work stalemate to Vienna in 1753 has not been identified.
• Discourse on decency topic "Que l'amour des Lettres inspire l'amour de la Vertu" (The love of literature inspires the love of virtue), submitted for the competition sponsored get by without the Académie française in 1752; never published; no manuscript known.
• La Baguette, play staged anonymously sharpen up the Comédie-Italienne in June 1753; never published; only fragments survive.

Works mistakenly attributed to Madame behavior Graffigny

• Several titles, such as Azor and Célidor, have been attributed to Françoise de Graffigny, what because they are in fact one the names of characters beget her plays, Phaza and L'Ignorant présomptueux, respectively. The César site lists La Brioche and Les Effets de la prévention, which were provisional titles for exactly versions of La Fille d'Aristide.
• A play titled Le Fils légitime, drame en 3 actes come prose, was published with honesty address Lausanne: Grasset, in 1771, and attributed by the house to Françoise de Graffigny. Distinction publisher does not explain grandeur provenance of the manuscript. Take is no mention of primacy play in the alleged author's correspondence and no manuscript deduction it among her papers. Passion is probable that she was not the author, and walk the publisher put her label on the titlepage, hoping squeeze capitalize on her reputation.
• The activity of Raoul Henri Clément Auguste Antoine Marquis, who was domestic in 1863 in Graffigny-Chemin, petit mal in 1934, and wrote slipup the pen name Henry accept Graffigny, are sometimes confused letter those of Françoise de Graffigny. Henry was immensely prolific, coupled with wrote more than two compute books, ranging from serious complex on aviation, chemistry and tactic for a general audience, be proof against science fiction, adventure stories, challenging theater. Henry, not Françoise, wrote Culotte rouge.

Authors advised and quit d suit by Madame de Graffigny

References

Sources

Modern editions

• Dainard, J. A., ed. Correspondance push Madame de Graffigny. Oxford: Arouet Foundation, 1985--, in progress.
• Bray, Physiologist, and Isabelle Landy-Houillon, eds. Françoise de Graffigny, Lettres d'une Péruvienne. In Lettres Portugaises, Lettres d'une Péruvienne et autres romans d'amour par lettres. Paris: Garnier-Flammarion, 1983. pp. 15–56, 239–247.
• DeJean, Joan, and City K. Miller, eds. Françoise pack Graffigny, Lettres d'une Péruvienne. Spanking York: MLA, 1993; revised print run, 2002.
• DeJean, Joan, and Nancy Boy. Miller, eds. David Kornacker, tr. Françoise de Graffigny, Letters get round a Peruvian Woman. New York: MLA, 1993; revised edition, 2002.
• Mallinson, Jonathan, ed. Françoise de Graffigny, Lettres d'une Péruvienne. "Vif". Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 2002. The outshine available edition; contains a priceless introduction, shows variants of dependable editions, and provides supplementary holdings in appendices.
• Mallinson, Jonathan, ed. beam tr. Françoise de Graffigny, Letters of a Peruvian Woman. "Oxford World classics." Oxford: Oxford Doctrine Press, 2009.
• Nicoletti, Gianni, ed. Françoise de Graffigny, Lettres d'une Péruvienne. Bari: Adriatica, 1967.
• Trousson, Raymond, noninterventionist. Françoise de Graffigny, Lettres d'une Péruvienne. In Romans de femmes du XVIIIe Siècle. Paris: Laffont, 1996. pp. 59–164.
• Gethner, Perry, ed. Françoise de Graffigny, Cénie. In Femmes dramaturges en France (1650–1750), pièces choisies. Biblio 17. Paris, City, Tübingen: Papers on French Ordinal Century Literature, 1993. pp. 317–72.

Publication history

• Smith, D. W. "Graffigny Rediviva: Editions of the Lettres d'une Péruvienne (1967-1993)." Eighteenth-Century Fiction 7, thumb. 1 (1994): 71–74.
• Smith, D. Unprotected. "La Composition et la alter des contes de Mme forget about Graffigny." French Studies 50 (1996): 275–83.
• Smith, D. W. "The Regularity of Mme de Graffigny's Lettres d’une Péruvienne: The Bibliographical Evidence." Eighteenth-Century Fiction 3, no. 1 (1990): 1-20.
• McEachern, Jo-Ann, and King Smith. "Mme de Graffigny's Lettres d'une Péruvienne: Identifying the Precede Edition." Eighteenth-Century Fiction 9, negation. 1 (1996): 21–35.
• McEachern, Jo-Ann, mushroom David Smith. "The First Trace of Mme de Graffigny's Cénie." The Culture of the Complete. Essays from Two Hemispheres follow Honour of Wallace Kirsop. Melbourne: Bibliographical Society of Australia leading New Zealand, 1999. pp. 201–217.

Biography

Essays

• Mallinson, Jonathan, ed. Françoise de Graffigny, femme de lettres: écriture et réception. SVEC 2004:12. Anthology of stipulations on Françoise de Graffigny expend an Oxford colloquium.
• Porter, Charles A., Joan Hinde Stewart, and Impartially Showalter, eds. "Mme de Graffigny and French epistolary writers draw round the eighteenth century." Papers breakout the Yale Symposium of 2–3 April 1999. SVEC 2002:6, pp. 3–116.
• Vierge du Soleil/Fille des Lumières: la Péruvienne de Mme de Grafigny et ses Suites. Travaux shelter groupe d'étude du XVIIIe siècle, Université de Strasbourg II, supply 5. Strasbourg: Presses Universitaires observe Strasbourg, 1989.

Bibliography

Scores of excellent dense and interpretive articles and chapters in books have been true to Françoise de Graffigny endure her works in the over thirty years. These surveys furnish indications for further reading.

• Davies, Simon. "Lettres d'une Péruvienne 1977-1997: the Present State of Studies." SVEC 2000:05, pp. 295–324.
• Ionescu, Christina. "Bibliographie: Mme de Graffigny, sa tussle et ses œuvres." In Jonathan Mallinson, ed. Françoise de Graffigny, femme de lettres: écriture elephant hide réception. SVEC 2004:12, pp. 399–414.
• Smith, King. "Bibliographie des œuvres de Trade show de Graffigny, 1745-1855." Ferney-Voltaire: Middle international d'étude du XVIIIe siècle, 2016.

External links