THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY: WOMAN AT HER BEST
In the seventeenth century, the influence exerted by the women of
France, departing from the political aspect which had characterized it
in the preceding century, became of a social, literary, religious,
and moral nature, the last predominating. Inasmuch as the reins of
government were in the hands of the king and his ministers, political
affairs were but slightly affected by the feminine element. Woman,
realizing the uselessness as well as danger of plotting against
the inviolate person and power of the king, contented herself with
scheming against those ministers whose attitudes she considered
unfavorable to her plans.
Of all social and literary movements, however, woman was the
acknowledged leader; in that institution of culture and development,
the seventeenth century salon, her undisputed supremacy placed her in
the position of patroness and protectress of men of letters. In the
general religious movement her role was one of secondary importance;
and as mistress, she ceased with the sixteenth century to be either
active politically or disastrous morally and became merely a temporary
recipient of capriciously bestowed wealth and favors. In order
to fully comprehend woman's position and the exact nature of her
influence in this century and the following one, the position and
constitution of the nobility before, during and after the ministry of
Richelieu, must be studied.
The great houses of Carolingian origin were those of Alencon,
Bourgogne, Bourbon, Vendome, Kings of Navarre, Counts of Valois,
and Artois; the great gentlemen were the Dukes of Guise, Nemours,
Longueville, Chevreuse, Nevers, Bouillon, Rohan, Montmorency, and,
later, Luxembourg, Mortemart, Crequi, Noailles; names which are
constantly met with in French history. Before the time of Louis XIV.,
men of such rank, when dissatisfied or discontented, might leave
court at their will and were requested to return; but with Louis XIV.,
departure from court was considered a disgrace, and offending parties
were permitted, not asked, to return.
Outside the army, there was open to the princes of the nobility no
occupation in which they might expend their surplus energy; thus,
being free from the burden of taxes, it was but natural that they
should seek amusement in literature, society, and intrigue. The honor
of their respective houses and the fear of being damned in the next
world were their only sources of deep concern; other than these, they
assumed no responsibilities, desiring absolute freedom from care.
Legal, judicial, and ecclesiastical offices were open to them but were
little favored except as convenient means of obtaining revenues
and positions otherwise not procurable. The first requisites toward
advancement were bravery and skill, not learning; the majority of
the members of the nobility much preferred buying a regiment to being
president of a tribunal, and their primary ambition was to acquire a
reputation for magnificence, heroism, and gallantry. They fought for
glory, to show their skill and courage; the sentiment of patriotism
was but weakly developed, and war was indulged in merely for the sake
of fighting, passing the time, and being occupied. As in the preceding
century, death was but little feared; in fact, the scorn of it was
carried to the extreme. "The French went to death as though they were
to be resuscitated on the morrow."
That man went to war was not sufficient proof of his bravery; in
addition, he must, upon the smallest pretext, draw his sword, must
fight constantly, and especially with adversaries better armed and
larger in force; the love of woman was for such men only. Adventure
was the fad: it is said of one seigneur that he took pleasure in going
every night to a certain corner and, from pure malice, striking with
his sword the first person who chanced that way; this unique pastime
he continued until he himself was killed.
Marriage, until the eighteenth century, was not a union of affection,
but merely an alliance between two families and in the interest of
both; women, to preserve their identity after marriage, signed their
family names. As maturity was reached at the age of twelve, marriage
meant simply cohabitation. Until the Revolution, free marriages, or
liaisons, were recognized as natural if not legitimate institutions,
and the offspring of such unions, who were said to be more numerous
than legitimate children, were legitimatized and became heirs simply
through recognition by the father. (At first, princes were unwilling
to accept, as wives, the natural daughters of kings; however, the Duke
of Orleans and the Prince of Conti married the natural daughters
of Louis XIV.) As a rule, titles could not be transmitted through
females; when a woman married beneath her rank she lost her titles,
but they were given to her children.
In the seventeenth century, woman's influence was of a nature vastly
superior to that exerted by her in the sixteenth century, in that it
rendered sacred both her and her honor; but, in spite of the refining
restraint of the salon, brutality was still the main characteristic
of man. To express beautiful sentiments in the midst of jealousies,
rivalries, adventures, complaints, and despair, was the _savoir-vivre_
of the Catherine de' Medici type of elegance brought from Italy in the
sixteenth century. This caused the extremes of external fastidiousness
and internal grossness to be embodied in the same individual; in the
eighteenth century, man was, inwardly as well as outwardly, refined,
mild, kind, a friend of pleasure; and therein lies the fundamental
difference between the _honnete homme_ of Louis XIV. and the _homme
du monde_ of Louis XV. The seventeenth century type of man is midway
between that of the sixteenth and eighteenth--more polished and less
gross than the former, yet lacking the knowledge and culture of the
latter.
When in the seventeenth century the two all-powerful forces, brute
force and money, of the preceding century were replaced by those of
money and the pen, the decay of the impoverished and unintellectual
nobility became but a question of time. The day when great gentlemen
might scorn men of letters and learning was rapidly passing; with
the French Academy arose a new spirit, a fresh impulse was given to
intellectual attainments. Although treated as inferiors, the literary
men of the seventeenth century spoke of the aristocracy in a spirit
of raillery, but slightly veiled with respect; and the nobility while
remaining, in its way, courageous and glorious, lost its prestige,
force, and influence.
In the seventeenth century, money acquired a certain purchasing value
which procured advantages and luxuries impossible in the preceding
period when the brave man was worth infinitely more than the rich
who, scorned and considered as a rapacious Jew, was isolated and in
constant fear of being robbed or killed. As the number of government
officials increased, individual fortunes grew; men became enormously
wealthy through the various offices bought by them or given to them by
the government. The financier was a king and many marriages of princes
and dukes with daughters of men of wealth are recorded. Women of
station, however, seldom married beneath their rank, because they
lost their titles by so doing, and titles were still the only road
to social success. As a rule, titles could not be transmitted through
females; when a woman made a misalliance her titles were given to her
children. Almost all rich men of the period, from the time of Louis
XIII. to the Revolution, became nobles, as almost every brave man was
made a knight up to the seventeenth century. It was possible for
the wealthy to buy a marquisate or baronetage and give it to their
children; a grand-marshal of France was no longer so powerful as a
rich banker.
The complete change, under Louis XIV., of the customs of the time,
caused numberless petty jealousies, scandals, and intrigues in the
aristocracy, which could no longer maintain its old form and yet had
to be considered by the government. The question of reform arose--how
to restrict the number of nobles, which increased every year. Rank
was bestowed for service and, sometimes, even for wealth; the old
families, being poor, had no distinctive prestige except that given by
their privileges at court; their titles no longer distinguished them
from the newcomers, whom they gradually began to disdain, and the
result was a general lowering of the standing, importance, and
influence of nobility. Another party which gained prominence was that
of the bench; the judges, as interpreters of the king's laws, became
powerful, for law was absolute. A deadly rivalry sprang up between the
parties of rank with no money or power and of power and money without
rank.
The desire of every man of rank to be independent, to be a force in
himself instead of a part of a unit which might be useful to the
state as a whole, was one of the principal defects of the French
aristocracy; poverty crushed it, idleness robbed it of its alertness,
intriguing and gradual oppression reduced it to despair. Appointed to
offices, its members failed in the performance of their duties; the
latter fell to the under men who, while the aristocracy was busy at
fetes, in society, at the table, became experts in the affairs of the
government--shrewd politicians and financiers. The new nobility,
that of the robe, replaced that of the sword in all interests of the
government except war; gradually, Parliament was made up of men who,
having been elevated to the rank of nobility, retained their aversion
to those who were noble by birth, recognizing only the king as their
superior and refusing precedence to even the princes of the blood.
Louis XIV., however, objecting to and fearing such a strong class as
that of the robe, employed, wherever possible, people of lower rank.
Thus it happened in the seventeenth century that the still powerful
nobility of higher rank was scorned and kept down; but in the
eighteenth century, when the gentlemen of the robe had become
all-powerful and therefore constituted a dangerous party, it was they
who became the objects of scorn and persecution, while the aristocrats
of blood, the gentlemen of the court, recovered the royal favors
through their political powerlessness.
French aristocracy really had no object, no _raison d'etre_, after
its disappearance from all governmental functions; it became an
encumbrance to the state; having no particular part to play, it did
nothing; this is one of the causes of its dissolution and of the
Revolution as well. Thus France gradually passed from inequality of
classes under the sanction of custom to equality of classes before
the law: this change in the condition and constitution of the French
nobility accounts for many intrigues and scandals and explains the
social and moral actions of French women, as well as the difference
in the nature of their activities in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.
The seventeenth was, _par excellence_, the century which can boast
of that incomparable society the cult of which was the highest in all
things--art, religion, philosophy, poetry, politics, war, and beauty.
From the convent of the Carmelites to the Hotel de Rambouillet, from
the Place Royale to the various chateaux and salons, we must seek only
that which is elevating and spiritual, beautiful and religious. In
the famous society which kept pace with the political reputation
and influence of France is found a coterie of women who combined
remarkable beauty and intelligence with a high moral standard, and
whose names are intimately connected with the history of France.
Where again can we find such a galaxy of beauties as that formed by
Charlotte de Montmorency, Mme. de Chevreuse, Mme. de Hautefort, Mme.
de Montbazon, Mme. de Guemene, Mme. de Chatillon, Mme. de Longueville,
Marie de Gonzague, Henriette de la Valliere, Mme. de Montespan, Mme.
de Maintenon, without enumerating such great writers and leaders of
salons as Mme. de Rambouillet, Mlle. de Scudery, Mme. de Lambert,
Mme. de Sevigne, and Mme. de la Fayette? The seventeenth century
could tolerate no mediocrity; grandeur was in the very atmosphere;
its political movements were great movements; it produced in art
a Poussin, in letters a Corneille, in science and philosophy a
Descartes.
The various movements of which woman was the head may be divided into
two periods, and each period into two parts. The political women may
well be grouped about Marie de' Medici,--whose career will not be
given separate treatment, inasmuch as there was no drop of French
blood in her veins,--and the social and literary women about Mme.
de Rambouillet and her salon. In the latter half of the seventeenth
century and at the beginning of the eighteenth, politics are
represented by Mme. de Montespan--the mistress--and Mme. de
Maintenon--the wife; social life and literature have their purest
representative in Mme. de Lambert. The two queens of the seventeenth
century, Anne of Austria and Maria Theresa, were without influence;
the religious movement was represented by the galaxy of women of whom
we write in a later chapter.
After the death of Henry IV., Marie de' Medici succeeded in having
herself made queen-regent for Louis XIII., who was then but nine years
old. A woman of no particular capacity, who had in no way adapted
herself to French life and customs, she allowed herself to be governed
by an adventurer, an Italian who understood and appreciated French
ideals no more than did Marie; these two--the queen and Concini, her
minister--immediately began to concoct plans to gain control of the
state. The king was kept in virtual captivity until he reached the age
of seventeen, when, having asserted his rights, Concini was killed,
and Marie's dominant power and influence came to an abrupt end.
Louis XIII. reigned, with his minister, the Prince de Luynes, from
1617 to 1624, when he became reconciled to his mother and appointed
her favorite, Richelieu, his minister. From 1610 to about 1640,
Marie de' Medici exercised more or less influence, always of a nature
disastrous to France.
After the king's death, Anne of Austria, as queen-regent, with
Mazarin, directed the destinies of France. During the ministry of the
two cardinals, Richelieu and Mazarin, occurred the political intrigues
and astute diplomatic movements of Mme. de Chevreuse and the unwise
and short-sighted aspirations of Mme. de Longueville. These intimate
friends were women of the highest intelligence, most perfect beauty,
and uncapitulating devotion, and were working for the same cause,
though from different motives.
Mme. de Chevreuse was the daughter of M. de Rohan, Duke of Montbazon.
She had married M. de Luynes, the minister of Louis XIII., who
overthrew the power of Marie de' Medici, and who, by initiating his
wife into his secrets, gave her the schooling and experience which she
later used to such advantage. De Luynes presented her at court
with instructions to ingratiate herself with the queen--Anne of
Austria--and the king. In this design she succeeded so well that she
was soon made superintendent of the household of the queen, and became
as influential with Anne as was her husband with the king.
In 1621 M. de Luynes died; a year later his widow married Claude of
Lorraine, Duke of Chevreuse; but as that was an unhappy union,
she soon began her career as an intriguer. On the arrival of Lord
Kensington, the English ambassador, she fell in love with him, that
escapade being the first of a long series; the two proceeded to
inveigle Queen Anne into a liaison with the Duke of Buckingham, which
scheme, as history so well records, partly succeeded.
When Mme. de Chevreuse accompanied to England the new queen,
Henriette-Marie, wife of Charles I., both Buckingham and Kensington
outdid themselves in showing her attention, Richelieu, fearing her
influence and intrigues at the court of England, hastened the recall
of her husband, but she received through her friends, from the English
monarch himself, an invitation to remain; during the time, she gave
birth to a child.
Her next famous undertaking, which involved the lives of various
persons of high rank, was the scheme to persuade Monsieur the Dauphin
to refuse to marry Mlle. de Montpensier; Queen Anne was opposed to
this union, and Mme. de Chevreuse gained to their cause a number of
influential friends who were all madly in love with her. The ever
vigilant Richelieu having discovered the plot, Monsieur confessed.
In this conspiracy, M. de Chalais lost his head, other plotters lost
their positions, and some were exiled. Mme. de Chevreuse was forced
to retire to Lorraine; there she set in movement a vast plan against
Richelieu and France, allying England and various princes, but, by the
arrest of Montaigu, the plot was discovered, the alliance broken up,
and peace restored.
In 1626, by request of England, Mme. de Chevreuse returned to France.
For a time she was quiet and seemed to favor Richelieu, but she soon
captivated one of his ministers, the Marquis of Chateauneuf.
Richelieu discovered the latter's weakness, and, having captured his
correspondence, sent him to prison, where he remained for ten years.
The fair intriguer was exiled to Dampierre, the cardinal fearing to
send her out of France on account of her influence with the Duke of
Lorraine. She managed to steal into Paris at night and see the
queen; when discovered, she was sent to Touraine where she began the
dangerous task of carrying on the correspondence between the Dukes of
Savoy and Lorraine and England, and between Spain and Queen Anne. Even
when this correspondence was intercepted and the queen confessed all,
Richelieu was afraid to banish Mme. de Chevreuse; though he believed
her to be at the bottom of all the current intrigues, he knew that out
of France she would stir up the rulers of England and Spain as well as
the Duke of Lorraine and others hostile to the cardinal.
Violence being out of the question, because of her influence in
England and of the prominence of her family, he decided to win her
over by kindness; he even sent her money, but she was too shrewd to
permit Richelieu to outwit her, always paying him back in his own
coin. However, that kind of play was too dangerous for her and she
escaped to Spain. As soon as her departure became known, Richelieu
set to work every means in his power to bring her back, sending her an
urgent invitation to return and promising to pardon her past. When his
messages reached her, she was already in Madrid, where she was royally
received as the friend of the king's sister, Anne; there, by means of
her beauty and wonderful intelligence, she conquered every cavalier.
When the war broke out between France and Spain, she left for England
where she was welcomed like a visiting queen.
Richelieu, anxious for the support of the Duke of Lorraine in his
war against Spain and Austria, needed the cooeperation of Mme. de
Chevreuse, and with that end in view sent ambassadors to London
to arrange for her return; but an agreement was not an easy matter
between two such astute politicians, and negotiations went on
unsuccessfully for over a year. Her subtleness, apparent docility
and invincible precautions were pitted against the artifices and
dissimulation of the cardinal; both employed all the astute manoeuvres
of diplomacy and exhausted the resources of consummate skill in
gaining the point desired by each. The cardinal failed to convince her
of her safety.
Mme. de Chevreuse soon formed about her a circle of emigres--Marie de'
Medici, Duc La Vallette, Soubese, La Vieuville, and many others. This
coterie was in open correspondence with Spain, Austria, and the Duke
of Lorraine. From every side, Richelieu felt the intriguing hand
and influence of Mme. de Chevreuse, and decided to put forth another
effort to get her to return, this time sending her husband; but
not sure of the latter's sincerity and in fear of him, the duchess
concluded to leave England for Flanders, and, escorted by a squad of
dukes and lords, departed like a queen.
At Brussels, she entered into open relations with Spain, drawing
over the Duke of Lorraine. She was accused of being in the plot of
Cinq-Mars and the Duke of Bouillon with Spain; when Richelieu exposed
this to Queen Anne, the latter for the first time became her enemy.
Just at this time of his triumph, Richelieu died, his death being
followed soon after by that of Louis XIII., who left a special
order for the exile forever of Mme. de Chevreuse, whom he called _Le
Diable_. The queen-regent, however, recalled her, and set at liberty
her friend, Chateauneuf, who had been imprisoned for ten years.
When Mme. de Chevreuse returned to Paris after an absence of ten
years, her beauty was still unimpaired, she possessed an experience
such as no man of the day could boast, was personally acquainted with
nearly every great statesman and aware of the weak points in every
court of Europe. While she could now count on the support of
the majority of the princes, plots were being formed about the
queen-regent, the object of which was to persuade the latter to give
up the friends who had served her faithfully for so many years. La
Rochefoucauld was sent to meet Mme. de Chevreuse and to inform her of
the change of attitude of the queen-regent; as her devoted friend, he
advised her to abandon, for the present, all hopes of governing the
queen and to devote herself entirely to regaining her favor and to
preparing for the possible fall of Mazarin.
After securing the release of her friend Chateauneuf, Mme. de
Chevreuse set to work to restore him to his former office of Guard
of the Seals, but did not succeed. She then turned her attention to
undermining the power of Mazarin, agitating all emigres returning to
France and starting the most outspoken denunciation of the policy
of the cardinal, his injustice and tyranny against the nobility. The
cries of disapproval became so general that Mazarin was kept busy
warding off the blows aimed at him by his enemy; the latter succeeded
in placing Chateauneuf as _Chancelier des ordres du roi_ and in having
his estates restored to him, while Alexandre de Campion she placed in
the household of the queen. Mazarin, living in constant dread of her,
managed to thwart two of her cherished schemes--the restoration to
the Duke of Vendome of the government of Brittany and the placing of
Chateauneuf in the ministry--upon the success of which depended her
own influence and power.
Finding that ruse, flattery, insinuation, and ordinary court intrigues
were of no avail, she turned to other methods. The Importants, a party
made up of adventurers and a large number of the nobility, were making
themselves felt more and more; they were opposed to Richelieu and
Mazarin, and Mme. de Chevreuse became their chief and instigator.
Failing to succeed with the cardinal's own methods, she decided to
assassinate him, but the plot was discovered, the Duke of Beaufort
was arrested and all the princes of the party of the Importants were
ordered to leave Paris. Mme. de Chevreuse was compelled to depart from
court and retire to Dampierre, and then to Touraine, where she did
everything in her power to assist the friends who had compromised
themselves for her. During her first exile she had had the consolation
of the friendship of the queen; but now she was banished by the very
friend whom she had served so well and who had up to this time been
able and willing to afford her comfort and protection. Through
Lord Goring, Count Craft, and the Commander de Jars, she opened up
correspondence and negotiations with England, but was again surprised
by the vigilant Mazarin and sent to Angouleme; determining to escape,
after many hardships, she successfully reached Liege; from there, as
head of all foreign intrigues against France, she continued to thwart
Mazarin's foreign policy.
As soon as the first signs of the Fronde broke out, Mme. de Chevreuse
became active and succeeded in attracting to her the young Marquis de
Laigues with whom, later on, she contracted a _mariage de conscience_.
As ambassador of the Fronde, she prevailed upon Spain to promise
troops and subsidies to her party. After the peace of 1649, she went
to Paris where she found almost all her friends ready to follow
her and to pay her homage. It was she who conceived the idea of an
aristocratic league which, under the auspices of the two great princes
of the blood, the Duke of Orleans and the Prince of Conde, would unite
the best part of the nobility.
Her plan was to marry her daughter to the Prince de Conti and the
young Duc d'Enghien to one of the daughters of the Duke of Orleans.
The contracts were signed and all was in readiness when Mazarin was
exiled, and the following Frondists came into power: the Duke
of Orleans at court, Conde and Turenne at the head of the army,
Chateauneuf in the Cabinet, Mole in Parliament, while Mme. de
Chevreuse and Mme. de Longueville managed to keep harmony among all.
Queen Anne in a short time annulled the marriage contracts; and on the
return of Mazarin, Mme. de Chevreuse took up her work with him, the
cardinal being wise enough to appreciate the fact that she was a
greater force with than against him.
Strange as it may seem, Mme. de Chevreuse in time became the great
acting and controlling force of royalty, winning over the Duke of
Lorraine and becoming a staunch friend to both the regent and the
cardinal; after the death of the latter, she became all-powerful, and
it may be said that she made Colbert what he was. In the fulness of
her power, she gradually retired, having seen, in turn, the passing
away or the fall of Richelieu, Mazarin, Louis XIII., Anne of Austria,
the Queen of England, Chateauneuf, the Duke of Lorraine, her daughter,
and the Marquis de Laigues. She ceased plotting, renounced politics
and intrigues, and retired to the country, where she died in 1679.
Mme. de Chevreuse was undoubtedly one of the most important political
characters of the seventeenth century, just as she was also one of its
greatest beauties--possibly the most seductive and charming woman of
her epoch. A consummate diplomat and an untiring worker, she was at
the head of more intrigues and plots, had more thrilling adventures,
controlled and ruined more men, than any other woman of her century,
if not of all French history. Thinking little of religion, she was
yet in the very midst of the Catholic party; unswerving in her
friendships, she scorned danger, opinion, fortune, for those whom she
loved or whose cause she espoused; an implacable foe, she was the most
dreaded enemy of both Richelieu and Mazarin.
With a remarkable ability for grasping the details of an antagonist's
position she combined all the other qualities of an astute politician;
thus, upon the desired consummation of her plots she brought to bear
a sagacity, finesse, and energy that baffled all her adversaries. With
her, politics became a passion and a necessity; even while in exile,
her zeal was unflagging and she intrigued over all Europe. Scorning
peril as well as all petty restraints, and characterized by courage,
loyalty, and devotion, she was without an equal among the members of
her sex.
Mme. de Hautefort, while less powerful than Mme. de Chevreuse and of
quite a different type, is associated with her in the history of the
time. Pure, beautiful, and virtuous, she everywhere inspired love and
respect; without political aspirations and seeking neither power nor
favors, she refused to deliver her soul or betray her friends for
Richelieu or Mazarin; she was their enemy, but not their rival.
Because of her desire to serve the queen, of whom she was an intimate
friend, and to further her interests, she was connected with the first
intrigues of Mme. de Chevreuse, but as an innocent and disinterested
party. Louis XIII. conceived an ardent attachment for her, and
Richelieu endeavored to win her over to his policies, but she remained
faithful to her queen and refused to sacrifice her honor to the king.
The cardinal did not rest until he had prevailed upon the king to
exile her, ostensibly for only fifteen days; and as her unselfishness
and generosity had made an impression upon the whole court, her
departure was much regretted, though no demonstration was made. When,
after the king's death, Mme. de Hautefort returned to Paris, she soon
reestablished herself in the affection, admiration, and respect of her
associates.
As Mazarin gained ascendency over Queen Anne, that regent changed her
policy and abandoned her former friends. Mme. de Hautefort was opposed
to the queen on account of her liaison with her minister and her lack
of fidelity to those who, in time of trouble, had served her so well.
As _dame d'atours_, she was forced either to close her eyes to all
scenes between the cardinal and Anne or to combat the regent and
resign. She was not to be tempted by the honors and favors with which
the two sought to purchase her criminal connivance or her silence;
preferring poverty and exile to a guilty conscience, she soon retired
to the convent of the Daughters of Sainte-Marie, where she was
followed by her admirers, who were willing to place themselves and
their fortunes at her disposal. At the age of thirty she accepted
the hand of the Duke of Schomberg, and, away from the court and its
intrigues, lived in peace.
Indifferent to the powerful, but kind and compassionate to the poor
and oppressed, Mme. de Hautefort is a type of those great women of
the seventeenth century who stood for honor, courage, generosity,
sympathy, and virtue; fervently, even austerely, religious, she was
yet far removed from anything resembling bigotry. Among the ladies
of the Hotel de Rambouillet, she was one of the most popular; her
vivacity, modesty, and reserve, combined with a tall figure, imposing
bearing, and large, expressive blue eyes, won the hearts of many
cavaliers, among whom the most prominent were the Dukes of Lorraine
and La Rochefoucauld.
A close second to Mme. de Chevreuse in influence and power, was Mme.
de Longueville, a woman of exquisite and aristocratic beauty, of
brilliant mind, and an adept in the art of conversation. Tender and
kind, but ambitious, she, like many others of her time and sex, had
two distinct periods--one of conquest and one of penitence and pious
devotion.
Born in a prison at Vincennes during the captivity of her father,
the great Henry of Bourbon, Prince of Conde, she in time developed
remarkable personal charms. Her early days were spent at the convent
of the Carmelites and at the Hotel de Rambouillet, her mind--in these
opposite worlds of religion and society--being divided between pious
meditations and romantic dreams. At the time of the execution at
Toulouse of her uncle, M. de Montmorency, she seriously considered
entering the Carmelite convent.
Upon making her social debut, she immediately became one of the
leaders about whom all the gallants gathered. She formed a fast
friendship with Mme. de Sable, Mme. de Rambouillet, Mme. de
Bouteville, and Mlle. du Vigean. Her beauty, which was quite
phenomenal, soon became the subject of poetry. Voltaire wrote:
"De perles, d'astres et de fleurs,
Bourbon, le ciel fit tes couleurs,
Et mit dedans tout ce melange
L'esprit d'un ange!
L'on jugerait par la blancheur
De Bourbon, et par sa fraicheur,
Qu'elle a prit naissance des lis."
[The heaven made thy colors, Bourbon, of pearls, of stars, of flowers,
and to all this mixture added the spirit of an angel. One would judge
by the whiteness and freshness of Bourbon that she was born of the
lilies.]
In 1642, at the age of twenty-three, she was married, against her
will, to M. de Longueville who was, after the princes of the blood,
the greatest seigneur of France; he was old and indifferent, and
enamored of another woman, while she was young and full of hopes,
ambitions, and love. His conduct, being anything but correct,
immediately set the young wife, with her instincts of refinement and
principles and habits of the _precieuses_, against her husband. The
advent of a rival in the person of Mme. de Montbazon, one of the
most noted beauties of the day, made the state of affairs even more
unpleasant, the humiliation being so much keener because it was on
account of her charms that Montbazon was preferred to the wife. The
latter's fate was a cruel one; she could not respect her husband, and,
for her, respect was the only road to love. She continued to live at
the Hotel de Longueville and to attend all court functions, where,
through her beauty, she early became the object of much attention from
the young lords, among whom Coligny seemed to impress her more than
any other.
About this time occurred the deaths of Richelieu and Louis XIII., and
the Importants, flocking to Paris to regain their rights and to share
in the spoils of the new regency, began to make themselves felt. The
leaders expected great favors from Anne of Austria who had been forced
into obedience by the cardinal, but she was a great disappointment to
them. A born lady of leisure, she was only too glad to be relieved
of the arduous duties of government, and this her minister, Mazarin,
quickly proceeded to do; his first object was to crush the influence
of the Importants, who were very powerful in the salons, society, and
politics.
The house of Conde declared in favor of Mazarin, but at first this
did not affect Mme. de Longueville, whose kindness of heart and
indifference to politics and intrigues were generally known. Probably,
she never would have taken a part in the Fronde had it not been for
the rival who had been seeking, by every possible means, to injure her
reputation--a design which Mme. de Montbazon well-nigh accomplished by
declaring that two letters which, at a reception, had fallen from the
pocket of Coligny had been written by Mme. de Longueville. In reality,
they had been written by Mme. de Fouquerolles to the Marquis of
Maulevrier. Mme. la Princesse, mother of Mme. de Longueville demanded
full reparation, threatening that unless it was at once granted the
house of Conde would withdraw from court, and Mazarin managed to
induce the queen to compel Mme. de Montbazon to apologize publicly. It
may be of interest to give, in full, the apology, to show the nature
of court etiquette, hypocrisy, and intrigue of that day. Mme. de
Montbazon called at the hotel of the princess and spoke the following
words, which were written on a paper attached to her fan: "Madame, I
come here to attest that I am innocent of the spitefulness of which
they accuse me, there being no person of honor capable of uttering
such a calumny; and if I had committed such a crime, I would have
submitted to the punishments that the queen would have imposed upon
me, would never have shown myself before the world again, and would
have asked your pardon. I beg you to believe that I shall never be
lacking in the respect that I owe you because of the opinion which
I have of the merit and virtue of Mme. de Longueville." To which the
princess replied: "I very willingly receive the assurance you give
me of having had no part in the spitefulness that was published,
deferring all to the order the queen has given me."
After this episode, the princess refused to be in the same place with
Mme. de Montbazon. On one occasion, Mme. de Chevreuse had invited the
queen to a collation at a place where the queen enjoyed walking; she
requested the princess to join her, giving her word of honor that Mme.
de Montbazon would not be there; she was present, however, and the
princess was about to leave when the queen ordered Mme. de Montbazon
to feign illness and retire; this she refused to do and remained,
whereupon the queen and the princess left, and shortly afterward Mme.
de Montbazon received orders to leave Paris.
This excited the Importants to fever heat and a plot was formed, with
Mme. de Chevreuse as the leader, to assassinate the cardinal. Shortly
after this, Coligny, as champion of the cause of Mme. de Longueville,
challenged the Duc de Guise to a duel. The whole court was made up
of two parties: the Importants with Mme. de Montbazon and Mme. de
Chevreuse; and Conde and Mme. de Longueville with their friends;
the result was the death of Coligny. Mme. de Longueville was a true
_precieuse_ and hardly loved Coligny, but allowed him and any other to
serve and adore her in a respectable way--a principle followed by
the better women of the age, such as Mme. de Rambouillet and Mme. de
Sable.
Some time after these occurrences, Mme. de Longueville was stricken
with smallpox which, fortunately, did not impair her beauty; it was
said, on the contrary, that in taking away its first flower it left
all the brilliancy which, joined to her culture and charming
languor, made her one of the most attractive persons in France. La
Rochefoucauld has left the following picture of her: "This princess
had all the advantages of _esprit_ and beauty to as great a degree as
if nature had taken pleasure in completing, in her person, a perfect
work; but these qualities shone less brilliantly on account of one
characteristic which led her to imbibe so thoroughly the sentiments of
those who adored her that she no longer recognized her own."
After her twenty-fifth year, Mme. de Longueville became more and more
imbued with the general spirit of the seventeenth century: coquetry
and _bel esprit_ became her chief occupation. The glory of her
brother, the Duc d'Enghien, who was rapidly becoming a power, and the
probability of the house of Conde becoming dangerous, made Mazarin
realize that Mme. de Longueville was to be reckoned with, inasmuch as
she had full control over D'Enghien and was constantly instilling new
ideas into his mind and requesting from him the distribution of all
sorts of favors. Mazarin, in 1646, succeeded in causing her withdrawal
to Muenster for one year; there she ruled as queen of the Congress. On
the death of her father, the Prince of Conde, and at the request
of her mother to come home for her lying-in, the husband of Mme. de
Longueville consented to her return to Paris.
In the meantime, everything was being done by the Importants to win
over the house of Conde and cause a breach between it and Mazarin.
The court at this time was in full glory; to amuse the queen-regent,
Mazarin was lavishing money on artists from Italy, and the nobility
outdid itself in its attempts to rival royalty in elegance and luxury.
Upon her return, everyone paid homage to Mme. de Longueville; it
was at this period that La Rochefoucauld, who was anxious about his
position at court, as he was accused of being in league with the
Importants and was therefore refused the favors he desired, met Mme.
de Longueville who was in the height of her glory and in full control
of the most prominent house of the time--that of the Duc d'Enghien and
the Prince de Conti, her brothers.
In order to conquer for himself what the cardinal would not grant him,
La Rochefoucauld put forth every effort to win Mme. de Longueville;
captivated by his fine appearance, his chivalry and, above all, by his
powerful intellect, she gave herself up entirely, willing to share his
destiny, to sacrifice all her interests, even those of her family, and
the deepest sentiment of her life--the tenderness for her brother.
France at this time, 1648, was in a position to gain for herself a
peace with the world at her own terms, and her future seemed to be
without a cloud. It was the Fronde that checked her growth and glory,
and the cause of this was the estrangement of the house of Conde
through the action of Mme. de Longueville in passing with her husband
over to the party of the Importants, she being the first of her family
to forsake the government. Under the leadership of La Rochefoucauld,
she cast her lot with the opposing party, allowing herself to be
identified with the interests of those who had endeavored to tarnish
her early reputation. Becoming a leader with Mme. de Chevreuse and
Mme. de Montbazon (her rival), she easily won over her young brother,
the Prince de Conti. After the imprisonment of her husband and her two
brothers, she began her real career as a woman of tactics, politics,
and generalship.
With the connivance of Mme. de Chevreuse and the Princess Palatine, a
general plan had been formed to create a new government by the union
of the aristocracy. The marriage, already spoken of, between the Duke
of Enghien and one of the daughters of the Duke of Orleans and that
arranged between the Prince of Conti and the daughter of Mme. de
Chevreuse were to have united the Fronde with the house of Conde. The
alliances, however, were declared off, and Mme. de Chevreuse went
over to the cardinal and the queen; Conde's fall and Mazarin's success
followed, being the result, mainly, of the determination of Mme. de
Chevreuse to avenge herself upon Conde for having consented to the
breaking of the marriage contracts.
Mme. de Longueville did all in her power to continue the conflict that
Conde had undertaken, but, exhausted by continual excitement and ill
success, she was compelled to retire. After this, her life, spent in
Normandy, at the Carmelites' convent and at Port Royal, became a long
penance, which increased in austerity until she died in 1679. Thus,
her career was at first one of unblemished brilliancy, then a period
of elegant and intellectual debauch, and finally one of expiation.
"Her politics," says Sainte-Beuve, "considered in the _ensemble_, are
nothing more than a desire to please, to shine--a capricious love. Her
character lacked consistency and self-will, her mind was keen, ready,
subtle, ingenious, but not reasonable."
In her convent life, her crowning virtue was humility. Her enemies did
not cease to attack her, but she received all their affronts with
the noblest resignation. The following testimonies are taken from a
Jansenist manuscript of 1685:
"She never said anything to her own advantage. She made use of as
many occasions as she could find for humiliating herself without any
affectation. What she said, she said so well that it could not be
better said. She listened much, never interrupted, and never showed
any eagerness to speak. She spoke sensibly, modestly, charitably, and
without passion. To court her was to speak with equity and without
passion of everyone and to esteem the good in all. Her whole exterior,
her voice, her face, her gestures, were a perfect music; and her mind
and body served her so well in expressing what she wished to make
heard, that she appeared the most perfect actress in the world."
Her love for La Rochefoucauld was the secret of her failure in life.
When she experienced the disappointments of her married life and
discovered that her dream of being loved by her husband could not be
realized, she looked to other sources for diversion. She was not an
intriguing woman like Mme. de Chevreuse, but one of ambitions which
were incited by her love for and interest in the objects of her
affection. Although she carried on flirtations with Coligny and the
Duke of Nemours, she really loved no one but La Rochefoucauld, to
whom she sacrificed her reputation and tranquillity, her duties and
interests. For him she took up the cause of the Fronde; for him she
was a mere slave, her entire existence being given up to his love, his
whims, his service; when he failed her, she was lost, exhausted, and
retired to a convent at the age of thirty-five and in the full bloom
of her beauty. Her professed lover simply used her as a means to an
end, seeking only his own interests in the Fronde, while she sought
his; and this is the explanation of her seeming inconsistency of
conduct. In her religious life she was happy and contented; surrounded
by her friends, she lived peacefully for over twenty years.
Thus, Marie de' Medici, a foreigner, Mme. de Chevreuse, and Mme. de
Longueville represent the political women of the first half of the
seventeenth century; Anne of Austria, who was of foreign extraction,
was a mere tool in the hands of Mazarin, and exerted little influence
in general.
One of the principal differences between the conspicuous political
women of the sixteenth and those of the seventeenth centuries lies in
the possession by the latter of less personal force than that wielded
by the former, who allowed nothing to thwart their plans. The women
of both periods were beautiful, but those of the earlier one were of a
magnetic and sensual type, "inspiring insensate passions and exciting
a feverish unrest," thus ruling man through his lower instincts. The
lack of refinement, sympathy, and charity reflected in their actions
is in glaring contrast to the dignity, repose, reserve, and womanly
modesty and grace displayed by their less masterful successors of the
seventeenth century.