Catherine Bernard
Catherine Bernard was a notable French playwright, poet, and novelist born in Rouen in 1662. Coming from a Protestant family, she converted to Catholicism before the age of seventeen and later moved to Paris, where she engaged with the literary elite of her time. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Bernard did not partake in the aristocratic intrigues typical of seventeenth-century France; instead, she remained single and focused on her writing career. She is recognized as one of the early female playwrights to have her works performed at the prestigious Comédie française, with her notable tragedies "Laodamie, reine d'Épire" and "Brutus" garnering considerable attention during their performances.
Bernard’s writing reflects a dramatic understanding influenced by her famous uncles, Pierre and Thomas Corneille, while also echoing the tragic passion characteristic of Jean Racine’s works. Although her plays enjoyed popularity, she is often remembered for a polemic surrounding Voltaire's later adaptation of "Brutus," where she was accused of having her verses appropriated. In addition to her plays, Bernard authored stories that, while intended for entertainment, often conveyed moral lessons with a cynical perspective on love and marriage. Her literary accomplishments earned her several awards and recognition from the Académie Française, and she received financial support from Louis XIV. Catherine Bernard’s legacy is significant as she achieved literary success at a time when female authors faced considerable challenges. She passed away in Paris on September 6, 1712.
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Catherine Bernard
Author
- Born: 1662
- Birthplace: Rouen, France
- Died: September 6, 1712
Biography
Catherine Bernard was born in Rouen, France, in 1662. Her family was Protestant, and she converted to Catholicism before the age of seventeen. A niece of Pierre and Thomas Corneille and a cousin of Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, she became interested in writing and moved to Paris shortly before she was seventeen. There she frequented the fashionable literati society of the aristocracy and wrote plays, verses, and stories. Unlike her contemporaries, Bernard seems not to have been involved in the intrigues that occupied the upper class in seventeenth century France. She remained single and became a successful playwright, poet, and novelist.
Bernard was one of the first female playwrights to have her work presented at the Comédie française. On February 11, 1689, her tragedy Laodamie, reine d’Épire: Tragédie was performed for the first time. The play received twenty performances. On December 18, 1690, her other play, Brutus, tragédie, was performed; it received twenty-five performances.
Bernard probably received much of her inspiration to write plays from her uncles Pierre and Thomas Corneille. However, her works reveal a tragic concept of passion more closely affiliated with that of dramatist Jean Racine. Although her plays were popular during her time, she is perhaps best known for a polemic that developed in the eighteenth century around Voltaire’s play Brutus (pr. 1730). Bernard’s play was cited as the source for Voltaire’s work. Later he was accused of using many of her verses in his play.
As a novelist, Bernard wrote stories that she viewed as mere entertainment. However, many of the stories contain morals and thus resemble fairy tales, but for adults. The moral most often reveals a cynical attitude toward both marriage and extra-marital love affairs. In fact, the stories of Bernard, so unlike modern romance novels, are marked by courtship that ends with the heroine’s refusal to marry her lover.
Bernard won numerous awards for her poetry. The Académie Française honored her with prizes in 1671, 1693, and 1697. She won three prizes from the Jeux floraux de Toulouse, and she was a member of the Académie des Ricovrati de Padoue. Bernard’s literary talent earned her an annual pension of two hundred ecus from Louis XIV. Toward the end of her life, influenced by her religious beliefs, she went into retreat and suppressed many of the more erotic verses written during her youth. She died on September 6, 1712, in Paris. Bernard is significant for her literary success at a time when women were not readily accepted as authors.