Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Madame de Sévigné
Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, known as Madame de Sévigné, was a prominent French writer and letter-writer born in Paris in 1626. Orphaned at a young age, she grew up under the care of her uncle, receiving an education that was notable for a woman of her time, including exposure to various languages and the arts. In her youth, she became part of the influential literary salon hosted by the marquise de Rambouillet, which shaped her intellectual pursuits.
Sévigné married Henry, marquis de Sévigné, at eighteen and later gave birth to two children, including her daughter, Françoise Marguerite. After her husband's death, she moved back to Paris and began writing extensive letters, primarily to her daughter, which captured the essence of 17th-century life, blending personal anecdotes with social commentary. Her correspondence, numbering between 1,600 and 1,700 letters, is celebrated for its vividness and emotional depth, providing insights into both everyday events and the cultural milieu of her time.
Madame de Sévigné's letters were not published until after her death in 1696, but they have since been recognized for their literary quality and historical significance, influencing writers across the centuries. Her work showcases her keen observation of the world around her, revealing a balance between her love for society and her appreciation for solitude.
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Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Madame de Sévigné
French writer
- Born: February 5, 1626
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Died: April 17, 1696
- Place of death: Grignan, Provence, France
Sévigné was a prolific letter writer who corresponded with friends about political and military events, French urban society, and the court at Versailles. She made literary judgments on most of the writers of her time, and she was a keen observer of nature and the arts. Her letters represent an entertaining but still critical introduction to seventeenth century French culture.
Early Life
Madame de Sévigné (mah-dahm deh say-veen-yay), born Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, was left an orphan at age six and brought up by an uncle, the abbé de Coulanges, whose life was devoted to her interests. She was born in the Place Royale in Paris, and much of her young life was spent at the family château at Livry. At the château, she was educated in a manner uncommon for women of that time, being exposed to the arts as well as language (Spanish, Latin, and Italian).
At an early age, Sévigné was introduced to the Hôtel de Rambouillet, a salon hosted by the marquise de Rambouillet, where the elite met to discuss topics of the day, including society life and literature. She readily embraced the salon’s intellectual tastes, but at the same time she retained a bold freedom of speech and manner, unlike the refined spirit of the salon. Her special friend was Mademoiselle de la Vergne, later Madame de La Fayette . Her instructors were Jean Chapelain and Gilles Ménage, both frequent visitors to the salon. Chapelain, a poet, scholar, and pedant, taught her language, familiarized her with the poetry of Vergil and Torquato Tasso, and gave her a critical taste for letters. Ménage aspired to be a man of the world and a savant. He reportedly fell in love with Sévigné, and she called him “friend of all friends, the best” in one of her letters.
Life’s Work
On August 4, 1644, at the age of eighteen, she married Henry, marquis de Sévigné, a Breton from a good family. They resided in the Sévigné manor house, Les Rochers. A daughter, Françoise Marguerite (the future Madame de Grignan), was born on October 10, 1646, followed by a son, Charles, born in 1648.
After her husband’s death in 1651, Madame de Sévigné returned to Paris and spent about ten years in a house in the Place Royale. On January 29, 1669, she married François d’Adhmar, count of Grignan, from one of the noblest families in France.
The letters of Madame de Sévigné, primarily to Madame de Grignan, her daughter, were vivid, allowing the reader to picture life during the seventeenth century. Prior to her frequent correspondence to her daughter, most of her letters were addressed to her cousin Bussy Rabutin, until a misunderstanding about money brought about a quarrel. Sévigné’s letters number between sixteen hundred and seventeen hundred, one-third of which are replies of other persons, letters addressed to her, or letters of her family and friends dealing with the subjects of her correspondence.
Generally, the letters she originated, especially those to her daughter, are lengthy. She wrote during a time when newspapers were scarce. Gossip of all sorts appears among her subjects, and some of her most famous letters are purely journalistic reporting, whereas others deal with private matters. Her works can be considered “charming” and sometimes show traces of a quaint, affected style with occasionally incorrect phraseology according to the strict standards of the Académie Française. Her narration is lively and her expression of domestic and maternal affection is said to be unequaled. She had an eye for minute observation; an appreciation of amusements, pageants, and diversions; and a deep sense of the beauty of nature. She also had a strong inclination toward theology.
Madame de Sévigné portrayed herself clearly and unconsciously, expressing a maternal love filled with joy. Her daughter—more attractive, more learned, and more accomplished than her mother—was nevertheless cold, reserved, haughty, and timid. When Sévigné’s daughter moved to Provence with her new husband, the comte de Grignan, Sévigné began the series of letters that made her famous and that shed a direct light on a generation in France. The gossip of the court and the news of her friends were gathered to amuse her daughter, with incidents both insignificant and important. The detail sketched in her letters mirrors the world about her and gives the letters their historical value.
Sévigné’s life and nature also are revealed in the letters. She had a taste for society, friendship, and gaiety, as well as for seclusion. She found consolation in books, especially those dealing with morals. Her favorite authors were poet Pierre Corneille and fable writer Jean de La Fontaine Sévigné hosted her own salon, the Hôtel de Carnavalet, which became one of the social centers of the latter part of the seventeenth century.
Among those who were most influential in Sévigné’s life was Corbinelli, friend, counselor, and confidant, who devoted his life to letters and the interests of his friends. He compared her letters to those of Cicero. Among her intimate female friends were Madame de La Fayette and later Madame de Coulanges, wife of a cousin of the marquis de Sévigné.
Sévigné’s letters were copied and handed out, sometimes under specified titles, as early as 1673. None was published, however, until after her death, when her correspondence with her cousin Bussy was included in his memoirs and correspondence after her death in 1696 and the following year. The remainder did not see publication for thirty years.
Significance
Madame de Sévigné’s copious letters, primarily addressed to her daughter, painted pictures of seventeenth century life, incidents both significant and trivial, grand and mundane, in a style and directness that were admired by her contemporaries as well as modern readers and writers. Virginia Woolf, in an essay on Sévigné, wrote that when we read Sévigné, “we become aware, with some sudden phrase, about spring, about a country neighbour, something struck off in a flash, that we are, of course, being addressed by one of the great mistresses of the art of speech.”
Bibliography
Farrell, Michele Longino. Performing Motherhood: The Sévigné Correspondence. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1991. Farrell examines Sévigné’s letters to her daughter. The chapter “Sévigné’s Apprenticeship,” however, discusses the correspondence with her cousin Bussy. Includes detailed notes and Farrell’s translations.
Fowlie, Wallace. French Literature: Its History and Its Meaning. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1973. A brief but classic survey of French literature.
Ojala, Jeanne A., and William T. Ojala. Madame de Sévigné: A Seventeenth-Century Life. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990. The authors provide a useful biography of Sévigné, a detailed chronology, a genealogical chart, and a bibliography.
Racevskis, Roland. Time and Ways of Knowing Under Louis XIV: Molière, Sévigné, Lafayette. Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 2003. Racevskis discusses how Sévigné’s writing style and her way of thinking were often affected by everyday time constraints, including the postal service, social obligations, and even uncertainty in politics.