Women in the Life of Balzac Part 7

de Balzac has my business in his charge still as he had on the day he presented you to me; you must feel he has the priority over the preference you ask for.' This done, wait for me. I shall make you laugh when I tell you what I have concocted. If Everat appears again, tell him that I have been your attorney for a long time past in these affairs, when they are worth the trouble; one or two volumes are nothing. But twelve or thirteen thsousand francs, oh!

oh! ah! ah! things must not be endangered. Only manoeuver cleverly, and, with that _finesse_ which distinguishes Madame the Amba.s.sadress, endeavor to find out from Mame how many volumes he still has on hand, and see if he will be able to oppose the new edition by slackness of sale or excessive price.

"Your entirely devoted."

(H. DE BALZAC.)

Such a.s.sistance was naturally much appreciated by a woman so utterly ignorant of business matters. But if Balzac aided the d.u.c.h.ess, he caused her publishers much annoyance, and more than once he received a sharp letter rebuking him for interfering with the affairs of Madame d'Abrantes.

It was doubtless due to the suggestion of Balzac that Madame d'Abrantes wrote her _Memoires_. He was so thrilled by her vivid accounts of recent history, that he was seized with the idea that she had it in her power to do for a brilliant epoch what Madame Roland attempted to do for one of grief and glory. He felt that she had witnessed such an extraordinary multiplicity of scenes, had known a remarkable number of heroic figures and great characters, and that nature had endowed her with unusual gifts.

A few years before her death, _La Femme abandonnee_ was dedicated:

"To her Grace the d.u.c.h.esse d'Abrantes,

"from her devoted servant,

"HONORE DE BALZAC."

If such was the role played by Balzac in the life of Madame d'Abrantes, how is she reflected in the _Comedie humaine_?

It is a well known fact that Balzac not only borrowed names from living people, but that he portrayed the features, incidents and peculiarities of those with whom he was closely a.s.sociated. In the _Avant-propos de la Comedie humaine_, he writes: "In composing types by putting together traits of h.o.m.ogeneous natures, I might perhaps attain to the writing of that history forgotten by so many historians,--the history of manners."

In fact, he too might have said: "I take my property wherever I find it;" accordingly one would naturally look for characteristics of Madame d'Abrantes in his earlier works.

According to M. Joseph Turquain, Mademoiselle des Touches, in _Beatrix_, generally understood to be George Sand, has also some of the characteristics of Madame d'Abrantes. Balzac describes Mademoiselle des Touches as being past forty and _un peu homme_, which reminds one that the Countess Dash describes Madame d'Abrantes as being rather masculine, with an _organe de rogome_, and a virago when past forty. Calyste became enamored of Beatrix after having loved Mademoiselle des Touches, while Balzac became infatuated with Madame de Castries after having been in love with Madame d'Abrantes, in each case, the blonde after the brunette.

Mademoiselle Josephine, the elder and beloved daughter of Madame d'Abrantes, entered the Convent of the Sisters of Charity of Saint-Vincent de Paul, contrary to the desires of her mother. In writing to the d.u.c.h.ess (1831), Balzac asks that Sister Josephine may not forget him in her prayers, for he is remembering her in his books. Balzac may have had her in mind a few years later when he said of Mademoiselle de Mortsauf in _Le Lys dans la Vallee_: "The girl's clear sight had, though only of late, seen to the bottom of her mother's heart. . . ."

for Mademoiselle Josephine entered the convent for various reasons, one being in order to relieve the financial strain and make marriage possible for her younger sister, another perhaps being to atone for the secret she probably suspected in the heart of her mother, and which she felt was not complimentary to the memory of her father. And also, in _La Recherche de l'Absolu_: "There comes a moment, in the inner life of families, when the children become, either voluntarily or involuntarily, the judges of their parents."

In writing the introduction to the _Physiologie du Mariage_, Balzac states that here he is merely the humble secretary of two women. He is doubtless referring to Madame d'Abrantes as one of the two when he says:

"Some days later the author found himself in the company of two ladies. The first had been one of the most humane and most intellectual women of the court of Napoleon. Having attained a high social position, the Restoration surprised her and caused her downfall; she had become a hermit. The other, young, beautiful, was playing at that time, in Paris, the role of a fashionable woman. They were friends, for the one being forty years of age, and the other twenty-two, their aspirations rarely caused their vanity to appear on the same scene. 'Have you noticed, my dear, that in general women love only fools?'--'_What are you saying, d.u.c.h.ess?_'"[*]

[*] M. Turquain states that Madame Hamelin is one of these women and that the d.u.c.h.esse d'Abrantes in incontestably the other. For a different opinion, see the chapter on Madame Gay. The italics are the present writer's.

In _La Femme abandonnee_, Madame de Beauseant resembles the d.u.c.h.ess as portrayed in this description:

"All the courage of her house seemed to gleam from the great lady's brilliant eyes, such courage as women use to repel audacity or scorn, for they were full of tenderness and gentleness. The outline of that little head, . . . the delicate, fine features, the subtle curve of the lips, the mobile face itself, wore an expression of delicate discretion, a faint semblance of irony suggestive of craft and insolence. It would have been difficult to refuse forgiveness to those two feminine failings in her in thinking of her misfortunes, of the pa.s.sion that had almost cost her her life. Was it not an imposing spectacle (still further magnified by reflection) to see in that vast, silent salon this woman, separated from the entire world, who for three years had lived in the depths of a little valley, far from the city, alone with her memories of a brilliant, happy, ardent youth, once so filled with fetes and constant homage, now given over to the horrors of nothingness? The smile of this woman proclaimed a high sense of her own value."

In the postscript to the _Physiologie du Mariage_, Balzac mentions a gesture of one of these "intellectual" women, who interrupts herself to touch one of her nostrils with the forefinger of her right hand in a coquettish manner. In _La Femme abandonnee_, Madame de Beauseant has the same gesture. Another gesture of Madame de Beauseant in _La Femme abandonnee_ indicates that Balzac had in mind the d.u.c.h.esse d'Abrantes: ". . . Then, with her other hand, she made a gesture as if to pull the bell-rope. The charming gesture, the gracious threat, no doubt, called up some sad thought, some memory of her happy life, of the time when she could be wholly charming and graceful, when the gladness of her heart justified every caprice, and gave one more charm to her slightest movement. The lines of her forehead gathered between her brows, and the expression of her face grew dark in the soft candle-light. . . ." The d.u.c.h.esse d'Abrantes had on two occasions rung to dismiss her lovers, M. de Montrond and General Sebastiani. Balzac had doubtless heard her relate these incidents, and they are contained in the _Journal intime_, which she gave him.[*]

[*] Madame d'Abrantes presented several objects of a literary nature to Balzac, among others, a book of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a few leaves of which he presented to Madame Hanska for her collection of autographs.

In _La Femme abandonnee_, Balzac describes Madame de Beauseant as having taken refuge in Normandy, "after a notoriety which women for the most part envy and condemn, especially when youth and beauty in some way excuse the transgression." Can it be that the novelist thus condones the fault of this noted character because he wishes to pardon the _liaison_ of Madame d'Abrantes with the Comte de Metternich?

Is it then because so many traces of Madame d'Abrantes are found in _La Femme abandonnee_, and allusions are made to minute episodes known to them alone, that he dedicated it to her?

Was Balzac thinking of the d.u.c.h.esse d'Abrantes when, in _Un Grand Homme de Province a Paris_, speaking of Lucien Chardon, who had just arrived in Paris at the beginning of the Restoration, he writes: "He met several of those women who will be spoken of in the history of the nineteenth century, whose wit, beauty and loves will be none the less celebrated than those of queens in times past."

In depicting Maxime de Trailles, the novelist perhaps had in mind M.

de Montrond, about whom the d.u.c.h.ess had told him. Again, many characteristics of her son, Napoleon d'Abrantes, are seen in La Palferine, one of the characters of the _Comedie humaine_.

If Madame de Berny is Madame de Mortsauf in _Le Lys dans la Vallee_, Madame d'Abrantes has some traits of Lady Dudley, of whom Madame de Mortsauf was jealous. The d.u.c.h.ess gave him encouragement and confidence, and Balzac might have been thinking of her when he made the beautiful Lady Dudley say: "I alone have divined all that you were worth." After Balzac's affection for Madame de Berny was rekindled, Madame d'Abrantes, who was jealous of her, had a falling out with him.

It was probably Madame Junot who related to Balzac the story of the necklace of Madame Regnault de Saint-Jean d'Angely, to which allusion is made in his _Physiologie du Mariage_, also an anecdote which is told in the same book abut General Rapp, who had been an intimate friend of General Junot. At this time Balzac knew few women of the Empire; he did not frequent the home of the Countess Merlin until later. While Madame d'Abrantes was not a d.u.c.h.ess by birth, Madame Gay was not a d.u.c.h.ess at all, and Madame Hamelin still further removed from n.o.bility.

It is doubtless to Madame d'Abrantes that he owes the subject of _El Verdugo_, which he places in the period of the war with Spain; to her also was due the information about the capture of Senator Clement de Ris, from which he writes _Une tenebreuse Affaire_.

M. Rene Martineau, in proving that Balzac got his ideas for _Une tenebreuse Affaire_ from Madame d'Abrantes, states that this is all the more remarkable, since the personage of the senator is the only one which Balzac has kept just as he was, without changing his physiognomy in the novel. The senator was still living at the time Madame d'Abrantes wrote her account of the affair, his death not having occurred until 1827. In her _Memoires_, Madame d'Abrantes refers frequently to the kindness of the great Emperor, and it is doubtless to please her that Balzac, in the _denouement_ of _Une tenebreuse Affaire_, has Napoleon pardon two out of the three condemned persons. Although the novelist may have heard of this affair during his sojourns in Touraine, it is evident that the origin of the lawsuit and the causes of the conduct of Fouche were revealed to him by Madame Junot.

Who better than Madame d'Abrantes could have given Balzac the background for the scene of Corsican hatred so vividly portrayed in _La Vendetta_? Balzac's preference for General Junot is noticeable when he wishes to mention some hero of the army of the Republic or of the Empire; the Duc and d.u.c.h.esse d'Abrantes are included among the noted lodgers in _Autre Etude de Femme_. It is doubtless to please the d.u.c.h.ess that Balzac mentions also the Comte de Narbonne (_Le Medecin de Campagne_).

Impregnating his mind with the details of the Napoleonic reign, so vividly portrayed in _Le Colonel Chabert_, _Le Medecin de Campagne_, _La Femme de trente Ans_ and others, she was probably the direct author of several observations regarding Napoleon that impress one as being strikingly true. Balzac read to her his stories of the Empire, and though she rarely wept, she melted into tears at the disaster of the Beresina, in the life of Napoleon related by a soldier in a barn.

The Generale Junot had a great influence over Balzac; she enlightened him also about women, painting them not as they should be, but as they are.[*]

[*] M. Joseph Turquain states that when the correspondence of Madame d'Abrantes and Balzac, to which he has had access, is published, one will be able to determine exactly the role she has played in the formation of the talent of the writer, and in the development of his character. His admirable work has been very helpful in the preparation of this study of Madame d'Abrantes.

During the last years of the life of Madame d'Abrantes, a somber tint spread over her gatherings, which gradually became less numerous. Her financial condition excited little sympathy, and her friends became estranged from her as the result of her poverty. Under her gaiety and in spite of her courage, this distress became more apparent with time.

Her health became impaired; yet she continued to write when unable to sit up, so great was her need for money. From her high rank she had fallen to the depth of misery! When evicted from her poverty-stricken home by the bailiff, her maid at first conveyed her to a hospital in the rue de Chaillot, but there payment was demanded in advance. That being impossible, the poor d.u.c.h.ess, ill and abandoned by all her friends, was again cast into the street. Finally, a more charitable hospital in the rue des Batailles took her in. Thus, by ironical fate, the widow of the great _Batailleur de Junot_, who had done little else during the past fifteen years than battle for life, was destined to end her days in the rue des Batailles.

LA PRINCESSE BELGIOJOSO.--MADAME MARBOUTY.

--LA COMTESSE D'AGOULT.--GEORGE SAND.

"The Princess (Belgiojoso) is a woman much apart from other women, not very attractive, twenty-nine years old, pale, black hair, Italian-white complexion, thin, and playing the vampire. She has the good fortune to displease me, though she is clever; but she poses too much. I saw her first five years ago at Gerard's; she came from Switzerland, where she had taken refuge."

The Princesse Belgiojoso had her early education entrusted to men of broad learning whose political views were opposed to Austria. She was reared in Milan in the home of her young step-father, who had been connected with the _Conciliatore_. His home was the rendezvous of the artistic and literary celebrities of the day; but beneath the surface lay conspiracy. At the age of sixteen she was married to her fellow townsman, the rich, handsome, pleasure-loving, musical Prince Belgiojoso, but the union was an unhappy one. Extremely patriotic, she plunged into conspiracy.

In 1831, she went to Paris, opened a salon and mingled in politics, meeting the great men of the age, many of whom fell in love with her.

Her salon was filled with people famous for wit, learning and beauty, equaling that of Madame Recamier; Balzac was among the number. If Madame de Girardin was the Tenth Muse, the Princesse Belgiojoso was the Romantic Muse. She was almost elected president of _Les Academies de Femmes en France_ under the faction led by George Sand, the rival party being led by Madame de Girardin.

Again becoming involved in Italian politics, and exiled from her home and adopted country, she went to the Orient with her daughter Maria, partly supporting herself with her pen. After her departure, the finding of the corpse of Stelzi in her cupboard caused her to be compared to the Spanish Juana Loca, but she was only eccentric. While in the Orient she was stabbed and almost lost her life. In 1853 she returned to France, then to Milan where she maintained a salon, but she deteriorated physically and mentally.

For almost half a century her name was familiar not alone in Italian political and patriotic circles, but throughout intellectual Europe.

The personality of this strange woman was veiled in a haze of mystery, and a halo of martyrdom hung over her head. Notwithstanding her eccentricities and exaggerations, she wielded an intellectual fascination in her time, and her exalted social position, her beauty, and her independence of character gave to her a place of conspicuous prominence.

As to whether Balzac always sustained an indifferent att.i.tude towards the Princesse Belgiojoso there is some question, but he always expressed a feeling of nonchalance in writing about her to Madame Hanska. He regarded her as a courtesan, a beautiful _Imperia_, but of the extreme blue-stocking type. She was superficial in her criticism, and received numbers of _criticons_ who could not write. She wrote him at the request of the editor asking him to contribute a story for the _Democratie Pacifique_.

Balzac visited her frequently, calling her the Princesse _Bellejoyeuse_, and she rendered him many services, but he probably guarded against too great an intimacy, having witnessed the fate of Alfred de Musset. He was, however, greatly impressed by her beauty, and in the much discussed letter to his sister Laure he speaks of Madame Hanska as a masterpiece of beauty who could be compared only to the Princesse _Bellejoyeuse_, only infinitely more beautiful. Some years later, however, this beauty had changed for him into an ugliness that was even repulsive.

It amused the novelist very much to have people think that he had dedicated to the Princesse Belgiojoso _Modeste Mignon_, a work written in part by Madame Hanska, and dedicated to her. In the first edition this book was dedicated to a foreign lady, but seeing the false impression made he dedicated it, in its second edition to a Polish lady. He did, however, dedicate _Gaudissart II_ to:

Madame la Princesse de Belgiojoso, nee Trivulce.

Balzac found much rest and recuperation in travel, and in going to Turin, in 1836, instead of traveling alone, he was accompanied by a most charming lady, Madame Caroline Marbouty. She had literary pretensions and some talent, writing under the pseudonym of _Claire Brune_. Her work consisted of a small volume of poetry and several novels. She was much pleased at being taken frequently for George Sand, whom she resembled very much; and like her, she dressed as a man. Balzac took much pleasure in intriguing every one regarding his charming young page, whom he introduced in aristocratic Italian society; but to no one did he disclose the real name or s.e.x of his traveling companion.

On his return from Turin he wrote to Comte Frederic Sclopis de Salerano explaining that his traveling companion was by no means the person whom he supposed. Knowing his chivalry, Balzac confided to the Count that it was a charming, clever, virtuous woman, who never having had the opportunity of breathing the Italian air and being able to escape the ennui of housekeeping for a few weeks, had relied upon his honor. She knew whom the novelist loved, and found in that the greatest of guarantees. For the first and only time in her life she amused herself by playing a masculine role, and on her return home had resumed her feminine duties.