Women in the Life of Balzac

CHET-MADA

said: "This publisher is a woman, a widow whom I have never seen, and whom I do not know. I shall not send off this lett

mpany such noted literary men as Beranger, but as usual, he delayed completing his work, meanwhile resorting, in mitigation of his offense, to tactics such as the followi

he agreed with Madame Bechet about the cost of corrections. He says of the fair publisher: "The widow Bechet has been sublime: she had t

be very strict with him. She refused to advance any money until his work was delive

us four thousand five hundred francs and my discounts, diminish by six thousand the thirty-three thousand. She could not lose a great fortune more clumsily, for Werdet estimates at five hundred thousand francs the profits to be made out of the next edition of t

tire thirty-three thousand francs. This, however, did not end their troubles, and

velist felt that she was too exacting, for he was working sixteen hours a day to complete the last two volumes for her, and he believed that the suit with which she threat

wo volumes in 8vo, with a penalty of fifty francs for every day's delay! I must be a great criminal and God wills that I shall expiate m

ntrat de Mariage/). But their relations were more cordial at that time, for a short time later, he writes: "My publisher, the sublime Madame Bechet, has

journey to Vienna in 1835, but things grew even worse the

odious Bechet. I had undertaken to write in ten days (it was that which kept me from going to Nemours!) the two volumes which had been demanded of me, and in eight days I had i

ce on Saturday, and here assembled Beranger, Henri de Latouche, Louis Reybaud, Leon Gozlan, Brissot-Thivars, Balzac and Dr. Gentil. It was with Madame Bechet as with Charles Gosselin. The publication, less lucrative than she expected, of the first series of the /Scene

erdues/ appears this week. On the 17th I have a meeting to close up all clai

ame Werdet persuaded her husband to speak to Madame Bechet about Balzac, and to advise her to publish his works. Her husband did so, but Madame Werdet did not stop at this. She convinced him that he should leave Madame Bechet

SSE DE DINO-LA COMTESSE APPONY-MADAME D

l of ripe age. Even Madame Recamier is willing to /foedorize herself/. Not a word of all that is true. I made Foedora out of two women whom I have known without having been intimate with them. Observation sufficed me, besides a few confidences. There are also some kind sou

m. She is indeed the woman without a heart; she kept in the rue Neuve-du-Luxembourg a salon frequented by noted political people such as the Duc de Fitz-James. Being rich as well as beautiful, and having an exquis

ympe early in his litera

de Duras, and the old count went to her house to talk, as on neutral ground, much as people walk in the alley of the Tuileries to meet one another; and one expects better conduct of me than of those gentlemen! . .

gres/, as he called the group occupying the same box w

nd Olympe, his /cara dona/, who will preside. . . . My dinner? Why, it made a great excitement. Rossini declared he had never seen eaten o

at would prove positively that Balzac knew Madame Rossini be

e the words for one of his compositions, an

ction and grace than for her beauty. She appreciated the ability of the young writer, and invited him to read in h

good, and acted very nobly in being silent and making no complaint of the ungrateful beings she has met. No doubt she saw u

g jealous of Madame Recamier, perhaps it is because

d any that were tender; I have none now. I answered a very unimportant letter, and apropos of a sentence, I explained myself; that was all. There are relations of p

e began to acquire literary fame was the Duchesse de

n 1838, entirely devoted to his welfare, and she had given us in these pages a picture of the old Talleyrand which is among the masterpieces of memoir-writing. From this connection she was naturally for many years in the very hea

the "witty turkeys who plucked the eagle and made it tumble into the ditch of the house of Austria." Several years later, on his return from St. Petersburg, he stopped in Berlin, where he was invited to a

I imagine his ideas are equally so. Undoubtedly, he is a very clever man, but his conversation is nei

eur/, was written for her. Balzac had been her guest repeatedly; he had recognized in her one of the rare women, who by their intelligence and, as it were, instinctive appreciation of genius can compensate to a great

rtune to please both governments, was retained by Louis-Philippe, and was as well liked and appreciated in the role of ambassador and diplomat as in that of man of the world. The C

Comtesse Marie Potocka. He realized that it would be of advantage to be friendly toward the Ambassador

He was examined with the curiosity felt for animals from distant regions. There were presentations on presentations, which bored him so that he placed himself in a corner with some Russians and Poles. But their names are so difficult to pronounce that

ng them Prince Esterhazy; he went to the beautiful soirees of M

aracter being the frail nervous young girl in /Le Medecin de Campagne/. In August, 1831, M. Charles de Bernard wrote a very favorable article about /La Peau de Chagrin/ in the /Gazette de Franch

Angers, he saw Madame David frequently, and learned to like her. He felt flattered that she thought he looked so much younger than he really was. On his return from St. Petersburg, i

-MADAME DE VALETTE-M

life. She is gentle, and full of firmness, immovable and implacable in her ideas and her repugnances. She is a person to be depended on. She has not been fortunate, or rather, her

to look after some legal business for the Viscontis. He had not known them long before this, for he writes, in speaking of /Le Lys dans la Vallee/: "Do they not say that I have painted Madame Visconti? Su

as the home of Madame

e Hanska at Vienna i

fort of Madame Hanska, or she heard false reports concer

g and gracious woman? If calumny, which respects nothing, demands it, I shall give up music also. I was in a box among people who were an injur

La vieille Fille/. He visited her frequently in her home, and on his return from an extended tour to Corsica a

lf at the home of the creditor and informed him that the novelist was residing in the Champs-Elysees, at the home of Madame Visconti. Nothing could have been more exact than this information. Two hours later, the home was surrounded, and Balzac, interrupted in the midst of a c

tor of the /Dictionnaire de la Conversation/, in 1846. F. Lawton, /Balzac/, states that it was in connection with his indebtedness to Duckett on account of the /Chronicle/, and that Balzac was sued in 1837. If the letter to Mme. de V., /Memoir and Letters

just opposite the home Balzac had built. He enjoyed her companionship, and when she moved to Versailles he regretted not bein

terre/, or "the lady who lived at Versailles." He felt that she was ungrateful and inconsiderate, and while

r possession was placed in the museum at Tours. This is supposed to be the portrait painted b

nd; yes, Beatrix is even too much Madame d'Agoult." A few months later he writes: "The friendship of which I spoke to you, and at which you laughed, apropos of the dedication, is not all I thought it. English prej

's statement that Balzac pictured Madame Visco

dame Visconti is the "Sarah" whom Balzac

Sa

spreads it on the strand. Thus would the glare of publicity offend your tender modesty; so, in dedicating this work to you, I must reserve a name which would, indeed, be its pride. But, under the shelter of its half-concealment, your superb hands may bless it, your noble brow may bend and dream over it, your eyes, full of motherly love, may smile upon it, since you are here at once present and veiled. Like

ALZAC

istoire des Oeuvres de

ac dedicated /Beatri

Sarah Lowell, who be

e was born at Hilks, S

sailles Apr

ted proofs of /Beatri

ac w

these things except to those I love, for they bear witness to my long labors, and to that patience of which I spoke to you. My nights have been passed over these terrible pages, and amongst all to whom I have presen

Valette, Lieutenant de Vaisseau, who after the death of Madame Valette, in 1818, became a priest at Vannes in order to be near their daughter Helene, who was in the convent of the Ursulines. At the age of eighteen he married her to a notary of Vannes, thirty years her senior, a widower with a bad reputation, whose name was Jea

One who works in

one of the chief differences being that in this letter Balzac addresses her as "My dear Marie" instead of "My dear friend." In telling "Madame de V---" that he is sending her the proofs of /Beatrix/, Balzac refers to the suppressio

terranean. In the Island of Malta is a town called Cite-Vallette-suggestive of the name Felicite Valette. Felicite is a

er her guidance he roamed over the country and then wrote /Beatrix/. She pretended to him to have been born at Guerande and to have been reared as a /paludiere/ by her godmother, Madame de Lamoignon-Lavalette, whence the re

pt from him. This deception provoked Balzac and gave rise to an exchange of rather sharp letters, and a long silence followed. After Balzac's death she gave Madame Honore de Balzac trouble concerning /Beatrix/ and her corresponden

her name /Babouino/. There exists a letter from her to him in which she tells him that she is going to Vannes to visit for a fortnight, afte

he could find no record of where any member of the Gougeon family had ever lived in Bearn. Much of his information has been secured from

relations with Balzac, presented to the city of Tours the corrected pro

is the daughter of Prince Kozlowski, whose marriage was not recognized; you must

who Sophie is, one would not suppose that Balzac met her a

his play /Quinola/ he wrote her, asking for the names and addresses of her various Russian friends who wished seats, as many enemies were giving false names. He wa

end Gavault from him, or at least he so suspected, and thought that she was influenced by Madame Visconti. This coldness soon turned to enmity, and she completely won from him his former friend, Gavault, who had become very much enamored with her. The novelist ex

her must have been sincere at one

So

ved, mademoiselle,

dle Ages, when they

h side of a fair Sain

s? On seeing your nam

whose auspices I pla

and you will see in t

ession of the brothe

ed se

BALZ

PRINCESSE GALITZIN DE GENTHOL-LA BARONNE DE ROTHSCHILD- LA COMTESS

drew tears to my eyes; . . . I am going to write to the good Loulou without telling her all she has done by her letter, for such things are difficult to express,

oness, and Balzac met her while visiting in Vienna; he admired her for herself as well as for her friendship for his /Chatelaine/. Her brother-in-law, Prince Razumofsky, wished Balzac to secure him a reader at Paris, but since there was limitation as to the price, he had some tr

mille/, a story written

la Comtesse

membrance and aff

BALZ

painted also the entire armorial for the /Etudes de Moeurs/; this consisted of about one hundred armorial bearings, and was a masterpiece. She promised to paint his study at Passy in water-colors, which was to be a souvenir for Madame Hanska of the place where he wa

c while he was living /aux Jardies/. She was a great friend of the Countess Chlendowska, whose husband was Balzac's bookseller, and the novelist counted on her to lend the money for

er. Madame de Chlendowska was there also, but he did not care for her especially, as she pretended to know too much about his intimacy with his "p

dedication to M. de Custine, and replaced it by one t

grace of a Spaniard the wit and distinction of a French woman. General Merlin married her in Madrid in 1811, and brought her to Paris, where she created a sensation. Being an accomplished musician, she gave delightful concerts, and though also gifted as a writ

y lansquenet in order to escape becoming insane! He was anxious to have Madame Merlin present at the first presentati

d the Princesse Belgiojoso when these two were rival candidate

lin, excusing himself on the ground of lack of time, but promised to call upon her soon. A few months before

in comparing the appearance of one of his famous women to the beauty of the Countess: "Madame Schontz owed her fame as a beauty to the brilliancy and color of a warm, creamy complexi

less met her while visiting Madame Hanska in Geneva in 1834, as she was living at Genthod. He met a Princesse Sophie Galitzin, whom he considered far more attractive, and lat

coquetted with him. He had business dealings with this firm, and planned, several years later, to present to Madame de Rothschild as a New Year's greeting some of his works handsomely bound; the volumes were delayed, and he accordingly made a change in some of his busines

d that she receive him in her salon. This distinguished and cultured woman had visited the novelist in Paris, and had been much surprised at the kind of home in which h

he was a great friend of the Princess Belgiojoso, and during the stirring times of 1848 the Princess had been a frequent visitor in he

an salon, and includes many of the same immortal names. Daniel Stern, Balzac, Manzoni, Liszt, Verdi, and a score of others, are of international fame; but the annuals of Italian patriotism, belles-lettres and art teem with the n

ouse, /A Revolut

Countess Maffei. The novelist was at once charmed with his hostess, whom he called /la petite Maffe

id not like Milan; onl

ed him. He quarreled

uld not allow him to sa

ed when calling on the

at him

use of coffee-would fall asleep. The Countess was often embarrassed by Balzac's disdainful expressions about people he did not like but who were her friends. She tried to please him, however and h

was angry with him. Later he showed his appreciation of her kindness by sending her the corrected proofs of /Martyres ignores/, an

hotel having become intolerable to the novelist, he was invited by Prince Porcia to occupy a little room in his home, overlooking the gardens, where he could work at his ease. The Prince, a man of about Balzac's age, was very much in love with the Countess Bolognini, and was unwilling to marry at all unless he could

cati, who was afterwards married to Prince

inherited from you the most precious gifts a woman can possess, and whose childhood, it is certain, will be rich in all those joys which a sad mother refused to the Eugenie of these pages. If Frenchmen are accused of bring frivolous and inconstant, I, you see, am Italian in my faithfulness and attachments. How often, as I write the name of Eugenie, have my thoughts carried me back to the cool stuccoed drawing-room and little garden of the /Viccolo dei Capuccini/, which used to resound to the dear child's merry laught

BALZ

LEFF- LA PRINCESSE DE SCHONBURG-MADAME JAROSLAS POTOC

ough to include their names in the dedicatory register of the /Comedie humaine/. This, however, by no means exhausts the list of his acquaintances among women. Many of them he had m

one of the most brilliant stars at Vienna where her salon, as at Paris, was one of the most popular. Among her intimate friends was Madame Hamelin whom she had known during her stay in Vienna. Notwithstanding

rry is correct, Balzac met the Duchesse de Castries in the salon of the Princess Bagration before their

. He met her again at Milan in 1838, on his return from his journey to Corsica, but he was not favorably imp

he latter was living at /La Madeleine/. While living in Paris, Madame Kisseleff entertained Madame Hamelin and several other ladies together with Balzac; these dinners and his /visites de digestion/ caused him to see much of her for awhile, but as in many of his other

e than were required by courtesy. It would have been convenient for him to have seen much of her, had he cared t

ountess Schouwaloff. She wrote some very pleasing letters to him, but he was too busy to answ

ught she was Madame Hanska's cousin, but later learned that it was to M. de Hanski that she was related. Her Polish vo

o whom he dedicated some of his happiest inspirations, and whose voice he so loved that he requested her to sing while he w

HELENE

Ma

on its opening page like a branch of sacred box, taken from an unknown tree, but sa

BALZ

nswered. The generally accepted answer is that of Spoelberch de Lovenjoul, who thought that "Maria" was the girl whom Balzac described as a "poor, simple and delightful

hough the heroine has some of the characteristics of the woman referred to in that letter in that she is a "na?ve, simple, and delightful /bourgeoise/." But in reviewing the women to whom Balzac dedicated his stories in the /Comedie humaine/, one does not find any of this type. Either they are members of his family, ol

he truth. In investigating the truth of this story, it has been found that Jean Niveleau, a very rich man having many of the traits of Grandet, lived at Saumur, and that he had a b

ited her on two different occasions during the period that he was working on /Eugenie Grandet/. As he was pressed for money, as usual, hi

ame Hanska's off

, to have plunged my hand into the sea and drawn out all its pearls to strew them on your beautiful black hair. . . . There is a sublime scene (to my mind, and I am rewarded for having it) in /Eugenie Grandet/, who offers her fortune to her cousin. The cousin makes an answer; what I said to you on that subject was mo

gave Madame Hanska the

in mind while writing

write the love of /Eu

, proud

hom he met while writing /Eugenie/, but her cousin, the Princess Radziwill, says that she is sure she is not the one he had in mind, and that she was not the type of woman to whom Balzac would ever have dedicated a book. The novelist

te de Valette, and it will be remembered that while she was usually called "Helene," "Marie" w

ould have long since forgotten her by the time the dedication was made. It is a well known fact that Balzac dedicated ma

He

s not launched upon

ving emblem or revere

accordance with this

be the protectress of

ean; and may the imp

and your devotion has

d it fr

BALZ

en the subject of much speculation for students of Balzac. The author of the /Comedie humaine/ knew t

uthor has found no mention of her in Balzac's letters in connection with /Le Cure de Village/, of which novel he speaks frequently, nor of his having known her personally, but since Balzac was continually twitting Madame Hanska about her pronunciation of variou

have perplexed students of Balzac,-he found time for correspondence with a lady whom he never saw, and about whom he knew nothing

hout gratifying, his curiosity by assuring him that such letters came to him frequently. The writer w

orrespondent shows that her letters must have possessed some

r! I consider it is grander than to risk one's life for an interview of ten minutes. Perhaps I may astonish you still more, wh

which she complained that her time w

ct; for twelve years! Do you understand all that is contained in these words? I can not wish that this sublime devotedness which has been my salvation should be repeated. I desire that you should retain all your illusions about me without coming one step further; and I do not dare to wish that you should e

of Balzac/. The woman

, but this is a

r want of confidence in him, and of his work in his loneliness. She tried to comfort him, and being artistic, sent him a sepia drawing. He sought a second one to hang

ght of those who love me, and of which I am chary, I refuse it to all who have not deeply touched my heart

as very profuse in expressing his thanks. He appreciated especially the roses which came on

nd their correspondence terminated ab

ancholy enough in its solitude; it is, however, a token of your remembrance. That you may be happy is the wish of my heart, a very pure and disinterested wish, since you

/ was dedica

f affectiona