Women letter writers
Encyclopedia
Women letter writers in early modern Europe created lengthy correspondences, where they expressed their intellect and their creativity; in the process, they also left a rich historic legacy.
Over time, a large number of women's correspondences have been made the subject of publications. Some among them ignored the literary value of these missives that were sometimes circulated by their recipients. Some correspondences were, on the other hand, strictly private and their literary value -- and historic value, as well -- was not revealed until the rediscovery of these letters, perhaps long after the death of their authors, as in the case of Élisabeth Bégon, whose correspondence was not discovered until 1932 in the archives of the French Ministry of the Navy.
It is usually agreed that what makes these letters distinctive emanates from their spontaneity. Marie de Sévigné was the incarnation of this quality, to the point of becoming considered by many as the archetype of the woman letter writer, and an altogether literary author, even among her contemporaries, such as Suzanne Curchod
:
In 1669, the famous Letters of a Portuguese Nun
appeared, presented as a translation of five letters sent by a Portuguese nun to a French officer. For a long time, these letters were accepted as authentic letters written by Mariana Alcoforado, before being definitively shown by a modern critic to be a work of literary fiction, attributed to Gabriel de Guilleragues
.
The frontier between reality and fiction becomes blurry between literature and correspondence, above all when novelists turned this writing technique into a literary device that would become the epistolary novel
, a genre that reached its peak during the Enlightenment
when writers tried to persuade readers that between their hands was a real correspondence, which is what Jean-Jacques Rousseau
more or less achieved with Julie, or the New Heloise.
Over time, a large number of women's correspondences have been made the subject of publications. Some among them ignored the literary value of these missives that were sometimes circulated by their recipients. Some correspondences were, on the other hand, strictly private and their literary value -- and historic value, as well -- was not revealed until the rediscovery of these letters, perhaps long after the death of their authors, as in the case of Élisabeth Bégon, whose correspondence was not discovered until 1932 in the archives of the French Ministry of the Navy.
It is usually agreed that what makes these letters distinctive emanates from their spontaneity. Marie de Sévigné was the incarnation of this quality, to the point of becoming considered by many as the archetype of the woman letter writer, and an altogether literary author, even among her contemporaries, such as Suzanne Curchod
Suzanne Curchod
Suzanne Curchod was a French-Swiss salonist and writer. She hosted one of the most celebrated salons of the Ancien Régime. She was the wife of Jacques Necker, and is often referenced in historical documents as Madame Necker....
:
In 1669, the famous Letters of a Portuguese Nun
Letters of a Portuguese Nun
The Letters of a Portuguese Nun , first published anonymously by Claude Barbin in Paris in 1669, is a work believed by most scholars to be epistolary fiction in the form of five letters written by Gabriel-Joseph de La Vergne, comte de Guilleragues , a minor peer, diplomat, secretary to the Prince...
appeared, presented as a translation of five letters sent by a Portuguese nun to a French officer. For a long time, these letters were accepted as authentic letters written by Mariana Alcoforado, before being definitively shown by a modern critic to be a work of literary fiction, attributed to Gabriel de Guilleragues
Gabriel de Guilleragues
Gabriel-Joseph de Lavergne, comte de Guilleragues , was a French politician of the 17th century.For a time, he was secretary of the King's Chamber, and he also director of the Gazette de France....
.
The frontier between reality and fiction becomes blurry between literature and correspondence, above all when novelists turned this writing technique into a literary device that would become the epistolary novel
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
, a genre that reached its peak during the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
when writers tried to persuade readers that between their hands was a real correspondence, which is what Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
more or less achieved with Julie, or the New Heloise.
Some famous women letter writers
- Juliette AdamJuliette AdamJuliette Adam Juliette Adam Juliette Adam (4 October 1836, Verberie (Oise) – 23 August 1936, Callian (Var), also known by her maiden name Juliette Lambert, was a French author and feminist.- Biography :...
- Jeanne d’Albret
- Sophie ArnouldSophie ArnouldSophie Arnould was a French operatic soprano.Born Magdeleine Sophie Arnould, she studied in Paris with Marie Fel and La Clairon, and made her stage debut at the Opéra de Paris on 15 December 1757 and sang there for 20 years.She created for Christoph Wilibald Gluck the roles of Eurydice in Orphée...
- Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine
- Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon
- Catherine de BourbonCatherine de BourbonJeanne de Bourbon was a daughter of Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme and Isabelle de Beauvau. Through her daughter Madeleine, she was the maternal grandmother of French queen consort Catherine de' Medici.-Family and lineage:...
- Adélaïde de La Briche
- Cécile BruyèreCécile BruyèreMadame Cécile Bruyère was the first abbess of St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes and a follower of Dom Prosper Guéranger in the revival of Benedictine spirituality in 19th century France.-Life:...
- Marie-Angélique de Coulanges
- Christine de Pisan
- Zulma Carraud
- Marquise de CaylusMarquise de CaylusMarthe-Marguerite Levieux Valois de Villette de Mursay, Marquise de Caylus was a French noblewoman and writer.She was born in Poitou and was the daughter of vice-admiral Philippe, Marquis de Villette-Mursay and Marie-Anne de Chateauneuf, who died in 1691.Her father was a cousin of Madame de...
- Isabelle de CharrièreIsabelle de CharrièreIsabelle de Charrière , known as Belle van Zuylen in the Netherlands and Madame de Charrière elsewhere, is a Dutch writer of the Enlightenment who lived the latter half of her life in Switzerland. She is now best known for her letters although she also wrote novels, pamphlets, music and plays...
- Anastasie de Circourt
- Sophie Cottin
- Hélisenne de CrenneHélisenne de CrenneHélisenne de Crenne was the pseudonym of Marguerite Briet , a French novelist, epistolary writer and translator during the Renaissance.-Life:...
- Suzanne CurchodSuzanne CurchodSuzanne Curchod was a French-Swiss salonist and writer. She hosted one of the most celebrated salons of the Ancien Régime. She was the wife of Jacques Necker, and is often referenced in historical documents as Madame Necker....
- Madeleine Des RochesMadeleine Des RochesMadeleine Des Roches was a French woman writer of the Renaissance. She was the mother of Catherine Fradonnet, called Catherine Des Roches , to whom she taught poetry, literature and ancient languages.Madeleine Neveu married André Fradonnet, seigneur Des Roches, the procurer of Poitiers around 1539...
- Catherine Des RochesCatherine Des RochesCatherine Fradonnet , called Catherine Des Roches, was a French woman writer of the Renaissance.She was the daughter of Madeleine Des Roches, née Madeleine Neveu and of André Fradonnet, seigneur Des Roches, the procurer of Poitiers...
- Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du DeffandMarie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du DeffandMarie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand was a French hostess and patron of the arts.She was born at the Château de Chamrond, in Ligny-en-Brionnais, a village near Charolles of a noble family. Educated at a convent in Paris, she showed great intelligence and a sceptical, cynical turn of...
- Louise d'ÉpinayLouise d'EpinayLouise Florence Pétronille Tardieu d'Esclavelles d'Épinay was a French writer, a saloniste and woman of fashion, known on account of her liaisons with Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who gives malicious reports of her in his Confessions...
- Marie-Madeleine de La Fayette
- Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin
- Françoise de GraffignyFrançoise de GraffignyFrançoise de Graffigny, née d'Issembourg Du Buisson d'Happoncourt was a French novelist, playwright and salon hostess....
- Marie-Madeleine Hachard
- Anne-Catherine Helvétius
- Maria Theresa
- Sophie d'Houdetot
- Alix de Lamartine
- Ninon de Lenclos
- Amélie Lenormant
- Julie de Lespinasse
- Blandine Liszt
- Marie Anne de Mailly
- Françoise de Maintenon
- Sophie de Maraise
- Marguerite de Navarre
- Mary MontaguLady Mary Wortley MontaguThe Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an English aristocrat and writer. Montagu is today chiefly remembered for her letters, particularly her letters from Turkey, as wife to the British ambassador, which have been described by Billie Melman as “the very first example of a secular work by a woman about...
- Matilda of FlandersMatilda of FlandersMatilda of Flanders was the wife of William the Conqueror and, as such, Queen consort of the Kingdom of England. She bore William nine/ten children, including two kings, William II and Henry I.-Marriage:...
- Jeanne Marie Bouvier de La Mothe-Guyon
- Juliette Récamier
- Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni
- Manon Roland
- Gabrielle RoyGabrielle RoyGabrielle Roy, CC, FRSC was a French Canadian author.- Biography :Born in Saint Boniface , Manitoba, Roy was educated at Saint Joseph's Academy...
- Madeleine de SabléMadeleine de Souvré, marquise de SabléMadeleine de Souvré, marquise de Sablé , French writer, was the daughter of Gilles de Souvré, marquis de Courtenvaux, tutor of Louis XIII, and marshal of France....
- Madame de Saint-Huberty
- George SandGeorge SandAmantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
- Marie de Sévigné
- Marguerite de Launay, baronne de Staal
- Germaine de Staël
- Sophie Swetchine
- Claudine Guérin de TencinClaudine Guérin de TencinClaudine Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin was a French salonist and author. She was the mother of Jean le Rond d'Alembert, philosophe and contributor to the Encyclopédie.- Early life :...
- Marie-Anne de La Trémoille
- Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
- Sophie Volland
See also
- Women's writingWomen's writingWomen's writing may refer to the general study of women writers or women's literature as a genre in general, or in particular languages. See:* Women's writing in English* Écriture féminine* List of women writers* List of women rhetoricians...
- Nu shuNü ShuNüshu , is a syllabic script, a simplification of Chinese characters that was used exclusively among women in Jiangyong County in Hunan province of southern China.-Language:...
- Écriture féminineÉcriture féminineÉcriture féminine, literally "women's writing," more closely, the inscription of the female body and female difference in language and text, is a strain of feminist literary theory that originated in France in the early 1970s and included foundational theorists such as Hélène Cixous, Monique...
- Epistolary novelEpistolary novelAn epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
- Women's historyWomen's historyWomen's history is the study of the role that women have played in history, together with the methods needed to study women. It includes the study of the history of the growth of woman's rights throughout recorded history, the examination of individual women of historical significance, and the...