The Performance of Motherhood in the Correspondence of Madame De Sévigné, Marie-Thérèse of Austria, and Joséphine Bonaparte to Their Daughters

University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 2012 "Madame ma chère fille": The eP rformance of Motherhood in the Correspondence of Madame de Sévigné, Marie-Thérèse of Austria, and Joséphine Bonaparte to their Daughters Meagen E. Moreland University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Part of the French and Francophone Literature Commons Moreland, Meagen E., ""Madame ma chère fille": The eP rformance of Motherhood in the Correspondence of Madame de Sévigné, Marie-Thérèse of Austria, and Joséphine Bonaparte to their Daughters" (2012). Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 853. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/853 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “Madame ma chère fille”: The Performance of Motherhood in the Correspondence of Madame de Sévigné, Marie-Thérèse of Austria, and Joséphine Bonaparte to their Daughters A Thesis Presented by MEAGEN ELIZABETH MORELAND Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2012 French and Francophone Studies “Madame ma chère fille”: The Performance of Motherhood in the Correspondence of Madame de Sévigné, Marie-Thérèse of Austria, and Joséphine Bonaparte to their Daughters A Thesis Presented by MEAGEN ELIZABETH MORELAND Approved as to style and content by: _______________________________ Janie Vanpée, Chairperson _______________________________ Julie Hayes, Member _______________________________ Luke P. Bouvier Graduate Program Director French and Francophone Studies DEDICATION For my mom, whose voice I am always glad to hear. ABSTRACT “MADAME MA CHÈRE FILLE”: THE PERFORMANCE OF MOTHERHOOD IN THE CORRESPONDENCE OF MADAME DE SÉVIGNÉ, MARIE-THÉRÈSE OF AUSTRIA, AND JOSÉPHINE BONAPARTE TO THEIR DAUGHTERS MAY 2012 MEAGEN ELIZABETH MORELAND, B.A., GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Janie Vanpée, Smith College This paper conducts a critical comparison of the correspondence of Madame de Sévigné, Empress Marie-Thérèse of Austria and Joséphine Bonaparte. These women instruct their daughters through a writerly exchange that implements a remarkably similar use of language that indicates a “performance” of her maternal role, meant to implement a personal or political agenda that requires her daughter’s acknowledgement and reciprocation. This project analyzes the construction of the maternal figure in a historical context, its representation in the letters of each woman with their daughters, the motivations for a “performance” of the maternal role, and the subsequent characterization, reaction, and liberation of the daughter’s voice. The paper addresses: (1) The conducive nature of the epistolary genre to the mother- daughter exchange and the construction of the maternal voice; (2) The development of specific criteria underlining the similarities in each epistolary exchange and proving a “performance” of motherhood, with particular attention paid to the women’s strategic construction of the character of the “devoted mother” and their means of educating and advising their daughters through writing; (3) Examinations of the motivations for a iv “performance” of the maternal role implementing major concepts introduced by J.L. Austin’s speech act theory and Émile Benveniste in order to inform a discussion of the mother’s use of language to develop an image of herself with the intention to control her daughter. This chapter also analyzes those goals, specific to each mother’s circumstance, that rest at the heart of her maternal instruction, motivate her performance, inform her use of language, and contribute to defining her maternal identity. Finally, the fourth chapter consists of an analysis of the daughter’s character as constructed by the mother or, in the case of Marie-Thérèse’s letters to Marie-Antoinette, as compared to the daughter’s actual written response. This chapter applies further use of speech act theory to inform an investigation of how the daughter uses language to affirm (and liberate) her own voice from the mother’s, in which she opposes the mother’s instruction, makes independent or opposing choices, and, ultimately, becomes a mother herself. Key words: mother, daughter, motherhood, performance, performativity, identity, epistolarity, speech act theory, subjectivity v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………...……..iv CHAPTER I. CONTEXTUALIZING THE CORRESPONDENCE………………………..……….1 II. CONSTRUCTING THE MATERNAL VOICE………………………….................36 Domination of Time and the Necessity of Reciprocation….……………...…44 Excessive Devotion and Separation Anxiety…...……………………………50 The Daughter Regarded as Adult and Child…..……………………………..54 The Exchange of Intimate Confessions and Shared Memories..…………….58 Education and Instruction on Men….………………………………………..61 III. CONTROL AND THE MATERNAL VOICE…..…………………………………..67 IV. LIBERATION OF THE DAUGHTER’S VOICE………………………………….106 APPENDICES A. LETTERS FROM MOTHER TO DAUGHTER………………………………..131 B. FREQUENCY OF MARIE-THÉRÈSE CORRESPONDENCE (1770-1780)….134 C. LETTER FROM MARIE ANTOINETTE TO MARIE-THÉRÈSE…...………..135 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………….…………………………………………………………….136 vi CHAPTER I CONTEXTUALIZING THE CORRESPONDENCE In 1671, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, the marquise of Sévigné, wrote to her daughter: “Ma douleur serait bien médiocre si je pouvais vous la dépeindre; je ne l’entreprendrai pas aussi. J’ai beau chercher ma chère fille, je ne la trouve plus, et tous les pas qu’elle fait l’éloignent de moi.” (Duchêne, Vol. I, 6 Feb., 149) Over half of the letters which remain in Madame de Sévigné’s prolific correspondence1 are destined for her daughter, Françoise- Marguerite de Sévigné, the countess of Grignan; each marked by a dramatic anxiety and depression associated with separation from her daughter, intimate details of personal thoughts and events, and the insistence of the daughter’s acceptance and reciprocation of the epistolary exchange. Throughout the correspondence, Sévigné’s letters to Madame de Grignan suggest a mother that is totally devoted to her daughter, and whose own happiness - even existence - is dependent on the return of the daughter’s affection and acknowledgment of the mother’s instruction. While Madame de Sévigné’s writing has reached great literary fame and achievement, consistent trends in the invention and expression of her maternal identity – how she defines herself as “mother” in her writing - are reflected in later feminine correspondences. The dominating maternal voice that characterizes Sévigné’s letters is joined, over the course of the proceeding two centuries, by those of the Empress Marie- Thérèse of Austria and Joséphine Bonaparte, the first wife of the Emperor Napoléon. Each of 1 Note on spelling: I will use the English “correspondence” in the general text and the French “correspondance” when specifically referring to the titles of epistolary collections or citing in the original language. 1 these three women maintain epistolary exchanges with their daughters which begin at the moment of initial separation and serve as a means of sustaining a written portrait of themselves as “mother” that not only displays remarkable similarities in style and language, but emphasizes a carefully crafted maternal voice characterized by excessive devotion and maternal instruction. On May 4, 1770, just after the departure of her daughter, Empress Marie-Thérèse writes: “N’oubliez pas une mère qui, quoi qu’éloignée, ne cessera d’être occupée de vous jusqu’à son dernier soupir. Je vous donne ma bénédiction et suis toujours votre fidèle mère.” (Lever 46) Like Sévigné and Marie-Thérèse, Joséphine Bonaparte places particular emphasis on the physical distance between herself and her daughter, stressing an emotional connection and preoccupation that bind mother and child together. Almost three decades later, On March 6, 1797, Joséphine writes to her daughter, Hortense de Beauharnais: “Je ne puis m’accoutumer à être éloignée aussi longtemps de mes chers enfants; j’ai besoin de les serrer contre mon sein. J’ai cependant tout lieu d’espérer que ce moment n’est pas très éloigné et cela contribue beaucoup à me remettre de l’indisposition que j’ai eue.” (Chevalier 49) It is clear that, despite marked differences in their filial relationships, historical circumstances, and conditions surrounding their correspondence, each woman’s preoccupation with distance and éloignement, directly linked with their health and maternal devotion, exemplifies a significant and consistent trend in the way each of these woman represent themselves as mothers. This project will prove that each distinct exchange of letters engage these three women in a dialogue that suggests a conflict between the nature of each woman’s true relationship with her daughter and the altruistic maternal figure represented in their 2 correspondences. Ultimately, I argue that consistent trends in the way each woman represents herself as “mother”, despite contextual differences, suggests that they are conducting a “performance” of motherhood. Each woman is dependent on her daughter to enact a personal or political agenda and, therefore, creates an image of herself

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