BELLE VAN ZUYLEN/ISABELLE DE CHARRIERE (1740-1805) TRADITION AND DEFIANCE

Margriet Bruyn Lacy North Dakota State University Fargo (NO), USA

Belle van Zuylen was born on October 20,1740 in the , and she resided in that country until her marriage in 1771. She then lived mostly in , until her death on December 27, 1805. She wrote several novels, essays, plays, short stories, and pamphlets, but is be~t known for her extensive correspondence.

Belle van Zuylen, or more precisely, on her ability to reason, which accounts to Isabella Agneta Elisabeth van Tuyll van a large extent for her skepticism towards Serooskerken (1740-1805), belonged to a religion, in particular towards revelation. prominent, aristocratic, Protestant family in Thus, she wrote to Boswell: the Netherlands, the country where she lived until she moved to Switzerland in Everything tells me that there is a God, an 1771. One might say that she was a "black eternal, perfect, and all-powerful being .... sheep" in her family and in her society, Revelation has qualities of grandeur, because she was quite independent goodness, and mercy which are infinitely intellectually and did not hesitate to express entitled to our respect; if I understood it her often original ideas on any number of better, I should perhaps recognize the marks of divinity in it throughout; but I am held subjects, such as religion, marriage, the back by much that is obscure, and by what relationship between parents and children, appear to me contradictions. I doubt, and I and education, to name just a few. These keep my doubts to myself; I should think it topics were important to her because of the a crime to destroy the belief of others when role they each played in her own life, but I can replace it only by an anxious doubt. she discussed them at the same time in a But I am incapable of forcing my mind to more theoretical or philosophical manner, believe what it does not understand, or of which makes her insights as meaningful to compelling my heart to subscribe to a us, today, as they were to her. She religion which I can never love so long as I expressed her ideas and opinions in novels, find it denies its promised happiness to part of God's creatures. I cannot separate my lot in essays and plays, but above all in her from that of others (June 19, 1764).1 extensive correspondence with men such as David Constant d'Hermenches, his nephew As especially the last sentences of this the well known French author Benjamin quotation already suggest, Belle van Zuylen, Constant, and the equally well known in spite of her privileged position, was well . aware of the many hardships afflicting "the masses," and so one might have expected Throughout her life she was tempted to her to be a stronger supporter of the French transgress the norms and values of her revolution in 1789 than was actually the society, yet she often ended up complying case. She was suspicious of the impact of with tradition, not so much because she was any radical change and feared, correctly so, a conformist after all, but rather because she that many were too easily carried away by considered it ultimately futile to promote their enthusiasm, without seeing the strong sweeping changes. Thus, as this short possibility of new forms of fanaticism and overview will illustrate, her life and works intolerance. Thus, she warned her readers were full of paradoxes. in her novel Trois Femmes (Three Women, 1798): In many respects Belle van Zuylen was a representative of what we have come to call The philosophical clergy is just as much a the Enlightenment. She put great emphasis clergy as any other, and it was not really 34 Margriet Bruyn Lacy

necessary to get rid of the priest at Saint­ man, a faithful and virtuous wife; but, for Sulpice, if we are going to have new priests that, I must love and must be loved. at the Pantheon (Oeuvres 9:106, my When I ask myself whether I would not love translation). another man, if I did not love my husband, whether the very notion of duty, the memory Her skepticism with regard to the benefits of my marriage vows would defend me of the ideas of the "philosophers" and the against love, against the opportunity on a summer night . . ., I blush because of my revolution should not be seen as a desire to answer. But if we love each other, if my maintain the status quo. She believed, husband doos,riot disdain to please me, if he however, that it was naive, even foolish, to attaches a gyeat price to my affection, if he see new ideas and new socio-political says to me: '1 shall not kill you if you are systems as a panacea that would eliminate unfaithful, but I shall be the more unhappy existing inequities, in any aspect of society, not to be able to esteem you anymore as I on a large scale. She considered it more shall perhaps still love you," in that case, I likely and feasible to bring about change in say, I think, I hope, I believe firmly that I a few individuals, rather than in entire would avoid everything that might seduce groups. This emphasis on the individual me, that I would never fail to observe the also manifested itself in her own life, in the laws of virtue Guly 25, 1764; Oeuvres 1:217, way in which she, instead of adhering my translation). automatically to the norms of her class, D'Hermenches knew how to "handle" sought to develop a personal ethical system, Belle's observations, questions, and fears, which was a mixture of teleology and and he understood them, which could not deontology. Numerous examples could be be said of her other correspondent, James cited, especially from her clandestine Boswell. Boswell was strongly inclined to correspondence with d'Hermenches (a give her moral lessons, such as: married man, seventeen years her senior, who had the well deserved reputation of Fie, my zelide [Le., Belle], what fancies are being a Don Juan, but who turned out to be these? Is a mistress half so agreeable a name a trustworthy confidant). Particularly as a wife? Is a connection of love merely, amazing is the fact that they maintained equal to a connection strengthened by a this correspondence for some twenty years, variety of circumstances which have a confided to each other their most intimate pleasing influence on a sound mind? I thoughts and feelings, yet actually saw each beseech you, never indulge in such ideas. other only a few times. In several of these Respect mankind. Respect the institutions of letters, Belle expressed her fear of marriage society (Pottle 313). and announced, in an honest and Boswell was constantly both shocked and straightforward manner, that she might well intrigued by Belle, and that became become unfaithful to a husband she did not particularly evident when he finally asked love: for her hand (which was amazing in itselO If I had neither father nor mother, I would be in a long letter to her father. He listed a Ninon [de Lendos] perhaps, but a more many requirements, from which it became delicate and more constant Ninon; I would obvious that what he was looking for in a not have so many lovers; if the first one were wife, that is to say submission to his norms, lovable, I think I would not change and, in could never be given to him by Belle. That that case, I don't know if I would be very the marriage never took place was most guilty; at least, I could redeem through likely a blessing for both parties. virtuous actions the insult that I would do to society by rejecting the yoke of a wisely It is hard to tell whether Belle herself was established rule. I have a father and a able to draw the line between her fantasies mother, I don't want to cause their death nor (as expressed, for example, in the letter to poison their life, I shall not be a Ninon; I d'Hermenches quoted above) and her "real would like to be the wife of an honorable Belle van Zuylen/Isabelle de Charriere 35 life" situation. At any rate, the expression profit by her unhappiness. Her existence of these "libertine" ideas seems to have ought not to be useless; and the less it helped her to face a life in which there was appears a good to her, the more she wishes not much room for non-traditional behavior. to make it a good for them (Pottle 185-187). When she was already thirty years old, she did marry Charles-Emmanuel de Charriere, During her marriage, Belle van Zuylen a Swiss private tutor of her brothers, and (then of course Madame de Charriere) moved to Colombier, a small village near turned more and more to writing fiction, Neuchatel. She had much esteem for her without giving / up her letter-writing. husband, but was certainly not passionately Although these works of fiction in love with him. In another long letter to undoubtedly have literary merits, it is not d'Hermenches she explained how she had through them that their author deserves to weighed the pros and cons of this match be remembered today. Instead, her claim to and why she finally accepted it. She fame lies primarily in her letters, in which indicated that she saw especially practical she displayed her outstanding intellectual advantages in a marriage with de Charriere: and artistic qualities much more brilliantly. she thought that her intellectual freedom Despite these reservations about her novels , had been assured and this would not have mention should be made of the Lettres been the case in a marriage with Boswell. ecrites de Lausanne (1785-87), composed of Scholars customarily refer to Monsieur de two parts, the second of which, Caliste, Charriere as kind and intelligent, but also as inspired and Madame flegmatic and dull. Yet it seems that he de Stael when they wrote Adolphe and was actually much more courageous than Corinne respectively, and of the Lettres he is given credit for, because he did marry Neuchateloises (1784). Both works, especially Belle van Zuylen, who was in many ways a the latter, led to some local indignation formidable woman, and moreover he did because the (fictitious) stories, which give her, without any complaints or contain a certain amount of social and restrictions, the intellectual freedom that moral criticism, took place against a "real" was so dear to her, and enabled her to write background of familiar places and customs, and publish. But in spite of that, the which was a technique the author had marriage was not a particularly happy one, borrowed from Sara Burgerhart (1782), as though it must be said that in all likelihood she indicated in one of her letters. Mistriss no marriage would have been able to satisfy Henley (1784) is a short story, composed of Belle. D'Hermenches had predicted this to six letters, written in that same period. It her already many years earlier: "your has received less critical attention than the imagination is too lively and your tastes are two novels just mentioned, but is, in my too varied and refined for you to be able to opinion, of superior quality. It was written marry like any other woman . . ." as a reaction to Le mari sentimental (The (November 17, 1763; Oeuvres 1:161, my Sentimental Husband) by Samuel Constant, translation). And the portrait which Belle brother of David Constant d'Hermenches. had drawn of herself at the age of twenty­ In Constant's text the protagonist is a three, under the name of Zelide, is also middle-aged man with deeply ingrained quite illuminating in this respect: habits and a firmly established way of life. He marries a somewhat younger woman, Realizing that she is too sensitive to be but the "intrusion" of his wife into his daily happy, she has almost ceased to hope for pattern becomes intolerable to him and happiness. finally drives him to suicide. In her She tries to make every moment of those response, Madame de Charriere took the who approach her happy, for she would like point of view of a woman who marries a to make their lives happy, and moments widower and discovers that there is no make life. Though she is too sensitive to be room in this man's life for her enthusiasm, happy herself, those who associate with her impulses, and imagination. Her husband 36 Margriet Bruyn Lacy years of her life, who, ironically, is in many respects a "nice" During the last twenty more and more man, has one fault which makes his wife Belle van Zuylen became emphasized totally unhappy: he is flawless, always disillusioned and increasingly hope to influence a few guided by reason, and fully expects his wife that she could only of her progressive, to conform to his rational standards, thus individuals. In spite and convictions, she ignoring her spontaneity, her impromptu non-traditional ideas aloof and concentrated behavior (Madame de Charriere emphasizes remained somewhat those intelligent enough here very much that "reason" is not a on influencing only her in her and can indeed maintain the status to understand and appreciate panacea One of these quo instead of supporting "progress," in rather secluded environment. Benjamin Constant, who contrast to what was so often thought in the people was impact on him more than eighteenth century). Mistriss Henley's acknowledged her Rouge and who wrote at mistake has been to believe that she would once in his Cahier in his Journaux intimes: eventually be able to imitate and assimilate the time of her death who loved me dearly, her husband's personality, but obviously "In her I lose a friend one, a heart that, she does not succeed and the marriage a refuge if I had needed me, had never abandoned becomes a complete failure. although hurt by me" (Constant Oeuvres 560; my translation). young people such as What makes this short story particularly It was through twenty-five years interesting is that the narrator does not just Constant, approximately to transmit her her husband, but is well aware of her junior, that she tried criticize and her her own shortcomings also. It is a well message of non-conformism tradition, even if her balanced presentation, yet the reader most defiance of accomplishing anything at likely pities the wife and blames the expectations of husband because his "reasonable attitude," all were low. admirable as it may be, makes him inflexible and insensitive to others.

ENDNOTES

Zuylen wrote almost exclusively in the French language. In 1 Pottle 306-307. Although Dutch, Belle van own, as indicated. the present article I am using English translations by others or my

Works by Belle van Zuylen/lsabelle de Charriere

Oeuvres completes. 10 vols. Amsterdam: G.A. van Oorschot, 1979-81.

Translations into English (selected)

see Pottle

Secondary Literature 1957. Constant, Benjamin. Oeuvres. Ed. Alfred Roulin. Paris: Gallimard, Dubois, Simone. Belle van Zuylen: Leven op afstand. Zaltbommel, 1969. 1952. Pottle, Frederick A., ed. Boswell in Holland: 1763-1764. New York: McGraw-Hill,