Against Marriage: The Correspondence of La Grande Mademoiselle

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Chicago Series

by Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Joan DeJean (Translator)

In seventeenth-century France, aristocratic women were valued by their families as commodities to be married off in exchange for money, social advantage, or military alliance. Once married, they became legally subservient to their husbands. The duchesse de Montpensier—a first cousin of Louis XIV—was one of very few exceptions, thanks to the vast wealth she inherited from her mother, who died shortly after Montpensier was born. She was also one of the few politically powerful women in France at the time to have been an accomplished writer.

In the daring letters presented in this bilingual edition, Montpensier condemns the alliance system of marriage, proposing instead to found a republic that she would govern, "a corner of the world in which . . . women are their own mistresses," and where marriage and even courtship would be outlawed. Her pastoral utopia would provide medical care and vocational training for the poor, and all the homes would have libraries and studies, so that each woman would have a "room of her own" in which to write books.

Joan DeJean's lively introduction and accessible translation of Montpensier's letters—four previously unpublished—allow us unprecedented access to the courageous voice of this extraordinary woman.

Genres: Feminism, History, Classics, France, Philosophy, Nonfiction

86 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2002

About the author

Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier was a French princess of royal blood by birth. As a granddaughter of king Henry IV of France, she was a Petite-fille de France.

She was styled as Mademoiselle before the birth of Mademoiselle d'Orléans, the daughter of Louis XIV's brother Philippe; at which time she became known as La Grande Mademoiselle. She is well remembered for her voluminous memoirs of the reign of her younger cousin, King Louis XIV of France.

Reviews

[shanedreamer27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive review of the life of La Grande Mademoiselle and her correspondence with Madame de Motteville and I appreciated having a side by side English translation next to the French.

[olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

haat-liefde, maar wel slay van mademoiselle

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, fascinating look at 17th century proto-feminism from the pen of a Frondist princess. But damn, Mademoiselle liked her long, galloping sentences.