The Countess ( French: ''La Comtesse''; born Arthur Berloget), also known as Pauline and Arthur W, was a French transgender courtesan, demimondaine, singer, artist, and writer who was prominent in Parisian society throughout the 1850s and 1860s. She was the mistress of a

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

and later became a singer in

Parisian café Parisian cafés are a type of café found mainly in Paris, where they can serve as a meeting place, neighborhood hub, conversation matrix, rendez-vous spot, and a place to relax or to refuel for Parisian citizens. Typical Parisian cafés are not ...

s and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

s. Berloget was an active member of an

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

community in Paris, whose members were called ''filles'', ''mignons'' and ''tribade sisters''. She was drafted to serve in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, and was forced to temporarily de-transition. She was arrested in 1861 for robbery and for deserting her post, and was sentenced to ten years in prison. In 1874, she authored an autobiography ''The Secret Confessions of a Parisian: The Countess, 1850-1871'', which was published in 1895. Her autobiography describes intimate details of her life living as a woman during the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

and the beginning of

La Belle Époque LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

. She drew illustrations of herself and other members of her queer community for her autobiography.

Biography

The Countess was born Arthur Berloget in Paris to

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

parents. Her father was a coachman and her mother was a dressmaker. As an adolescent, she engaged in sexual relationships with older men. She began presenting as a woman in her teenage years and going by the name Pauline, later becoming a

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

of a man who was a member of the

French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...

and the son of a

marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

. Her lover abandoned her after a few years. While living as a

courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...

in Paris, she earned a living as a

and

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

-concert singer. La fille La Charles

Berloget was drafted to serve in the

, and had to spend that time presenting as a man. She wrote about the sadness that her temporary detransition caused her. She later deserted from her post. In 1861, Berloget was arrested for desertion and theft, and was sentenced to ten years in prison. While in prison, she met a fellow prisoner named Gustave Engel, who she describes in her autobiography as the love of her life. Upon her release from prison, she returned to her life in Paris, living as a woman. Tribade Sister

Berloget was part of a

community in Paris made up of ''filles'' and ''mignons'', transgender women, and ''tribade sisters'', lesbians and transgender men. She was given the name "The Countess" by this community during a ceremony, which she wrote about in her 1874 autobiography ''The Secret Confessions of a Parisian: The Countess, 1850-1871'', which was published in 1895. The autobiography details her life in Paris living as a woman throughout the

and the beginning of

. She wrote of her gender transition, "I, who had so desired to be a girl, have triumphed over natural law." She documented her

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

process to her mother, who welcomed her as a daughter, and wrote about the mutual support that the ''filles'' and ''tribade sisters'' provided each other. Berloget described her community as a family, and wrote about the lavish parties and soirées they hosted. A

dilettante Dilettante or dilettantes may refer to: * Amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidactic ...

artist, she illustrated her autobiography with drawings of herself and her contemporaries, including a fellow ''fille'' known as La Charles and a ''tribade'' known as B.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Countess, The 19th-century French LGBTQ people 19th-century French criminals 19th-century French dancers 19th-century French women artists 19th-century French women singers 19th-century French women writers 19th-century French memoirists French courtesans Artists from Paris Belle Époque Courtesans from Paris Criminals from Paris French Army soldiers French cabaret performers French cabaret singers French LGBTQ singers French prisoners and detainees French salon-holders French transgender women French transgender musicians French transgender writers French transgender artists French vedettes Mistresses People of the French Third Republic People of the Second French Empire Singers from Paris Socialites from Paris Transgender military personnel French LGBTQ military personnel Transgender women artists Transgender women singers Transgender women writers Writers from Paris Date of birth missing Year of birth missing French Army personnel who were court-martialed People convicted of desertion Prisoners and detainees of France