Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (20 June 1786 – 23 July 1859) was a French Romantic poet and novelist.

Early life and education

Desbordes-Valmore was born in

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

. Following the French Revolution, her father's business was ruined, and she traveled with her mother to

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

in search of financial help from a distant relative. Marceline's mother died of yellow fever there, and the young girl somehow made her way back to France. At age 16, back in Douai, she began a career on stage. In 1817 she married her husband, the "second-rate" actor Prosper Lanchantin-Valmore.

Career

Desbordes-Valmore published ''Élégies et Romances'', her first poetic work, in 1819. In 1821 she published the narrative work ''Veillées des Antilles''. It includes the

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

''Sarah'', a contribution to the genre of

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

stories in France. Desbordes-Valmore appeared as an actress and singer in Douai,

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and the

Théâtre de la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, where she notably played Rosine in

Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French playwright and diplomat during the Age of Enlightenment. Best known for his three Figaro plays, at various times in his life he was also a watchmaker, invent ...

's '' Le Barbier de Séville''. She retired from the stage in 1823. She later became friends with the novelist

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

, and he once wrote that she was an inspiration for the title character of ''

La Cousine Bette ''La Cousine Bette'' (, ''Cousin Bette (given name), Bette'') is an 1847 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac. Set in mid-19th-century Paris, it tells the story of an unmarried middle-aged woman who plots the destruction of her extended fami ...

''. Desbordes-Valmore was a friend of the writer

Louise Crombach Louise Crombach (or Crombak) was born on in Lons-le-Saunier and died on in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, 20th arrondissement of Paris. She was a French Dressmaker, seamstress, prison inspector, writer and Feminism, feminist. In 1845, she w ...

, who introduced Desbordes-Valmore to

Marie Pape-Carpantier Marie Pape-Carpantier (1815–1878) was a French people, French educator born on 11 September 1815 in Sarthe, France and died in Villiers-le-Bel (Val-d'Oise) on 31 July 1878. She grew to play a major part in revolutionizing education in French sc ...

. Their friendship ended after Crombach was prosecuted for

lesbianism A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homo ...

in 1845. The publication of her innovative volume of elegies in 1819 marks her as one of the founders of French Romantic poetry.Aimée Boutin, ''Maternal Echoes: The Poetry of Marceline Desbordes-Valmore and Alphonse de Lamartine.'' University of Delaware Press, 2001. Her poetry is also known for taking on dark and depressing themes, which reflects her troubled life. She is the only female writer included in the famous ''

Les Poètes maudits LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimental S ...

'' anthology published by

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...

in 1884. A volume of her poetry was among the books in

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

's library.

Bibliography

Each year links to its corresponding "

ear In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear co ...

in poetry" article: *

1819 Events January–March * January 2 – The Panic of 1819, the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States, begins. * January 25 – Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia. * January 29 – Si ...

: ''Élégies et romances'' *

1825 Events January–March * January 4 – King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies dies in Naples and is succeeded by his son, Francis. * February 3 – Vendsyssel-Thy, once part of the Jutland peninsula forming westernmost Denmark, becomes an ...

: ''Élégies et poésies nouvelles''Rees, William
''The Penguin book of French poetry: 1820-1950''
Penguin, 1992, *

1833 Events January–March * January 3 – The United Kingdom reasserts British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. * February 6 (January 25 on the Greek calendar) – Prince Otto Friedrich Ludwig of Bavaria arr ...

: ''Les Pleurs'' *

1839 Events January–March * January 2 – The first photograph of the Moon is taken, by French photographer Louis Daguerre. * January 6 – Night of the Big Wind: Ireland is struck by the most damaging cyclone in 300 years. * January 9 – ...

: ''Pauvres Fleurs'' *

1843 Events January–March * January 3 – The '' Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms'' (海國圖志, ''Hǎiguó Túzhì'') compiled by Wei Yuan and others, the first significant Chinese work on the West, is published in China. * J ...

: ''Bouquets et prières'' *

1860 Events January * January 2 – The astronomer Urbain Le Verrier announces the discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan (hypothetical planet), Vulcan at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 &ndas ...

: ''Poésies inédites'' (posthumous)

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Desbordes-Valmore, Marceline People from Douai 1786 births 1859 deaths French women novelists French women poets Poètes maudits Burials at Montmartre Cemetery 19th-century French actresses French stage actresses 19th-century French opera singers 19th-century French women writers