Lafayette & Women

In terms of his relationships with women, Lafayette was not quintessentially  different from other aristocrats of his time: he dutifully accepted an early  marriage of convenience, and later pursued extra-marital flirtations (well  into an advanced age, according to Stendhal) and friendships with “muses.”  On the other hand, he also shared attitudes more typical of the bourgeoisie  of the romantic era. with his correspondence contains many expressions of  genuine conjugal love, and reflects a lively interest in children, his own as  well as those of his friends and family members. Finally he supported  women’s rights, particularly in matters like education and divorce.

Financial Contract of Lafayette’s Marriage to Adrienne de Noailles, 1772.  [zoom]A marriage under the Old Regime was mostly about alliances and money. The deal  between the Duke d’Ayen and Gilbert’s grandfather, the ultra-wealthy Comte de La Rivière, was kept secret until the girl was thirteen and the boy sixteen. The terms were extremely precise. Article 12 stipulated that, should Gilbert die first, she would keep “her clothes, linens, diamonds and jewelry, and a carriage with six horses”; should she die first, he would keep his “clothes, linens, arms, a carriage with six horses, and his library”. It was also agreed that the young couple would live with the Noailles-Ayen family for the first two years after the marriage. The union turned out to be a happy one, until Adrienne’s death in 1808.

Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. Portrait of “Diane de Damas d’Antigny,  Comtesse de Simiane.” Oil on Canvas (reproduction).  [zoom]Diane de Simiane (1761-1835) was married to a homosexual courtier who served in America with Rochambeau and Lafayette; she became the latter’s mistress in the early 1780s. Celebrity portraitist Vigée-Lebrun noted in her diary: “M. de La Fayette came to my house for the sole purpose of seeing a portrait I was painting of the pretty Mme de Simiane, whom they say he was taking care of at the time...” His wife always proved very tolerant: she allowed her husband to spend vacation time with Diane, and encouraged her children to call her their “aunt”.

La Confession de Marie-Antoinette, Ci-devant Reine de France, au Peuple Franc, Sur Ses Amours et ses Intrigues avec M. de Lafayette, les Principaux Membres de l’Assemblé Nationale, et sur ses Projets de Contre-révolution. [Netherlands, i.e. Paris], 1792.  [zoom] | Additional images: This is one of many revolutionary pornographic pamphlets directed against Queen Marie-Antoinette, who was hated for her foreign origins (the portrait included in this pamphlet is entitled “Marie-Antoinette of Austria”) and for her costly extravagances. Because her marriage to shy Louis XVI had remained unconsummated for seven years, the couple made an inviting target. After Lafayette rescued them in October 1789, he became her alleged erotic partner (in this pseudo-confession, she says “I do everything with him [and] wouldn’t be surprised if a child results from our erotic parties”), along with other politicians, sex-crazed lesbians, her own son and even her spaniel... This type of underground literature, intended to dehumanize the Queen, helped to ruin the reputation of the monarchs and paved the way for their public execution.

Revolutionary Fan Showing Marie-Antoinette and her Son (Lafayette is  on the verso, along with King Louis XVI).  [zoom] | Additional images: Louis XVI was guillotined on January 21, 1793; Marie-Antoinette, on October 16 of the same year; and their son died in jail aged 10 on  June 8, 1795.

Marquis de Lafayette

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95sep/lafayette.html

                    “Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country.”

- LAFAYETTE                                 

Soldier & Statesman, 1757 - 1834

Gilbert du Motier was born on September 6, 1757 in Auvergne, France. His full given name was Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier. His father died when he was 2 years old. When his mother and grandfather died 11 years later, he inherited a large fortune. Lafayette, who came from a long line of solders, studied at the Military Academy in Versailles and became a captain in the French cavalry at age 16.

In 1777, Lafayette purchased a ship, and with a crew of adventurers set sail for America to fight in the revolution against the British. Lafayette joined the ranks as a major general, assigned to the staff of George Washington. He served with distinction, leading America forces to several victories. On a return visit to France in 1779, Lafayette persuaded the French government to send aid to the Americans. After the British surrender at Yorktown, Lafayette returned to Paris. He had become a hero in the new United States of America.

At home, Lafayette cooperated closely with Ambassadors Benjamin Franklin, and thenThomas Jefferson on behalf of American interests.

After 1782, Lafayette was absorbed with questions of reform in France. He was one of the first to advocate a National Assembly, and worked toward the establishment of a constitutional monarchy during the years leading up to the French Revolution. These efforts cost him much of his support from the French nobility. As commander of the French National Guard, Lafayette was compelled to use force to put down crowd violence. By 1791, he had lost most of his popularity with the people.

In 1792, Lafayette tried unsuccessfully to curb radicalism against the monarchy. The King andQueen would not accept his assistance. The troops he tried to turn on the Paris mob would not follow his orders. Lafayette was denounced as a traitor and fled the country. He returned to France in 1800 to find that his personal fortune had been confiscated. In 1815 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. As one of its vice presidents, he worked for Napoleon’s abdication after the Battle of Waterloo.

Lafayette became a focal point of resistance to the Bourbon kings. In 1830, he became the leader of a Revolution that dethroned the Bourbons. He refused the popular demand that he become president of the new republic, and instead helped make Louis Philippe the constitutional monarch of France. Just before his death in 1834 he began to regret his support of Philippe and supported the move to a pure republic in France.