Constance de Salm, Her Influence and Her Circle in the Aftermath of the French Revolution: «A Mind of No Common Order»

269 Pages·2012·3.82 MB·English

by  Pipelet

Constance de Salm,
Her Influence and Her Circle
in the Aftermath of the
French Revolution
Currents in Comparative Romance
Languages and Literatures

Tamara Alvarez-Detrell and Michael G. Paulson
General Editors

Vol. 193

PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Ellen McNiven Hine

Constance de Salm,
Her Influence and Her Circle
in the Aftermath of the
French Revolution

“A Mind of No Common Order”

PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hine, Ellen McNiven.
Constance de Salm, her influence and her circle in the aftermath of the
French Revolution: “a mind of no common order” / Ellen McNiven Hine.
p. cm. — (Currents in comparative Romance languages and literatures; v. 193)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Pipelet, citoyenne, 1767–1845. 2. Pipelet, citoyenne, 1767–1845—Influence.
3. Pipelet, citoyenne, 1767–1845—Friends and associates. 4. Women intellectuals—
France—Biography. 5. Women librettists—France—Biography. 6. France—
Intellectual life. 7. France—History—Revolution, 1789–1799. 8. France—History—
Consulate and First Empire, 1799–1815. 9. France—History—Restoration,
1814–1830. 10. Women’s rights—France—History. I. Title.
DC146.P64H56 944.05092—dc22 [B] 2010053437
ISBN 978-1-4331-1429-8 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4539-0566-1 (e-book)
ISSN 0893-5963

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

A note from the author: Katherine Kolb writes that the French Revolutionary
era can be “taken in its broadest sense to cover the years 1770–1820”
(Nineteenth-century French Studies, 32, nos. 1 and 2 Fall–Winter 2003–2004,
p.152). I argue that a case can be made for the “long” eighteenth century to
stretch even farther into the new century to encompass the huge political,
social, and economic upheavals that followed in the wake of the Revolution of
1789.

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council of Library Resources.

© 2012 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.

Printed in Germany
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For Bill, Robin and Janet
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CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IX
INTRODUCTION 1
PART I
1. A LIFEINCONTEXT: Setting the Historical Stage 13
Life Story 18
Personal Tragedy 20
2. SAPHO 25
Madame De Staël 35
3. THEEARLYYEARS: Championing the Women’s Cause 47
Mary Wollstonecraft 57
4. THEACCIDENTALEULOGIST, ORTHESCIENTISTS’ FRIEND: In Praise 68
of the Astronomer Lalande
Mary Somerville 86
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viii contents
PART II
5. NETWORKINGANDPATRONAGE: CORRESPONDENTAND 101
SALONNIEREEXTRAORDINAIRE: Correspondence:
A. Networking and Professional Development 102
B. Correspondence and the Woman Question 110
Salon: The Weekly Meetings of Her ‘Fidèles’ 115
6. RUSTICATION: BANISHMENTTOTHECOUNTRYAND 126
THE‘SIMPLELIFE’: Urban Is to Rustic as Paris Is to Dyck
PART III
7. ANEMPIREWONANDLOST: THENAPOLEONICYEARSANDBEYOND: 141
The Political Interests of a ‘Non-Activist’ Woman
Rapport Sur Un Ouvrage De Théremin 152
Opinion D’une Femme Sur Les Femmes 154
8. THERESTORATIONYEARS 163
Louise Colet 170
PART IV
9. TAKINGSTOCK: REMINISCENCESANDPREDICTIONS:Mes Soixante Ans 181
Looking Back: A. An Astute Observer of The Passing Scene 185
B. Solidarity and Sisterhood 190
C. Character and Self-Creation 193
Looking Forward: Fame, ‘Genius,’ and Legacy 200
CONCLUSION 217
References to unpublished letters in the collection of the Musée 229
Du Vieux Toulon
Works By Constance-Marie De Théis, Mme Pipelet De Leury, 235
Princesse De Salm-Reifferscheid-Dyck
Bibliography 237
Index 247
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study has been some time in the making, largely because of two bouts of
breast cancer. However, I am as convinced as ever of the validity of the under-
taking begun some time ago and of the contribution that an intellectual biog-
raphy of Constance de Salm can make to late eighteenth and early nineteenth
century scholarship in such areas as French literature, the history of science,
and women’s studies.
The work would not have been possible without the financial assistance
that I have received in the form of research grants from The Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada and from Atkinson College, York
University, for which I am very grateful. I am also grateful to the members of
the Société des Amis du Vieux Toulon for allowing me to work with the
Constance de Salm letters. I particularly appreciate the kindness and consid-
eration of librarians such as M. Henri Bouvet of the Musée du Vieux Toulon
and Dr Karl Emsbach, the Kreisarchivdirektor in Zons, Germany. Their assis-
tance is much appreciated and gratefully acknowledged.
I wish to acknowledge also the support and encouragement that I received
from my colleagues at York University in Toronto, in particular Professors Joan
Gibson, Jane Couchman, and Heather Campbell, who were introduced to the
project in its initial stages, and whose helpful comments were much appreci-