A Woman's Reputation: Madame de Saint-Chamond Responds to Rousseau

Author(s): Jeanne Hageman

Source: Dalhousie French Studies, Vol. 59 (Summer 2002), pp. 32-41
Published by: Dalhousie University
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A Woman's Reputation:
Madame de Saint-ChamondRespondsto Rousseau
JeanneHageman

Mon nom en bas de cette lettrene vous

instruirapas. Je l'avoue sans honte,je ne
suis rien. Un désir extrême de vous
Connoîtrem'a faitprendrela plume,je me
suis flattéeque vous feriezréponseet que je
saurois,au moins,directement ce que vous
pensé.1

^y o concludesthe futureMadame de Saint-Chamond' s letterto Jean-Jacques

<-^ Rousseau,herfirstknownforayintothesphereof publicwriting.2 Her timid
declarationthatshe is an unknown,a nothingas comparedto Rousseau,coupled
withherassertionthatshe can onlyhopethathe mightdeignto reply,implying that
she mightsomehowbe unworthy of the greatRousseau's attention, gives us no
indication
of thewritershe wouldbecome,an authorwho,sometwenty yearslater,
would pen a responseto Rousseau thatwould directlychallengehis basic beliefs
aboutwomenand society.3Yet thisis preciselywhatSaint-Chamond woulddo in
1784,in herJean-Jacquesà Monsieur5... sur des réflexions contreses derniers
écrits.Even thoughSaint-Chamond would remainan ardentdiscipleof manyof
Rousseau's principles,she would vehemently rejecthis basic premisethatNature
had destinedwomento be judged differently thanmenand heldto a muchhigher
standardofbehaviorthanthemenwhoso closelycontrolled theirlives.
Accordingto Rousseau,in Emile,ou de l'éducation(Rousseau1966),4notonly
musta womanremainat home,fulfilling hernaturalroleof lovingwifeand mother
and proving,on a dailybasis,through heractions,herunquestioning and complete

1. Claire-MarieMazarelli(Madame de Saint-Chamond), letterto Jean-JacquesRousseau,21 April1762

(Rousseau 1965:X:202).WhencitingSaint-Chamond or Servan,the spellingsused are thoseof the
originaleighteenth-centurytexts.The spellinghereis thatfoundinRousseau'sCorrespondance.
2. Accordingto Leigh, thisletterwas writtennotonlyforRousseau butforpublicationas well, even
thoughhe had foundno publishedcopies(Rousseau1965:X:203).In fact,a similarversionof theletter,
withminorvariations and lackingthefinalparagraph, was publishedalongwitha commentary in 1763
in Fréron'sL'Annéelittéraire(19-23).
3. Whileit is notknownexactlyhow manywomenwroteto Rousseau,MademoiselleMazarelliwas just
one in nearlya hundredwomenwhosecorrespondence withRousseauis foundin his Correspondance
(Rousseau 1965). Some of thesewomen,suchas Madamed'Épinay,theDuchessede Luxembourg and
Madame de Warensare friends, protectorsor lovers.A fewlettersare fromauntsor femalecousins.
Anotherlarge groupof letterscomes fromfemaleadmirers,such as Madame de Saint-Chamond.
Madame de Saint-Chamond wroteat leastone letterto Rousseauand is assumedto have receivedat
leasttwoin return (see notesforLetters6831 and 683Ibis in Rousseau1965). Manyof theletters from
admirersare extremelyflattering and complimentary. The majorityof lettersin this group ask
Rousseau'sadviceon childrearing, statethatthewriter wishestoraiseoris actuallyattempting to raise
herchildrenfollowingRousseau'sadvicein Émile,or theyseekfurther information concerningJulieor
Saint-Preux followingthepublication ofLa nouvelleHéloïse.Madamede Saint-Chamond' s letterstands
outin thatshe neitheraskshis advicenorseeksinformation. Instead,she seeksto convinceRousseauto
returnto thesocietywhichhe has fledand adviseshimto adopta less pessimisticattitudetowardthe
peoplelivingin thatsociety.
4. Rousseau's Emilewas notwidelyavailable in ParisuntilMay 1762, so it is unlikelythatthefuture
Madamede Saint-Chamond had readthisworkwhenshe wroteto Rousseauin Aprilof thesameyear.
She was mostcertainly awareofitin 1784.

DalhousieFrenchStudies59 (2002)
-32-

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Madamede Saint-Chamond 33

adherence to the strictsocial constraintsimposed upon her, she must also remain
vigilant in order to insure thather reputationremains untarnished.Even the hintof
scandal, no matterhow fallacious, would doom a woman's reputation,and through
her, the reputationof an entirefamily,since it would call into doubt the paternityof
any offspring.Appearances, forRousseau, were paramount:
II n'importedonc pas seulementque la femmesoit fidèle,mais qu'elle soit
jugée telle par son mari, par ses proches, par tout le monde ; il importe
qu'elle soit modeste, attentive,réservée,et qu'elle porteaux yeux d'autrui,
comme en sa propreconscience, le témoignagede sa vertu.(Emile 471)
Women needed to be constantlyconscious of theirbehavior, reflectingincessantly
on any and all possible consequences of their actions. The education Rousseau
suggests forSophie in Emile and forwomen in general,is aimed entirelyat forming
the quintessentialwomen. Yet Emile' s futurewife, the ever virtuousSophie, is but a
fictionalcharacter,the romanticizedproductof Rousseau's imagination.She lives in
a pure world, created by Rousseau, a world thathad never existed and which would
never exist in France. It is still more interestingthat,even in his imaginaryworld,
Sophie must be raised alone in the countryby her parents,in a world far removed
from the realities of existence in order for Rousseau to be able to hold her to his
impossiblyhigh standard;only in thiscarefullycontrolledand restrictedworld is she
able to remainchaste, virtuousand modest. Yet Rousseau seems to acknowledge that
the standards he, and society in general, have set for women are virtually
unattainable,and if attained,unsustainable. His perfectSophie can comply only as
long as she is sequestered fromsociety and closely supervised and protectedby her
parents.5Still, it is this glorifiedimage of women and theirbehavior thatdominated
eighteenth-centuryFrench society both before and after Rousseau; Sophie, or a
similar paragon of purity,was the woman against whom flesh and blood women
would be judged, an impossibly perfect model that left women no freedom of
thoughtor action and absolutely no recourse should theybe branded,even wrongly,
an impurewoman.
Yet if Rousseau, and many other male authors, chose to portrayimaginary,
idealized women in theirworks, Madame de Saint-Chamond would instead present
the portraitof real women, women who were constantlyconfrontedwiththe realities
and corruptionof daily life and who were then required to survive and cautiously
navigate the dangerous situations they encountered,given the double-standardsby
which they would be judged and knowing that all judgments made would be final
and eternal. Saint-Chamond' s desire to show the inequities and the unjustified
criticisms that women had to bear would put her in direct conflict with her idol,
Rousseau.
This is not surprising given Madame de Saint-Chamond's life experiences.
Born in 1729,6 Claire-Marie Mazarelli was the daughterof a French woman and an
Italian immigrant,who was, for a time,owner of the café at the Comédie italienne.
Upon her father's death in 1735, she was sent by her motherto a convent for four
years and it is duringthis time thatshe likely learned to read and write.In 1743, she

5. One need only read Rousseau's Emile et Sophie ou les solitaires(1994), thesequel to Emile that
Rousseaubeganin 1768,to see thatonceexposedto society,no longersequestered andguarded,Sophie
cannotmaintain herpurity.Once sheentersthe"real"world,shecannotresistitstemDtations andvices
6. Most textslistSaint-Chamond' s date of birthas 1731. This is in keepingwiththedate givenby the
authorherselfin a judicial statement of case publishedin 1752 (Archivesdépartementales de Paris
4AZ362). In fact,a copyof herbirthcertificate,reconstructed followingtheParisHôtelde Ville firein
1871 butbasedon an originalbaptismalrecord,listsherdateofbirthas 1729(Archivesdépartementales
de Paris,Microfilm 5MÍ-952).

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34 JeanneHageman

became a dancer with the Comédie italienne and remained there until early 1745,
when she left at the behest of the Marquis de Beaumont. At this point, it becomes
unclear as to whetherMademoiselle Mazarelli is the Marquis' mistressor if she was
indeed, as her published love lettersfromhim indicate, his fiancée. In any case, he
provided financial supportforClaire and her mother,but his sudden death in 1750
halted the supportand destroyedany hopes for marriage.In 1762, Mazarelli began
writing, publishing and vying for literaryprizes. In June 1765 she married the
Marquis de Saint-Chamond and settled down to domestic life,7 all the while
continuingher literarycareer. Obviously, Claire-Marie had not lived the pure and
reservedlife thatRousseau would have advised, and her reputationwas certainlyless
thanunblemished.
A moderate feminist,Madame de Saint-Chamond could be compared in many
ways to Madame d'Épinay, althoughthe latterwould have been less thanflatteredby
the comparison, given Grimm's judgment of Saint-Chamond.8Still, neitherwoman
sought to overturnthe society in which she lived; instead, both chose to make
changes fromwithin.Both women sought happiness and fulfillmentin marriageand
motherhood,which explains, at least in part,the factthatboth admiredRousseau and
his writingson the importanceof the family.At the same time,both also took issue
with his opinions on the role and place of women in society. Saint-Chamond' s
rejectionof Rousseau's opinions is evidenced in her final work,9Jean-Jacques à M.
S... sur des réflexionscontreses derniersécrits,in whichSaint-Chamondis
respondingto an attack made on Rousseau by Joseph-Michel-AntoineServan in his
1783 Réflexionssur les Confessionsde Rousseau.
Until the publication of his Réflexions, Servan, a lawyer and avocat-général in
Grenoble, had been an ardentadmirerof Rousseau. There is evidence thatas early as
1765 Servan sought to make the acquaintance of Rousseau. In a letteraddressed to
Rousseau, Francois-Henri Ivernois explains that Servan came to see him, begging
him to write a letterof introductionso thatServan mightmeet Rousseau (Rousseau
1965:XXV:40-41). Later, in 1768, Rousseau, whom Servan visited on many
occasions duringthe former'sstay in Grenoble, writesa finalletterto Servan before
leaving the region (Rousseau 1965:XXXVI:30-33). Although Servan is best known
for his numerouslegal briefs,10 he also wrote a numberof philosophical works such
as the Discours sur le progrès des connoissances humaines en général, de la morale

7. The couplehad at leastone child,a son,borninJune1766.He is knowntohavesurvivedtoadulthood

as he passedhisexamsforentryintoa royalmilitary schoolin 1782(see Saint- AllaisXII: 165-66)and
is listedas a memberof theRoyalistArmyofCondéin 1791 (see Laulan 359). In addition,it is quite
likelythata secondchild,a daughter, was bornin 1767although littleis knownabouther.
8. Two examplescometo mindhere.In 1763,in theCorrespondance littéraire,referringto herrecently
publishedÉloge de Sully,Grimmrefersto unnamedloverswho "onteu soin de sa fortune" (V:421)
and claims thatMazarelliis "d'une profession aussi joyeuseque brillante"(V:421). Later,in 1765,
again in the Correspondancelittéraire, Grimmcalls her a "courtisanedont les charmesont été
longtemps uneffetpublic,exposéetabandonnétouslesjoursau plusoffrant" (VL313-14).
9. Firstprintedin 1784 and reprinted in 1789, thiswould be Saint-Chamond' s last knownpublished
work.This has led some to suggestthatshe died shortly afterthereprinting. Othershave suggested
thatshe died as lateas 1804. Whiletheexactdateis uncertain, she is listedas a survivingspouseon
herhusband'sdeathcertificate in October1797(Archivesdépartementales de Paris,Microfilm 5Mi 1).
The abruptendtoherliterary careermusttherefore be attributed toa causeotherthanherdemise.
10. Servan'smostfamouscase can be readin his Œuvres choisies.In the 1767Discoursdans la cause
d 'unefemmeprotestante. Servansuccessfully defendeda Protestant womanwhosehusbandhad left
her.The husband,who had desertedhis wifeand claimedto have convertedto Catholicism,was
attempting to arguethatsince Protestant marriagewas illegal in France,he had neverbeen legally
marriedto thewomen.He therefore owed hernothing in theformof supportor damages.Madamede
Saint-Chamond cites anotherone of Servan's worksherJean-Jacquesà M. S..., his Discours sur
l'administration de la justicecriminelle(1767), anduses Servan'sownwordstojustifycertainactions
ofRousseau.

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Madame de Saint-Chamond 35

et de la législationen particulier(1781) and continuedto write duringthe

Revolutionon different aspectsof thedevelopingrevolutionary government. He fled
Francein 1794,fearingforhis life,and spentthenextsix yearsin Switzerland. He
returnedin 1800anddiedin 1807.
GivenServan's long-standing admiration ofRousseau,one mustseektoexplain
his seeminglyabruptchangeof heartfoundin the Réflexions.In fact,Servan's
extremely criticalworkseemsto have less to do withRousseau's philosophythan
witheventswhichwouldensuefollowing Rousseau'sdeath.Servanis offended that
some of Rousseau's works,includingthe firstvolumeof the heretofore banned
Confessions (Rousseau 1923), and his Rêveriesdu promeneur solitaire (Rousseau
1964), as well as a numberof personalletters, have been recently
published,albeit
posthumously. He is especiallydistressedbyRousseau'snegativeportrait of a friend
of his,MonsieurBovier,whomhe feelsRousseauhas unjustly madeto appearas "le
plus stupideou le plus méchantdes hommes"(Servan 1783:19). Yet Servan is
equally,if notmore,troubledby whathe perceivesas thefartoo merciful, fartoo
positiveportrait thatRousseau has paintedof anotherpersonin his Confessions,
Madamede Warens.WhileServan's interest in Rousseau'sdescription of Bovieris
purelypersonal,as he wishesto defendhis good friend'sreputation, his interest in
Madame de Warensis farmoreuniversal,extendingto the negativeeffectsher
portraitmighthaveon all innocent womenand girls,sincehe believed,as did many,
includingRousseau, that women, with weaker minds and fewer intellectual
capacities,wereeasilycorrupted bywhattheyread.
Referring to Madamede Warensas a "femmedébauchée"(46), he worriesthat
Rousseau's descriptionof her will cause innocentyounggirls to emulate her
unwittingly,since even thoughshe led a less thanexemplarylife,she was able to
win the heartof the greatRousseau (53). Worse yet,Rousseau has sullied the
reputationof an entirefamily,since Servan believes, as does Rousseau, thata
woman'sreputation reflects
upontheentirefamily, evenafterherdeath(45-46).
Saint-Chamond' s textbeginsby refuting, pointby point,Servan's criticisms of
Rousseau's worksin generaland his treatment of MonsieurBovier in particular.
Saint-Chamond seeks to provethatServan's criticisms are unjustifiedby pointing
outthemanyweaknessesof hisarguments. Atfirstglance,thiswouldseemto be yet
anotherdefenseof thephilosopher, and therefore nothingoriginal.Saint-Chamond,
like manyothersof the time,presentsRousseau as a truehumanist,an idealist,
unpreparedforthe decadentsocietyin whichhe lived.11She even agrees with
Rousseau on manyissues involvingwomen:"[E]lles ne sontpas faitespourêtre
hardies"(Saint-Chamond 10); womencannot,"sans s'avilir,êtrefortesà la manière
des hommes"(18) and"des femmes-hommes ! elles me feraient
peur"(30). It is only
when she begins to discuss Madame de Warensthatthe tone changes and the
defensepresented becomesless a defenseof Rousseauthana defenseof Madamede
Warensand,infact,a defenseofall women.
Saint-Chamondbegins her discussion of Madame de Warens by placing
decisivelyServanand Rousseautogether in thesame category, a factwhichmight
seem at firstsurprising, giventhefactthatServanhas attackedRousseau,and the
fact thatSaint-Chamondhas, up untilthis point,been defendingthe deceased
Rousseau againstthese verycharges. However,Saint-Chamondrecognizesthe

11. Saint-Chamond is notalone in herimpressionof Rousseau.Trouillestatesin herintroduction: "A

numberof womenauthorsseem to have viewed Rousseau as a superiorsoul, victimof a narrow-
mindedpublic incapableof understanding or appreciatinghim- as a scapegoatwho arousedtheir
compassionand symbolizedtheirown frustrations as writersand public figures"(5). While there
seems to be no evidencethatRousseau symbolizedSaint-Chamond' s own frustrations,
she clearly
feelsthathe has beenmisunderstood andmistreatedbysocietyat large.

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36 JeanneHageman

similaritiesthat exist between the two male authors: they share many of the same
traditional attitudes and values toward women and toward women's role(s) in
society. If one looks at many of their political writings,both favor social and
political change, but neitherproposes nor accepts thatthis revolutionshould affect
the status of women. In addition,both men view the roles of women in society in a
verysimilarlight.
In his Réflexions, Servan attacks Rousseau for having openly discussed his
intimacy with Madame de Warens as well as her relationships with other men.
Servan insists thatit is the dutyof the man in a relationshipsuch as this,thatis, an
illicit relationship,to remain silent if he is a true gentleman,therebypreservingas
much as possible the woman's reputation.He declares that he has but one word to
say on the subject (Servan 45) and thenproceeds to writeover ten pages in which he
details "ce point délicat" (Servan 53). He rails about the factthatRousseau has made
Madame de Warens famous throughoutEurope, he decries her conduct and, indeed,
he goes into great detail on many of the aspects of her behavior that he finds
scandalous. Yet, as Madame de Saint-Chamond points out, by including so many
details over so many pages, Servan has accomplished exactly that of which he is
accusing Rousseau: he has published the particularsof the inappropriaterelationship
for all to read and reread. Saint-Chamond indeed concurs with both authors: this
affair should have remained a secret between lovers, but she does not hesitate to
underscore the hypocrisyof Servan' s argumentwhen she points out the amount of
time Servan has devoted to the subject. Her narrator, Jean-Jacques,states:
Quant à Madame de Warens, c'est un objet plus intéressantà cause d'elle
et pour tout son sexe. Si j'ai fixé sur le nom l'attentionqu'on ne devoit
qu'aux mœurs,j'ai tort; mais je n'ai pas tortseul, graces [sic] à vous. (29)
More importantly,Saint-Chamond uses this incident to link Madame de
Warens' situationto thatof all women. This allows her much more libertyto plead
the case of the entirefemale population,not just thatof Madame de Warens.12For,
according to Saint-Chamond,Madame de Warens' situationis far fromunique. In a
society that did not allow divorce and in which marriage was often more of a
political or economic bond than a bond of love, many women found themselves in
the same position as Madame de Warens. Saint-Chamond, ratherthan portraying
Madame de Warens as a harlotor prostitute, justifies her actions as being those of a
woman living in a society which left women few if any options in the event of an
unhappymarriage.
When discussing the state of marriage in eighteenth-century France, Madame
de Saint-Chamond concurs with Rousseau. She, like Rousseau, decries the fact that
so many marriages had become nothing more than "une affairede finance" (36).
Nevertheless, at a time when marriage had become nothingmore than a matterof
improvingone's financial or social status,Saint-Chamond,in contrastto Rousseau,
feels thata double standardremainedformen and forwomen:
[L] 'homme pauvre peut épouser une femme sans nom, sans mœurs,
infirme,laide ; pourvu qu'elle soit riche,on l'approuvera. Si, au contraire,
une femmeaimable, sans fortune,épouse un homme ayantou naissance ou

12. By takingthecase of Madamede Warensand usingit to makethecase of all women,Madamede

Saint-Chamond uses a techniquereferred
to byDonovanas "casuistry." Whilethisprocedure has been
criticizedforallowingone tojustifyanydeviancefromwhatwas consideredpropersocial behavior,
Donovanwrites:"The womenwriters'interest in casuistry
[...] lay in thefactthatitaffordedthemthe
opportunity to presentparticularizedcases of womenwhose storiescontroverted and interrogated
misogynist generalities,rules,andnormsaboutwomen"(x).

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Madamede Saint-Chamond 37

richesse; le mari,s'il n'a beaucoupd'esprit, joueraun assez mauvaisrôle,

etla femme, avec toutsonmérite, ne serapas accueillie.(36) 13
Men had muchmorefreedomwhenchoosingtheirspouses thandid women,and
quite ironically,accordingto Madame de Saint-Chamond, thisdouble standard
existedwhenchoosinga loveras well.Men werepermitted to havemistresses of the
lowestorder,butnotonlydoes ServancriticizeMadamede Warensforhavingtaken
lovers,butalso forthe"qualitédes amans"(38). Madamede Saint-Chamond rejects
thebeliefthatwomenmustchoose menof equal or highersocial station,bothas
husbandsand lovers,and insteadpromotestheidea thatlove can developin many
places,andthiswas thecase forMadamede Warens:
parce que dans la solitude,l'égalité se rétablit; de l'habituded'être
ensemble,naîtla familiarité ; il n'y a d'avanceni d'un côténi de l'autre;
chacunsanss'en apercevoir, a marchédu mêmepas [...]. (39)
Nonetheless, even withtheirgreaterfreedomof choice,mencomplainedthattheir
wivescouldnotkeepthemhappy,and theyoftentookmistresses and at timeslived
openlywiththesewomen.Theirwives,on theotherhand,wereexpectedto remain
at home,in trueRousseauianfashion,maintaining theirvirtuousreputations and
modest,moralhomes.Womenwho strayedwereconsidered,as Rousseau asserts,
theruinof thefamilyand therefore theruinof society.Saint-Chamond rejectsthis
doublestandardand seeks insteadto explainwomen'sadultery, usingMadamede
Warensas an exampleof a good womanwho, throughno faultof herown, has
becomelost.
Accordingto Saint-Chamond, if Madame de Warens,or any woman,should
stray,it is notbecauseshe is evil or immoral, as manyin societywouldhaveothers
believe,butbecauseshe lacksthesupport of thosearoundher,especiallyherfamily.
Saint-Chamondseeminglysides withRousseau when discussinghow a woman
shouldcomportherself, butlimitsthisrequirement, refusing theabsoluteperfection
thatRousseauandServandemand:
J'ai toujoursrecommandé aux femmesla retraite, la chasteté,la modestie,
la pudeur,pourleurbonheurpersonnel,pourcelui de l'humanité; mais
sous conditionexpresseque leursparens,leursépoux,leursamis,leurs
enfansleur seroientattachés,fidèles,soumis; car enfin,une femme
abandonnéepar sa famille,outragéepar son mari,irritéepar des fils
ingrats,seule dans l'univers,peut s'égarercommeMadame de Warens
[...]. (32)
Althoughthefirstpartof herresponseobviouslyechoes Rousseau's beliefsthata
womanmustbe "modeste,attentive, réservée"(Emile471), she defendsa woman's
rightto leave a marriageifherhusbandis a tyrant (33-34).This is in sharpcontrast
to Rousseau,who writesin Emile thata womanmustlearnto obeyand "apprendre
de bonneheureà souffrir mêmel'injusticeet à supporter les tortsd'un marisans se
plaindre"(483).
She also denouncesServan's judgementof theeffectsof Madamede Warens'
actionson herfamily, specificallyon herhusband'sfamily.If a woman'sadulterous
behaviorwas an embarrassment forthefamilyin thepast,accordingto Madamede
13. Madame de Saint-Chamondmay well have been speakingfrompersonalexperience.When she
married,aï age 36, theMarquisde Saint-Chamond,a memberofa noblefamilywhosetitledatedback
to thesixteenth theunionwas seen by manyas a misalliancefortheMarquisand fromall
century,
evidence,it appearsthatshe was neverwell acceptedin hernewsocial sphere.Grimmcriticizesthe
Marquisin the Correspondancelittéraire(VI:313) and accordingto an entryin the Biographie
theMarquiswas oftencriticized
universelle, forhischoiceofa spouse(LXXX:298).

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38 JeanneHageman

Saint-Chamond, thisis no longerthecase. She carefully putsServanin his place by

stating: "[...] si le peuples'en fâcheencore,la bonnecompagniene faitqu'en rire
[...]"(34). Whileone mightdisagreewithMadamede Saint-Chamond' s judgement of
late-eighteenth-century French society,she seems quitecorrectwhen she laments the
doublestandards whichareappliedto womenin hersociety.ForSaint-Chamond, the
familyofMadamede Warensshouldnotfeelembarrassed whengoingoutin society
becauseoftheactionsofone member ofthefamily:
Quantà moi,je desireque la famillede Madame de Warens,au risque
d'être mal reçue, trouvebeaucoup de cercles où il n'y ait aucuns
coupables.Eh, vous ne pensezpas que je veuilledéfendreet soutenirle
vice ! Pourquoi donc les foiblesses des femmesporteroient-elles le
déshonneur dans les familles,que les foiblessesdes nommesn'y portent
pas ? (37)
Madame de Saint-Chamondtakes herjustificationof Madame de Warens'
actionseven further and makeshermostrevolutionary suggestions in thefollowing
paragraphs. Accordingto her,muchof theguiltof a woman'sinfidelity lies notwith
thewomanherselfbutwiththesocietyaroundher,and specifically withmenin this
society.For Saint-Chamond, the problemis less a questionof the moralityof
adultery - itis, as Rousseauassertsandsheconcurs,wrongin all cases- butinstead,
thatmenwho strayare easilyforgiven and quicklyreintegrated intosociety,while
adulterous womenaresubjectedtosevereandlengthy legalandsocialpunishment.
In Emile, Rousseau declaresthata man who commitsadulteryis "injusteet
barbare"(470), but he asserts,as has been noted,thata woman's adulteryis far
worsethana man's,sincethepaternity of anychildrenbornin themarriageis then
called intoquestion.As ThomasDi Pieropointsout,thisopinionhad becomethe
prevalent attitude in late-eighteenth-century
France:
Since the familyoccupied the seat of bourgeois order,the values
guaranteeingits preservationrapidlyaccrued the status of general
equivalentforsocietyat large. Consequently, the symbolof bourgeois
orderand authority - thefather - becametheguarantor of social values;
sexual restraint, as it concernedwomen,formedthekeystone
particularly
of bourgeoisorder,since promiscuousfemininesexualitythreatened the
stability ofthefamilynameand,consequently, itsfortune.(252)
Still,customandtheriskof social ostracization werenottheonlydangersfacedbya
woman should she be accused of adultery.In eighteenth-century France,men's
adulterywent,almostwithoutexception,unpunishedand did not even justifya
wife's requestof a séparationde biens (Rogers37). Women,on the otherhand,
riskedmuchmoreshouldtheybe accusedofadultery:
Althougha husband'sadultery was notgroundsfora separation, a wife's
adulterycarriedsevere penalties.[...] In the eighteenthcentury,the
adulterouswomanwas notsubjectedto publicwhippingand humiliation;
but a vengefulhusbandcould have herlockedup fortwo years,and if,
afterthattime,he did notsee fitto takeherback,shecouldbe keptlocked
up fortherestofherlife.(Rogers37-38)
She could,ifherhusbandso desired,becomea non-person, a sortof livingdead,and
althoughmurder ofone's spousewas illegal,fewmenwereeverconvictedof having
killeda wifewhomtheydiscoveredwithanotherman.Saint-Chamond agreeswith
Rousseau and Servanto some extentwhenshe statesthatthereis no questionthat

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Madame de Saint-Chamond 39

infidelityis wrong,butaccordingto Madamede Saint-Chamond, "il doitl'êtrepour

les deuxsexeségalement qu'unde puni?" (34).
; pourquoin'yen auroit-il
In additionto callingformoreequal treatment of adulterers,
a radicalbutnot
unheard-of proposition,Saint-Chamond goes evenfurther andplacestheblamefora
woman'sadulterysquarelyon theshouldersof thehusband.Men had longblamed
theirinfidelityon theirunhappinessat home. The societyin whichtheylived
condonedtheirbehaviorand menwerefreeto spendas muchtimeas theypleased
awayfromhomein thearmsoftheirmistress(es). ForMadamede Saint-Chamond, if
menare unhappyat home,andtherefore tempted to seeksolaceelsewhere, theyhave
no one to blamebutthemselves andcannotexpectthattheirwiveswillnotbehavein
a similarfashion:
Car, enfin,si l'épouse est chargéedu dépôt de la famille,l'époux est
responsable de son bonheur. La loi et la naturel'appellentau litnuptial,au
berceaude ses enfans; qu'il n'abandonnepas, il ne serapointtrahi; qu'il
soittoujoursdécent,il seratoujoursheureux; punissez-lede ne pas l'être.
Vous punirezle vraicoupable.(34-5)
Even thethought thatmenmightbe thecause of theunhappiness in a home,the
very unhappinessthat they used to justifytheiradulterousbehavior,was a
revolutionary idea in thelate eighteenth century, a periodwhenmanymenof the
uppersocial classes feltno compunction abouthavinga wifeat home,whomthey
requiredto be faithful, and a mistressor a seriesof mistresses, upon whomthey
lavishedmoneyand favors.14 Menjustifiedtheirinfidelity, whenand ifjustification
was needed,by claimingtheirspousesdid notprovidethemwiththatwhichthey
neededas men.Quiteclearly,Madamede Saint-Chamond sees throughthisexcuse
andrejectsit,placingtheblamesquarelyon themenin society.
Notonlyare womentheonlyones whoare punished, bothbythecourtsand by
society,fortheiradultery,but,in a countrywherethe CatholicChurchreigned
supreme,theywerethelivingdescendants of Eve, to whomthefallfromgracewas
attributed.Womenwereseductresses or witchesandhadthepowerto entrance men,
leavingthemhelpless.This opinionis sharedby Rousseau,in thathe feelsthatit is
theroleof theweakersex to enslavethestronger one (Emile467). It was therefore
logicalthatwomen,withtheirbewitching powers,shouldbe therootof all evil and
of all male unhappiness, and that,as Madame de Saint-Chamond writes,theyare
blamedformen'sdeficiencies andimperfections:
Que l'on racontequelques-unesde leursmauvaisesactions,ils ne sont
pourriendans l'histoire; les femmesont toutfait; à-peu-prèscomme,
autrefois,les planèteset les sorciers: ils deviennentamoureux? une
femmeles a séduits.Ils trahissent leurmaîtresse? elles n'ontpas su les
conserver.Les marisabandonnent leurmaison? leursfemmesne la leur
rendentpas agréable.Ils ne sont pas braves? une femmeles a rendus
pusillanimes.Ils sontprévaricateurs ? une femmes'est emparéede leur
jugement.Volent-ils,assassinent-ils ? c'est pour satisfairel'avidité,la
vengeance, d'unefemme.(49)
Womenare put in a no-winsituation.Men, who createthelaws, who controlthe
societypoliticallyand financially,and who pass judgementon thewomenin their

14. One need onlyconsiderthecase of Madame d'Épinaywhenspeakingof men's openlyadulterous

behavior.WeinrebdiscussesÉpinay'shusband'sinfidelity by sayingthathe "provedto be notonly
unfaithful
butprofligate"(6). Yet Madame d'Épinay's 1749 séparationde biens was grantedonly
becausebothherhusband'sfamilyandshe fearedherhusbandwouldsoonspendherdowry,leadingto
herfamily'scompletefinancialruin,andnotbecausehe was unfaithful
ordissolute.

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40 JeanneHageman

society,also place theblameforall theirinadequacieson women.Saint-Chamond's

ironyis clearwhenshe comparesmen,who traditionally consideredthemselves the
stronger sex,to galleyslaveswhoobeywomen,the"weaker"sex withoutquestion:
"Ces maîtresde la terresemblentdes forçatsenchaînésà la chiourme, voguantau
moindre signal"(49).
Madame de Saint-Chamondclearlywishes to abolish the double standards
whichexistedbetweenmenand women.Not onlydoes she decrythetreatment of
women,but she suggeststhatmen could be well servedto adopt some of the
principles whichwereappliedat thetimeto womenonly.ForServan,bothmenand
women mustbe virtuous,but his definitionof virtuevaries,dependingon the
person'sgender:"Le motde vertu,qui exprimetantde chosesà l'égarddes hommes,
n'en exprimequ'une à l'égarddes femmes: c'est la pudicité"(46-47). Similarly,
Rousseaudoes notrecommend thatmenbe modest,and in fact,accordingto him,
modestyand shameare preciselythe weaponswhichNaturehas bestowedupon
womenin orderto allow themsomehowto achievetheveryfeatthatMadamede
Saint-Chamond rejectsof enslavingtheirmasters.Nevertheless, if Rousseau and
Servan recommend"la pudeur" to women only, Madame de Saint-Chamond
recommends thesameto men:"Les hommesriront de m'entendre leurrecommander
la pudeur,maisje la croisnécessairedans toutesles circonstances de la vie" (48).
Once again, Saint-Chamond strivesto createa worldin whichmen and women
would be seen as equals, and since she perceivesmodestyto be a trulydesirable
attribute,she suggeststhatbothsexes wouldbe well servedto behavein a similarly
modestfashion.
For Madamede Saint-Chamond, thelogicalresultof so manydoublestandards
in society is revolution.Here, she is not necessarilyspeakingof a political
revolution, butof a social or sexualrevolution whichwouldaffordwomenmanyof
thesamefreedoms as men.Herviewsareclearlythoseofa feminist, eventhoughthe
conceptof feminismdid not exist at the time.Still, if one considersJosephine
Donovan's definitionof feminism,namely,"affirmation of femaleagency and
subjectivity;recognitionofpatterns ofdomination andabuseofwomenbymen;and,
most importantly,the perceptionof women as a class that has common
interests- namely,to protestthe harmstheyexperienceas women"(ix), Saint-
Chamondis clearlysuggesting a feministrevolution.
She maintains thattheexisting
laws governing womenand theirbehaviormustbe changedif women'sbondageis
to be alleviated.Herfinaldescription of women'sstatusis a sad commentary about
hertimes:
On a de l'indulgencepourtousles états; les femmesseules sontréduites
au régime le plus austère,assujettiesaux lois les plus multipliées,
subordonnéesaux interprétations les plus affligeantes ; leursdevoirset
leurstortssontinscritsen touttemps,en touslieux[...]. (50)
Havingdetailedtheexistingsituation, Madamede Saint-Chamond offersa warning
to men. If theydo not step in to change the existingconditions,theyrisk a
and,as shepointsout,thisrevolution
revolution, hasalreadybegun:
L'excès de l'injusticea produitl'excès de la liberté; les unesontdétaché
doucementl'affiche,les autresl'ont arrachée: et ces dernièressontles
moinschagrinées; car celles qui ontconservéquelque modestiesontles
pluscalomniées.(50)
Womenwillnotcontinueto bearthebruntof men'slaws,butwillinsteadchooseto
throwofftheirchains.

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Madamede Saint-Chamond 41

Madamede Saint-Chamond' s Jean-Jacquesà MonsieurS... was republishedin

1789,on theeve of theRevolution.Whileherletterto Rousseauwouldsignalthe
beginning career,thisworkwouldsignalitsend.In manyways,itcan
of herliterary
be said thatMadamede Saint-Chamond had closed thecircle:no longerthetimid
unknown, thefervent,unquestioning admirerof Rousseauthatshe had been twenty
yearsearlier,she rejectedhis teachingson manyof therolesof womenin society.
She repliedto Rousseauas an equal and did nothesitateto enumerate his errorsin
judgement of her gender. One can only assume that she must have had mixed
emotionswatchingRousseau's principles, includinghis beliefsabouttheinequality
ofwomen,becomethoseofthenewRepublic.
NorthDakotaStateUniversity

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