The Mystery of the Missing Countesses
Jan. 27th, 2012 09:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anteros_lmcReading age of sail history and fiction you get used to the almost complete absence of women. You have seek out very specific publications such as Mary Lacey's autobiography The Female Shipwright, Suzanne Stark's Female Tars or David Cordingly's Women Sailors and Sailors' Women to get an impression of the lot of women at sea during the period. While this does rather make me *sigh* I accept it as inevitable feature of the historical narrative of the period. Every so often though you read something where the absence of women that you know were there becomes so obvious that it's startling.
Last month I read David Cordingly's Billy Ruffian, which is a wonderful book, fully deserving of all the praise that has been heaped on it by reviewers. One of the most fascinating chapters comes towards the end, when Bellerophon became the temporary abode of Napoleon on his surrender to the British, prior to his exile on St Helena. Cordingly provides a moving description of the moment Napoleon steps off the French brig Epervier and into the Bellerophon's barge thus handing himself over to his former British enemies.
Cordingly illustrates this momentous event with this aquatint by Jean Pierre Marie Jazet from the National Maritime Museum Collection.
It's a lovely illustration but neither hide nor hair can be seen of the countesses or the children. Of course it's unfair to criticise Cordingly for the oversight of a contemporary French artist, but the absence of the countesses and children is striking.
Later Cordingly goes on to describe how Napoleon and his suite were accommodated on board Bellerophon. Captain Maitland had suggested dividing the great after cabin in two, with one half for the Emperor and the other for the women and children. Las Cases, Napoleon's secretary, politely suggested that
Maitland agreed to any arrangement that would be most agreeable to Napoleon. Very magnanimous of him to be sure, but it did rather leave me wondering where the women and children went. The wardroom with the officers? The larboard berth with the mids? One can't help wondering, but Cordingly doesn't tell us. Later we discover that Countess Bertrand has been accommodated in the first lieutenant's cabin when Cordingly describes how she attempted to throw herself into the sea from the gun port on hearing that her husband was likely to accompany Napoleon into exile on St Helena.
I hate to criticise David Cordingly as he is one of my favourite naval historians, and one of the few who has actually written about the lives of women at sea, but I couldn't help being struck by these noticeable absences in an otherwise excellent book. So for the record, here are the missing countesses:
For a fascinating article on Albine and Fanny, and their relationship with Napoleon and each other, I can highly recommend John Tyrell's blog post The Ladies of Longwood: Albine de Montholon & Fanny Betrand.
Last month I read David Cordingly's Billy Ruffian, which is a wonderful book, fully deserving of all the praise that has been heaped on it by reviewers. One of the most fascinating chapters comes towards the end, when Bellerophon became the temporary abode of Napoleon on his surrender to the British, prior to his exile on St Helena. Cordingly provides a moving description of the moment Napoleon steps off the French brig Epervier and into the Bellerophon's barge thus handing himself over to his former British enemies.
The sailors helped Countess Bertrand and her three children and Countess Montholon and her child into the barge. General Bertrand and General Savary followed. Napoleon was the last to leave the French brig and step down into the British boat. It was a symbolic moment which was not lost on those present. The Emperor was surrendering to the enemy.
Cordingly illustrates this momentous event with this aquatint by Jean Pierre Marie Jazet from the National Maritime Museum Collection.
It's a lovely illustration but neither hide nor hair can be seen of the countesses or the children. Of course it's unfair to criticise Cordingly for the oversight of a contemporary French artist, but the absence of the countesses and children is striking.
Later Cordingly goes on to describe how Napoleon and his suite were accommodated on board Bellerophon. Captain Maitland had suggested dividing the great after cabin in two, with one half for the Emperor and the other for the women and children. Las Cases, Napoleon's secretary, politely suggested that
"...the Emperor will be better pleased to have the whole of the after-cabin himself, as he is fond of walking about, and will by that means be able to take more exercise."
Maitland agreed to any arrangement that would be most agreeable to Napoleon. Very magnanimous of him to be sure, but it did rather leave me wondering where the women and children went. The wardroom with the officers? The larboard berth with the mids? One can't help wondering, but Cordingly doesn't tell us. Later we discover that Countess Bertrand has been accommodated in the first lieutenant's cabin when Cordingly describes how she attempted to throw herself into the sea from the gun port on hearing that her husband was likely to accompany Napoleon into exile on St Helena.
I hate to criticise David Cordingly as he is one of my favourite naval historians, and one of the few who has actually written about the lives of women at sea, but I couldn't help being struck by these noticeable absences in an otherwise excellent book. So for the record, here are the missing countesses:
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Albine de Montholon Albine de Vassal's marriage to Charles Tristan de Montholon in 1812 was initially opposed by Napoleon as she was regarded as a scheming woman of questionable virtue. She accompanied Napoleon and her husband to St Helena and during her time on the island was rumoured to have had several affairs with British officers and with Napoleon himself, who was reputed to have been the father of her daughter Napoléone. Albine left St Helena in 1819, allegedly after becoming infatuated with Lieutenant Basil Jackson. |
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Élisabeth Françoise (Fanny) Bertrand Daughter of the Irish refugee Colonel William Dillon, and cousin of empress Josephine. Fanny has been described as willful and feisty but also appears to have been a woman of principal. She enlisted Josephine and Napoleon to help her find a husband and in 1808 married General Bertrand at their suggestion. The couple appear to have had a happy marriage and Fanny reluctantly accompanied Bertrand into exile on St Helena with their children Napoleon, Henri and Hortense. She later gave birth to a fourth child, Arthur, on the island. During their time on St Helena, Fanny aroused Napoleon's ire by refusing to live with his household at Longwood. Despite their estrangement Fanny was with the exiled Emperor when he died. |
For a fascinating article on Albine and Fanny, and their relationship with Napoleon and each other, I can highly recommend John Tyrell's blog post The Ladies of Longwood: Albine de Montholon & Fanny Betrand.
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Date: 2012-01-27 11:26 am (UTC)There is a much larger version of this image on the NMM website which reveals the figure behind Napoleon to be one of Bellerophon's officers.
Isn't THAT the truth? Every time I watch an age of sail movie (Errol Flynn swashbucklers excluded), I just automatically assume there won't be any women.
Almost every ship had women aboard, usually the wives of warrant officers or seamen, but they very rarely appear in either film, literature or contemporary records. In fact Pellew was one of the few Admirals to publicly acknowledge the important role of women in battle, after the Bombardment of Algiers. "British women served at the same guns with their husbands, and during a contest of many hours, never shrank from danger, but animated all around them."
have you made any posts in the past about women at sea?
Not as many as I feel I should have! Anything I have written on this topic is tagged gender. I can highly recommend Stark's Female Tars btw. It's probably the defining book on the subject and it's also highly readable. To my shame I haven't read Cordingly's Women Sailors and Sailors' Women yet. It's been on my bookshelf for over a year along with another one called Iron Men, Wooden Women which is a series of papers on gender and seafaring in the Atlantic world, though it is not exclusive to the age of sail.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-27 09:07 pm (UTC)That aquatint is a splendidly shameless example of women being written out of history.
I note, though, that Jane Austen is one of the few contemporary sources to mention that there were women aborad naval ships - in Persuasion, Mrs Croft describes a number of voyages she's been on with Admiral Croft, and Captain Wentworth has a long discussion about whether women should be allowed on board or not (he takes it for granted that they are, in fact, present, he just thinks they shouldn't be, and the reaction of the other officers is "Wait till he's married, then he'll think differently"). But of course Jane Austen, as everybody knows, only ever wrote about life in tiny country villages and knew nothing about the wider world, so she can be safely disregarded on this topic.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-27 11:47 pm (UTC)Isn't it?! It's one of the most blatant examples I've come across recently!
I haven't read much Austen but I did read Persuasion recently and really enjoyed it. Thought I confess I had forgotten the discussions you mentioned.
But of course Jane Austen, as everybody knows, only ever wrote about life in tiny country villages and knew nothing about the wider world, so she can be safely disregarded on this topic.
Would that be the same Jane Austen who happened to live near by to Emma Halstead, nee Pellew, daughter of a certain Admiral Lord Exmouth?
no subject
Date: 2012-01-28 06:06 am (UTC)That's the one. The same Jane Austen with brothers in the navy, one of whom became an admiral.
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Date: 2012-01-28 06:37 am (UTC)