Marie-Madeleine, comtesse de La Fayette
baptized March 18, 1634, Paris
died May 25, 1693, Paris
French writer whose La Princesse de
Clèves is a landmark of French fiction.
In Paris during the civil wars of the
Fronde, young Mlle de la Vergne was
brought into contact with Madame de
Sévigné, now famous for her letters. She
also met a leading political agitator,
the future Cardinal de Retz. Married in
1655 to François Motier, comte de La
Fayette (1616–83), she lived for some
time with him on his estates in the
province of Auvergne. In 1659, however,
they separated, and she returned to
Paris.
Throughout the 1660s Madame de La
Fayette was a favourite of Henrietta
Anne of England, duchesse d’Orléans.
During this time she also began what was
to be a lasting and intimate friendship
with La Rochefoucauld, author of the
famous Maximes. With him she formed a
distinguished literary circle. After
producing two conventional romances, she
wrote her masterpiece, La Princesse de
Clèves, published anonymously in 1678.
Set in the middle of the 16th century,
though its manners are those of the
author’s own time, it is notable as
France’s first serious “historical”
novel, as distinct from “heroic”
romances. It is the story of a virtuous
young wife who suppresses her passion
for a young nobleman. Its outstanding
literary merits are the dignified pathos
of the dialogue and the author’s
psychological insight into the theme of
tragically but deliberately
unconsummated love.
