Madame de Pompadour

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31902, 1 February 1969, Page 4

Madame de Pompadour

Madame de Pompadour. Bi Nancy Mitford, Hamist Hamilton. 304 pp. Louis XV was five years ok when his great grandfather Louis XIV, died in 1715. Th< Regent of France, Philippe Due d’Orleans faithfully servee the young king: however, h< made the grave mistake o: taking the Court back to Ver sailles. No king has evei been more cut off from hi: people than Louis XV was Brought up without natura family love (he had no father, mother, brothers oi sisters), young Louis was : shy and secretive boy. Tin hidden depths in his charac ter made him a mystery a times even to his best friend: but there was one woman wh< was destined to come neares to understanding him. A charmer even in child hood, Jeanne-Antoinette Pois son. the future Marquise de Pompadour, was born to bour geois parents who saw to it that she was taught ever) worldly accomplishment. Shi could act, dance, sing, paint play the clavichord to perfec tion and was a superlative housekeeper. At the age of nine t fortune-teller told her sh< would reign over the hear of a king, an ambitious drean she never lost sight of Although she married reason ably happily, her husbanc took a mistress as was the custom, and she pursued hei dream of capturing the King’: admiration by riding in hei carriage in the places she knew he would frequent. Hei beauty, intense love of life and interest in humar beings made him notice her When she became the King’s mistress she was care fully skilled in royal graces to avoid making an unfor givable faux-pas in court so ciety. It was essential tc know who was married tc whom and to walk with a sori of gliding run with fast, tiny steps giving the impression of a mechanical doll with wheels instead of feet. The Marquise’s natural, forthright manner made her stand out among the women of the court who were selfconscious, artificial, preoccupied with rank, and extremely dull. She was highspirited, gay and amusing and excellent company, always doing good turns for people and she would never tolerate unkind criticisms. Her grand position never changed her attitude to her former friends and relatives, and the Kins who loved family life, welcomed her relations. She in turn put herself out to please the Queen. Discovering she loved flowers the Marquise had her rooms filled each day with glorious blooms anc made the King pay the Queen’s gambling debts. As the King gradually felt

r less guilty about the Queen rwho had no desire to be a real wife to him, he became kinder to her. All the royal 1 family were civil to the Mar- > quise except the Dauphin, e who sulked and never really liked her because he envied ’ her power over his father’s - affections. He was very un- ‘ like his father, being fat and ‘ lazy. His first wife died a day r or two after having given s birth to a sickly baby girl '.■•who lived to the age of two. • ;The second Dauphine, a detllightfully natural and lively r girl, was chosen partly be- ’ cause her family had a wone derful record of fecundity. ; After a bad start of miscar--1 riages, she produced eight s children. ?' Life at Versailles was lived *; mainly for pleasure and the •greatest enemy was boredom. Balls, ballet, hunting, gamH bling, and the theatre filled e. the waking hours. To prevent • the King from becoming t bored. the Marquise started a f [theatre at the palace. It was esaid to have cost a fortune ,‘iand she became very unpopular. (Actors were held in ;• disrepute and Moliere wasalmost denied a Christian burii al). Always unpopular with e the Court because she was of t the bourgeoisie. Pompadour i.now became unpopular with the Parisians who complained -i about having to pay taxes to ji support her unjustified ex»i travagance. All her houses riwere furnished and ernbels lished with a perfection of r taste, for the Marquise excelj‘led in the art of living. r The Marquise’s love for the ? King was surpassed only by i her fear of losing him. It is . surprising to learn that she » was sexually cold and even- - tually after several miscari riages she could no longer - keep up with the King whose - energy and appetite for sex > were boundless. It says much > for her tremendous persont ality that although the King took other mistresses, she rei mained the one great pasi sion in his life and between them an ideal friendship . grew and blossomed. Madame de Pompadour’s i one venture into politics was • disastrous and sparked off the • Seven Years’ War. An at- • tempt was made on the King’s - life by Damiens. The King, I thinking be was on his death- > bed, forgave him everything > but Damiens was found guilty > and tortured publicly. I Although the Marquise • worked hard for a reconcilia- > tion between the King and ; Parliament, she was gloomy - and depressed by the war and r looked far from well, suffer- ■ ing as she did from insomnia ■ and a bad digestion. She had » never recovered from her personal tragedy—her beautiful 1! little daughter had died at 5 the age of 10. When the' Marquise died as courage-! tously as she had lived, the;

King was heart-broken and the Chateau of Versailles became dull and lifeless. During her lifetime Madame de Pompadour had realised and fostered the genius of Voltaire. The King, not understanding the uncertainty and sensibility of a creative artist, found his pushfulness, grimaces and frantic giggles distasteful and was not aware of his genius and essential goodness. In a tribute to the Marquise, Voltaire wrote, “It must be said Madame, that 1 owe you a great deal: furthermore I venture to thank you publicly for all you have done to help a large number of writers, artists and other categories of deserving people

. You have shown discernment in doing good because you have always used .your own judgment. I have never known a single writer or any unprejudiced person who has not done justice to your character, and this not only in public but also in private conversations when people are much more inclined to blame than to praise. Believe me Madame, it is something to be proud of that those who. know how to think should] speak thus of you." Readers who are familar with “The Sun King” will be prepared for this companion history, equally lavish in its presentation. Magnificent illustrations and a lively text in the inimitable Mitford manner make “Madame de Pompadour” a superb publication.