Grandpa’s Thoughts
MADAME DE SÉVIGNÉ
When her stupid young husband got himself killed in a duel over another woman, she decided to spend her time being the most desired woman in France. And for her hapless daughter, the most meddlesome mother in France.
When the poor girl married a minor aristocrat in a southern town called Grignan, mommy wrote her almost every day with advice. Lucky us: her letters remain models of style, and Grignan has created an annual festival devoted to something we digi-nuts can`t even fathom: the art of writing letters.
Marquise de Sévigné
Gracie’s Impressions
The Marquise de Sévigné, a somewhat overly protective mother and widow at 25, is famous for writing beautiful letters to her daughter in polished French. We visited her apartment in the Musée Carnavalet, located in the 4e arrondissement near Victor Hugo’s house, including several other wings on the French Revolution, the Hundred Year War, and more! Sadly, the Marquise’s wing was shut down for construction but I still got a pretty good idea of who she was and what she did, reinforced by delicious pastries at ‘La Carette’.