1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. The French 3 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: fairy tale Lose Bleue or the Bluebird tells the story 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: of Florine, a beautiful princess who is, as so many 5 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: beautiful princesses, are being kept in a tower. Her stepmother 6 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: is seeming to keep her apart from Prince Charming in 7 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: the hopes that the prince will marry her own daughter, 8 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: the of course, spoiled and notably ugly Triton. What this 9 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 1: stepmother doesn't know, however, is that the prince had been 10 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: cursed for his rejection of Triton by her fairy godmother 11 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:52,959 Speaker 1: and turned into a bluebird who visits Florine in her 12 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: tower for years. This is one of those happily ever 13 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: after fairy tales. The curse is in the end lifted 14 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: and the lover's marry, but the story doesn't just end there. Instead, 15 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: the Bluebird ends with a rhyming verse moral to drive 16 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: home its message. In English translation, better to be a 17 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: bird of any hue, a raven crow, an owl, I 18 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: do protest than stick for life to a partner like Glue. 19 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: Who scorns you or whom you detest. Too many matches 20 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: of that sort I've seen, and wish now that there 21 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: was some king magician to stop these ill matched souls 22 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: at once and lean on them with force to keep 23 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: his prohibition. Fairy tales are often seen as stories for children, 24 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: but in their sometimes intense darkness and moral dilemmas, they 25 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: can also be fairly adult in their content. Charming choosing 26 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: to defy the fairy godmother's ultimatum and accepting his ornithological 27 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: punishment rather than being forced to marry a woman he 28 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:15,239 Speaker 1: doesn't love, gains new significance when you learn the true 29 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: story of the woman who wrote his tale. Madame Delnois, 30 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: the Baroness Delnoi's tale, like that of many a fairytale heroine, 31 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: begins in a dark place due to a marriage that 32 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: was arranged against her will, but over the course of 33 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: her life she would build an independent living as a 34 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: well known author who published twelve books, including two collections 35 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: of fairy tales or conde fi, a term that she 36 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: is known today for coining. Despite that her work is 37 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: often forgotten compared to contemporaries like Charles Perrot, with translated 38 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: collections of her stories being few and far between in 39 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,640 Speaker 1: this day and age. Her exclusion from the canon, however, 40 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: doesn't make her work any less impactful. 41 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 2: Take her rise to literary fame in French society and 42 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:19,359 Speaker 2: throw in the story of her actual life, including its 43 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:25,360 Speaker 2: many instances of political intrigue, exile, and murder, and you 44 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 2: have a tale that perhaps Madame Delnois is the only 45 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 2: author who would be fit to tell, I'm Danish Schwartz, 46 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 2: and this is noble blood. Madame del Nois was born 47 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 2: Mary Catherine le Jumel de Bondeville, of the noble family 48 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 2: Legumel de Bandeville. She was born in either sixteen fifty 49 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 2: or sixteen fifty one in a town in Normandy bearing 50 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 2: her family name Barneville la Bertrand if you were thinking 51 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 2: her name, potential birth year and place of birth is 52 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 2: already tmi will, you're in luck. Because that's just about 53 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 2: all we know of Mary Catherine childhood. We can at 54 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 2: least assume, however, that an early influence in her social 55 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 2: and intellectual life was her aunt, Marie Bruno de Loge. 56 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 2: Marie was a renowned salon holder and a fixture in 57 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 2: Parisian intellectual life in the early seventeenth century, earning herself 58 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 2: the nickname the Tenth Muse from poets, authors and academics. 59 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 2: The first recorded detail of Marie Catherine's childhood, however, is 60 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 2: its abrupt end. On March eighth, sixteen sixty six, fifteen 61 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 2: year old Mary Catherine entered a marriage arranged by her 62 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 2: father to a man named Francois de Lameaux, Baron Delnois, 63 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 2: a Parisian man thirty years her senior. It's possible she 64 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 2: was being educated in a convent at the time the 65 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,839 Speaker 2: marriage was arranged and had to be abducted by her father, 66 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 2: but the reliability of that particular anecdote is shaky, and 67 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 2: it'll become clearer as to why later. Francois, the husband, 68 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 2: was not born a baron, but worked in the service 69 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 2: of a duke and accumulated enough wealth during this time 70 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 2: that he was able to purchase land and title. The 71 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,680 Speaker 2: duke was the illegitimate son of Henry the fourth of 72 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,120 Speaker 2: France and his mistress, but was then created Duke of 73 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 2: Endome in his own right in fifteen ninety eight, when 74 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 2: he was four years old. The duke apparently had a 75 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 2: reputation for roguishness and desoluteness, which seemed to rub off 76 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 2: on his sidekick, as Marie Catherine's husband would have his 77 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:17,919 Speaker 2: own reputation as a gambler and a libertine. Details of 78 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 2: the couple's married life are once again practically non existent, 79 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,159 Speaker 2: but it's not hard to imagine that the marriage between 80 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 2: a fifteen year old girl from the country and a 81 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 2: forty five year old notorious Parisian gambler did not inspire 82 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 2: a great mutual love. We do get whispers of truly 83 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 2: juicy things beginning to happen, though. In sixteen sixty nine, 84 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 2: three years and three children into marriage, Mary Catherine and 85 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:57,919 Speaker 2: her mother would allegedly conspire with their respective lovers to 86 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,840 Speaker 2: bring a charge of high tree against the Baron del 87 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 2: Nois for speaking out against the king. The story goes 88 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 2: that the baron, remember Marie Catherine's husband, had been overheard 89 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 2: swearing in public against the taxes that had been imposed, 90 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 2: which at the time was considered an offense of lais mageste, 91 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 2: coming from the Latin leaesa majestus, which literally means injured majesty, 92 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 2: simply put treason. In mid seventeenth century France, this was 93 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 2: a crime that the baron would have hanged for had 94 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 2: he been found guilty. For many, it was likely not 95 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 2: a leap of the imagination to believe the accusations of 96 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 2: treason thanks to his association with the scandalous Duke of Endome, 97 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 2: who had been involved in a number of conspiracies in 98 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 2: earlier years. But the circumstances surrounding the accusation paint a 99 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 2: picture that is of a bold act of patriotism and 100 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 2: more of a bold attempt to get Murray Catherine out 101 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 2: of her marriage. Additionally, by this point in her life, 102 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 2: Marie Catherine's mother had made a second marriage, and she 103 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:19,160 Speaker 2: was now titled the Marquise de Gaudain. We don't know 104 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 2: when her husband, Murrie Catherine's father, had died, but it's 105 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 2: worth thinking about that. The fact is Marie Catherine's mother 106 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 2: could only help her daughter escape her terrible marriage once 107 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 2: her husband, who had arranged the terrible marriage in the 108 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:40,400 Speaker 2: first place, was gone. The mother and daughter's plan seemed 109 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 2: to work initially, but then it spectacularly crashed and burned. 110 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 2: After three years spent in the bastille, the baron was 111 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 2: able to convince the court of his innocence and countercharge 112 00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:00,240 Speaker 2: his wife and her mother for conspiracy against him. The 113 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:05,679 Speaker 2: men suspected to be the women's lovers were captured, tortured 114 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 2: until they confessed, and then executed. The archives of the 115 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:18,240 Speaker 2: Bastille document the initial accusation, the counter accusation, and the executions, 116 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,480 Speaker 2: but it's not detailed how Marie Catherine or her mother 117 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 2: escaped similar fates. We know the marquise fled to England, 118 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 2: and some versions of the story say Marie Catherine escaped 119 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 2: by going with her. Other versions of the story, however, 120 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 2: paint a more dramatic tale in which after a warrant 121 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 2: went out for Murray Catherine's arrest, she, to quote one 122 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 2: biographical account quote, managed to escape the officers by jumping 123 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,839 Speaker 2: out of the window at their early morning summons and 124 00:09:55,040 --> 00:10:00,880 Speaker 2: hiding in a church under a convenient briar end quote. 125 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 2: Bottom line is Marie Catherine made it out of France. 126 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 2: Over the next decade, Marie Catherine, Madame Delnois would live 127 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 2: in Spain, England, and Holland, despite or perhaps because of, 128 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 2: the warrant for her arrest. It's believed that Mary Catherine 129 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 2: and her mother potentially both worked as spies for France 130 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:36,200 Speaker 2: during their periods abroad. The details of Marie Catherine's life 131 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 2: abroad for all of those years, however, are once again 132 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:45,080 Speaker 2: practically lost to time. That might sound confusing when you 133 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:50,320 Speaker 2: learn that Mary Catherine published three memoirs, including The Ladies 134 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 2: Travels into Spain or A Genuine Relation of the Religion, Laws, Commerce, 135 00:10:54,960 --> 00:11:00,120 Speaker 2: Customs and Manners of that Country, and another Memoirs of 136 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 2: the Court of England in sixteen seventy five. While that 137 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:08,560 Speaker 2: sounds like a lot of great firsthand information, I'd like 138 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:12,720 Speaker 2: to quote a sentence from the introduction of a nineteen 139 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 2: thirteen translation of Memoirs of the Courts of England. Quote, 140 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:24,560 Speaker 2: although Marie Catherine's autobiography exists, the difficulty of constructing an 141 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,360 Speaker 2: account of her life is so great as to render 142 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:33,679 Speaker 2: it an almost impossible task. End quote. You see, these 143 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:39,839 Speaker 2: autobiographies are which refer to today as pseudo memoirs, as 144 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:44,200 Speaker 2: they are in fact collections of stories Marie Catherine gathered 145 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:49,200 Speaker 2: from associates and presented as the lived experiences of one 146 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:54,640 Speaker 2: woman herself. It's likely that some of the experiences were 147 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:58,760 Speaker 2: her own, but as expressed in the earlier quote, it's 148 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 2: truly impossible to pick out which stories those were. The 149 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:07,440 Speaker 2: earlier tidbit about her living in a convent, for example, 150 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:11,560 Speaker 2: comes from one of these memoirs, so details like that 151 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:15,079 Speaker 2: are often left out of her biographies on account of 152 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 2: their existence among any number of false narratives. This wasn't 153 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 2: Marie Catherine's attempt at becoming the seventeenth century's most notorious 154 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 2: scammer influencer, but it was a form of literary fiction 155 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:35,080 Speaker 2: and a reflection of her creativity as a writer. These 156 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:39,679 Speaker 2: memoirs are like any other reflections of a moment of 157 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 2: time in a given place, but far more entertaining, as 158 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:49,080 Speaker 2: their collections of only the most exciting moment that she 159 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 2: could collect or come up with. The public at the 160 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 2: time of publication understood and acknowledged this as well. In 161 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 2: seventeenth century France, readers just wanted to enjoy some good storytelling. 162 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 2: Later historians would deny her the identity of quote historian 163 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 2: because of the confusing nature of Marie Catherine's recollections. These 164 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:19,920 Speaker 2: weren't histories, they were stories. It's, however, agreed upon that, 165 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:25,200 Speaker 2: while sometimes embellished, the stories she tells seemed to be true, 166 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 2: even if they happened to a friend of a friend 167 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 2: a few episodes ago. I actually quoted Memoirs of the 168 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 2: Court of England for Marie Catherine's account of seeing the 169 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:40,840 Speaker 2: future King Charles the Second and his lover Lucy Walter 170 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 2: at court in the Hague. But it might not have 171 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:48,800 Speaker 2: been Marie Catherine herself who saw them more plausibly, it 172 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 2: was an acquaintance of hers in Holland. This idea is 173 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 2: again nicely summed up in an introduction to one of 174 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 2: the memoirs, this time in an eighteen o eight edition 175 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 2: of her Memoirs in Spain. Quote that some of the 176 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:09,480 Speaker 2: stories here may appear marvelous and romantic cannot be denied, 177 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:15,439 Speaker 2: but succeeding writers and travelers have confirmed almost every particular 178 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 2: descriptive of the national manners. The historical facts are known 179 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 2: to be perfectly constant to truth, and the manner of 180 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 2: narrating them adds an infinite charm. After sixteen years of 181 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 2: collecting stories across Europe, Marie Catherine was allowed to return 182 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:46,760 Speaker 2: to France, possibly as a reward for her alleged spy work. 183 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 2: Her mother was given a pension by the Spanish king 184 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 2: and instead stayed in Madrid. If you're wondering how Marie 185 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 2: Catherine's husband reacted to her return will join the club. 186 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,480 Speaker 2: His last mention in any account of her life is 187 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 2: his accusation against her, so it's possible he either died 188 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 2: or also left the country. At some point. Marie Catherine 189 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 2: formally returned to Paris, and her past transgressions, much like 190 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 2: her husband, in modern historical accounts, seems to have been 191 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:26,840 Speaker 2: all but forgotten. Instead, she becomes a celebrated intellectual figure. 192 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 2: At her home at Rue Saint Benois, Marie Catherine began 193 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 2: to host what would become some of Paris's most popular 194 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 2: salon gatherings, frequented by aristocrats and princes, among intellectuals, including 195 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 2: her friend Charles de Saint Evremonde, whom Wikipedia describes as 196 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 2: a quote French soldier, hedonist, essayist, and literary critic. To 197 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,400 Speaker 2: give you an idea of the kind of circle that 198 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 2: she was surrounding herself with, as told by Marina Warner 199 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 2: in her book From the Beast to the Blonde on 200 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 2: fairy Tales and their Tellers quote cultivating the polite arts 201 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:14,239 Speaker 2: she and her friends told fairy tales and over raspberry 202 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 2: or gooseberry cordials and hot chocolate dressed up to play 203 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 2: the parts. In other words, my understanding of a dream party. 204 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:29,760 Speaker 2: Speaking of fairy tales. The sixteen nineties also marked the 205 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 2: formal beginning of Marie Catherine's literary career, publishing under the 206 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,880 Speaker 2: name Madame Delnois. Her first contribution seems to be her 207 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 2: editing the anthology Collection of the Most Beautiful Pieces by 208 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 2: French Poets. As an author, early published works included her 209 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 2: quote Memoirs Abroad, and they were hugely successful, providing Marie 210 00:16:55,560 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 2: Catherine with quite incredibly a stable income to herself and 211 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:05,280 Speaker 2: her daughters. As a single mother, Marie Catherine actually had 212 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:09,640 Speaker 2: six children in total. Her first two children with her 213 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:14,520 Speaker 2: husband had died young, leaving only a surviving daughter. She 214 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 2: would go on to have three more daughters, likely all 215 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 2: born while she was abroad and therefore born out of wedlock, 216 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 2: but unfortunately we don't have more details about that. Marie 217 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:37,920 Speaker 2: Catherine's most popular works were, and remain, of course, her 218 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:43,360 Speaker 2: Contest DeFi, published in sixteen ninety seven, and her Conte 219 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,440 Speaker 2: nouveaux la fille a la mode or New Tales or 220 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 2: Fairies in Fashion from the following year. While taking inspiration 221 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 2: from common tropes in folk and fairytale traditions, which researchers 222 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 2: now date as having begun in the Bronze Age. Madame 223 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 2: Desnoi's stories were all original tales. Their style was directly 224 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:12,120 Speaker 2: influenced by her experience as a selonier and the plays 225 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 2: she did with her friends. They were translated onto the 226 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:20,440 Speaker 2: page in a conversational style, a reflection of the oral 227 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:24,479 Speaker 2: tradition telling a story over a drink at a party. 228 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:29,400 Speaker 2: For example, in the White Cat, she writes, it would 229 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 2: take far too long to recount the adventures of all 230 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:35,880 Speaker 2: three princes, so I shall tell you only those that 231 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:40,400 Speaker 2: befell the youngest. The White Cat is a story similar 232 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,000 Speaker 2: to The Bluebird, which we opened the episode with. They 233 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 2: are both classified under the type the animal as bridegroom, 234 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 2: as made distinct by the Arne Thompson Uther Index, which 235 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 2: is a catalog used in folklore studies to categorize tales. 236 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 2: The animal as the ridegroom was Donoi's favorite trope, appearing 237 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 2: as the foundation of a great number of her stories. 238 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 2: In The White Cat, the youngest of three princes, the 239 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,600 Speaker 2: only one we have time to talk about, of course, 240 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 2: is sent on a series of tasks by his father 241 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 2: aided by a talking cat, the queen of a whole 242 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 2: society of talking cats, who wears a locket containing a 243 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 2: portrait of a man who looks strikingly like the young prince. 244 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,760 Speaker 2: As Marie Catherine would say, it would take far too 245 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:40,880 Speaker 2: long to recount the adventures, so let's skip till the end. Eventually, 246 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 2: the prince is told by his father that the son 247 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:48,880 Speaker 2: who finds the most beautiful princess to marry will become king. 248 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 2: The cat, aiding him once again, tells him that she 249 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 2: can present him with a beautiful princess if he agrees 250 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 2: to cut off her head like any good friend. And 251 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 2: cat lover refuses at first, but she's able to eventually 252 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,919 Speaker 2: convince him, and after the deed is done, she, in 253 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:16,520 Speaker 2: a shocking twist, turns into a beautiful princess. She tells 254 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:19,680 Speaker 2: the prince her tale. Her mother was a queen who 255 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:24,560 Speaker 2: promised her first born in exchange for fairy fruit. The 256 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:27,760 Speaker 2: fairies raised her in a tower that was impossible to 257 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 2: enter except through a high window, which means the story 258 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,119 Speaker 2: is also classified as a maiden in the tower type 259 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:41,479 Speaker 2: in the ATU Index. As an aside Rapunzel, obviously the 260 00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 2: most famous tale of that subtype derives from Percinet, a 261 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 2: French fairy tale published the same year as The White Cat. Anyway, 262 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:54,680 Speaker 2: the princess fell in love with a human king who 263 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,440 Speaker 2: passed by her tower and planned to escape with him, 264 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 2: but the fairies were arranging for her to marry and 265 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 2: ugly fairy king. When they caught her human lover in 266 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:07,959 Speaker 2: the tower, they killed him and transformed the princess and 267 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,040 Speaker 2: all of the people in her kingdom into cats, with 268 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 2: the condition that she would only be free when she 269 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:23,200 Speaker 2: found a man identical to her dead lover. The verse 270 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:28,359 Speaker 2: moral of the White Cat is not as obvious a 271 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 2: denouncement of arranged marriage as the Bluebirds was, instead emphasizing 272 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 2: the importance of friendship in a relationship. The youthful prince 273 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:44,240 Speaker 2: was fortunate to find beneath a cat's skin and illustrious 274 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 2: fair worthy of adoration, and inclined the throne her friendship 275 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:54,800 Speaker 2: won for him to share by two enchanting eyes. On 276 00:21:55,160 --> 00:22:01,040 Speaker 2: conquest bent, the willing heart is easily subdued, and still 277 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 2: more power to the charm is lent when love's soft 278 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 2: flame is fanned by gratitude. The last stanza is particularly 279 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,960 Speaker 2: interesting in the context of the fairy tale genre, where 280 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:21,359 Speaker 2: many princes and princesses fall in love based seemingly on 281 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:26,440 Speaker 2: nothing more than a first glance. While Delnois employed versions 282 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:30,000 Speaker 2: of the love at first site trope, even in The Bluebird, 283 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:34,679 Speaker 2: we still also see a love built over years of 284 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 2: mutual trust. The White Cat is once again a tale 285 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 2: of true love torn apart by a forced, incompatible marriage 286 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:49,880 Speaker 2: and the consequences that one faces when one tries to resist. 287 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 2: While Murray Catherine managed to avoid arrest in escaping her 288 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 2: own marriage, her supposed lover did not. It was all 289 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 2: so not the last time Marie Catherine would see these 290 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:13,919 Speaker 2: consequences of defying an arranged marriage first hand. The scandalous 291 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,040 Speaker 2: trial of Angelique Nicole Cartier Tiquet was on the lips 292 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:23,200 Speaker 2: of every Parisian in sixteen ninety nine. Angelique's parents died 293 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:27,280 Speaker 2: when she was only fifteen, and her father, a wealthy bookseller, 294 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:30,879 Speaker 2: left a sum of a million livre to be split 295 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 2: between her and her brother. Described as beautiful, spiritual, and graceful, 296 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 2: Angelique entered the Parisian social scene and soon attracted a 297 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 2: number of suitors. A friend of her aunt, Claude de Quay, 298 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 2: was among them. He was a counselor at the Parliament 299 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 2: of Paris, and he carried a social currency, but had 300 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:58,199 Speaker 2: no great monetary fortune after he squandered his inheritance that 301 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 2: was left by his father. Wanting to acquire both Angelique 302 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:06,200 Speaker 2: and her money, he managed to convince the girl and 303 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,880 Speaker 2: her aunt that he was actually a man of great fortune, 304 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:16,359 Speaker 2: using the classic swindler tactic of enchanting her with extravagant gifts, 305 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:22,240 Speaker 2: likely bought with borrowed money. In sixteen seventy six, when 306 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:27,199 Speaker 2: Angelique was eighteen and Claude was over forty, the couple 307 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,480 Speaker 2: married in Paris. The first years of their marriage were 308 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 2: allegedly happy. The couple had a son and a daughter, 309 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:41,320 Speaker 2: but that happiness dissolved when Angelique was suspected of infidelity 310 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 2: and she discovered the truth of her husband's wealth or 311 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:51,560 Speaker 2: lack thereof. The tensions in their relationship played out messily 312 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:56,920 Speaker 2: and publicly. Claude complained several times directly to the King, 313 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:02,720 Speaker 2: trying and failing to have his work arrested. Angelique ordered 314 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:07,040 Speaker 2: a legal separation of goods to protect her fortune from 315 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:11,360 Speaker 2: her husband. After his creditors began to hound their family, 316 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:16,679 Speaker 2: Claude became at least a bully, if not an abuser 317 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:21,520 Speaker 2: of his wife during this period, so a plot was hatched. 318 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 2: On April eighth, sixteen ninety nine, after leaving dinner at 319 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 2: a friend's house, Claude de Quet was accosted by two men. 320 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,879 Speaker 2: One apparently said there you are. I've been waiting for 321 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,960 Speaker 2: you a long time. You must die, and shot him 322 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:44,160 Speaker 2: twice with a pistol. Clearly the screenwriting wasn't a part 323 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 2: of this arrangement. The other man followed up by stabbing 324 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:53,360 Speaker 2: Claude several times with a sword. A servant quickly found him, 325 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:59,439 Speaker 2: and he miraculously survived. The police opened an investigation, and 326 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 2: because the couple's hatred for each other was so well known, 327 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:08,880 Speaker 2: Angelique was immediately implicated, along with her porter, who acted 328 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:13,199 Speaker 2: as one of the assassins. In June, the servant was 329 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:18,919 Speaker 2: sentenced to hanging and Angelique was sentenced to beheading. She 330 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,840 Speaker 2: maintained her innocence until she was tortured on the day 331 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:34,840 Speaker 2: of her death, escaping conviction once again. Was Angelique's other 332 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 2: accomplice in the plan, her friend Marie Catherine Denis. It's 333 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:43,760 Speaker 2: not known when the two women met, but as a 334 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:48,960 Speaker 2: woman in Parisian society. It's likely that Angelique attended Marie 335 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:55,400 Speaker 2: Catherine salons, perhaps even acting in her plays. And Marguerite Denier, 336 00:26:55,600 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 2: a famous early eighteenth century French journalist, include in a 337 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:04,960 Speaker 2: seventeen oh two publication an account of the Tiquet affair 338 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 2: from an anonymous correspondent written at the time of the 339 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 2: trial and execution. The correspondent details that the day after 340 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:19,400 Speaker 2: the attempt on her husband's life, Angelique visited Marie Catherine 341 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:25,160 Speaker 2: and exclaimed, Saint moi conna assassinat how should we apologies 342 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 2: for my French? I promise I tried my best. The 343 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:32,560 Speaker 2: tricky thing about French, aside from the pronunciation, is that 344 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,280 Speaker 2: the sentence could either be translated to mean it's me 345 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:40,119 Speaker 2: who we have murdered today, meaning we the two women, 346 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,919 Speaker 2: or it is me who they have murdered today meaning 347 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:48,520 Speaker 2: the public. The French court was actually never able to 348 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:53,480 Speaker 2: connect Angelique directly to that sixteen ninety nine murder attempt, 349 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,879 Speaker 2: so she was technically convicted for what they believed was 350 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:02,400 Speaker 2: evidence of a murder attempt three years prior, with no 351 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:06,160 Speaker 2: evidence tying her to either the sixteen ninety nine attempt 352 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 2: or the alleged earlier one, Marie Catherine once again escaped 353 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,640 Speaker 2: a dark fate. It seems that after the trial, Marie 354 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:20,439 Speaker 2: Catherine withdrew from Parisian social life, likely ceasing to hold 355 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 2: her beloved salons. She died six years later in seventeen 356 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:31,080 Speaker 2: o five, leaving behind twelve published works, including twenty four 357 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 2: fairy tales that would change the genre forever. While Murray 358 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 2: Catherine's story might have been reflected in The Bluebird and 359 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 2: the White Cat, Angelique is more closely seen in Delnoit's 360 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 2: The Yellow Dwarf, in which the heroined love is killed 361 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 2: by the dwarf attempting to marry her and she dies 362 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 2: of grief. For Delnois, the Yellow Dwarf represented the evils 363 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 2: of man, while animals represented escapism from those evils. To 364 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:09,479 Speaker 2: once again quote Marina Warner, Madame del Noi seized the 365 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:15,800 Speaker 2: opportunities which the mythological theme of animal metamorphosis offered her 366 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 2: to create a world of pretend in which happiness and 367 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 2: love are sometimes possible for a heroine, but elusive and 368 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 2: hard one. That's the story of Madame Delnois. But keep 369 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 2: listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a little 370 00:29:46,280 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 2: bit more about her legacy. Despite her fameuring her time, 371 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 2: reprints and English translations of Marie Catherine's works became less 372 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,400 Speaker 2: and less common over time, favoring the works of her 373 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:16,480 Speaker 2: contemporary Charles Perrault instead. Parrault wrote specifically with his children 374 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:21,720 Speaker 2: in mind, popularizing the identity of mother Goose as a storyteller. 375 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 2: His tales like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are inarguably feats 376 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 2: of storytelling that have stood the test of time, but 377 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 2: they don't carry within them the same adult headiness of 378 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:40,120 Speaker 2: Madame Delnois's tales, which were written for an audience of 379 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:45,560 Speaker 2: salon goers. It wasn't all roses for Paroult, though. There's 380 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 2: a reason his Donkey skin, about a king trying to 381 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 2: marry his own daughter hasn't gotten a Disney adaptation, But 382 00:30:55,160 --> 00:31:01,120 Speaker 2: I digress. In twenty nineteen, the independent US publisher Blackcoat 383 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:06,560 Speaker 2: Press published a long awaited two volume collection of Mary 384 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 2: Catherine's work, and in twenty twenty, Princeton University Press published 385 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:17,440 Speaker 2: a collection entitled The Island of Happiness as a decidedly 386 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 2: feminist work featuring illustrations and an essay by the artist 387 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 2: Natalie Frank, known for her work exploring gender and sexuality. 388 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:33,520 Speaker 2: It most prominently features one of Marie Catherine's earliest stories, 389 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,640 Speaker 2: the Tale of Mira, which didn't appear in either of 390 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:42,800 Speaker 2: her fairy tale collections. Anyone who saw her fell desperately 391 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:46,920 Speaker 2: in love with her, Delnoir writes, however, her pride and 392 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 2: indifference made all her lovers die. In an ironic ending, 393 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:57,280 Speaker 2: Mira falls for a man indifferent to her. Frank's essay 394 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:01,080 Speaker 2: calls it a feminist ghost story, worry for the ages, 395 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:06,120 Speaker 2: explaining that quote, a traditional fairy tale warns of the 396 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:10,680 Speaker 2: dangers of unrequited love, this one warns of the violence 397 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:15,400 Speaker 2: that occurs out of unreciprocated lust, poking fun at the 398 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:21,880 Speaker 2: seriousness of a tragic fairytale story end quote. Even feminist 399 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:26,120 Speaker 2: icon Gloria Steinem voiced her thoughts on the collection, saying, 400 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 2: in giving us back the women, heroines, and images and 401 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,880 Speaker 2: lives that were once the heart and soul of the 402 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:38,720 Speaker 2: oldest stories, Natalie Frank is giving back to female readers 403 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:56,719 Speaker 2: the right to honor and tell our own stories. Noble 404 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 2: Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild 405 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:05,360 Speaker 2: from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is created and hosted by 406 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:10,840 Speaker 2: me Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, 407 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:16,000 Speaker 2: Hannah Zwick, Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The 408 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:20,280 Speaker 2: show is edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and rima 409 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 2: Il Kahali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers 410 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 2: Aaron Manke, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts 411 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:31,400 Speaker 2: from 412 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:36,960 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 413 00:33:37,040 --> 00:34:11,960 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.