The fact that Sévigné chose to display her skills in the form of personal letters should not detract from the wonders of her creative imagination, and we should read them with that in mind. The normal rule was that women were not expected to write. Although some women wrote novels and plays during the 17th century, many of them were forced to publish their works anonymously, as in the case of Madame de la Fayette, or were ridiculed, as happened to the prolific writer Madeleine de Scudéry. You might reasonably wonder why a 17th-century woman’s private letters, mostly written to her daughter, Madame de Grignan, count as “literature.” There are a number of reasons.įirstly, women at that time were not given the same opportunities as men to express themselves in a creative way. When asked to give a list of what I consider to be the greatest works of French literature, I usually include the correspondence of Madame de Sévigné (Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné). Note to readers: You may choose to read this commentary on the letters of Madame de Sévigné here or listen to it on the audio file at the end of the article.
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