The Incomparable Josephine:
Life of an Empress
first published by Louisiana Life under the title Empress Josephine Bonaparte
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon.
Portrait of Empress Joséphine
Born a Creole to sugar plantation owners on the island of Martinique,
the one who would be empress may have found herself quite at home in the
Louisiana of her day. Named Marie-Joseph Rose Tascher de la Pagerie, she
was simply known as Rose until much later when Napoleon insisted on calling
her Josephine.
In 1779, she first arrived in France at 16 to wed Alexandre de Beauharnais.
This marriage of convenience produced two children. The couple soon separated,
and Rose became socially prominent as she mingled in the salons of Paris.
Although her husband initially supported the Revolution, during The Reign
of Terror he was arrested and executed. Narrowly escaping the guillotine
herself, Rose spent months in prison, a hardship that is believed to have
severely affected her health and left her barren.
After prison, she revisited social life and met the young ambitious general,
Napoleon Bonaparte, who wanted to marry a socially connected woman to assist
his career. He fell deeply in love with the newly renamed Josephine and
in 1796 married the widow who was six years his senior. During their marriage,
Napoleon would ascend to first consul and then emperor.
While Napoleon was off campaigning, he penned many love letters to her.
In one, he wrote, "the charms of the incomparable Josephine kindle incessantly
a burning flame within my heart." In another, "I hope to hold you in my
arms before long, when I shall lavish upon you a million kisses, burning
as the equatorial sun."
However, for Napoleon, duty ranked before love. After an assassination
attempt made his need for a royal heir vital, he ended his marriage of nearly
14 years because of Josephine's infertility. Josephine then made her favorite
home, Malmaison, the beautiful mansion just outside of Paris, her permanent
residence. There, she took up her love of botany, especially roses. She
had almost every known species of rose growing in her gardens. Josephine’s
gardeners cross-bred many of them producing new varieties, including the
tea rose from which most garden roses today are descended.
Even though his second wife Marie Louise bore him an heir, Napoleon lamented
his loss of Josephine. Shortly before his death on St. Helena, he wrote,
"I ought not to have allowed myself to be separated from Josephine. No, I
ought not to have been divorced from her; that was my misfortune." His final
words are reputed to have been: "France, the army, Josephine!"
Napoleon sold Louisiana in 1803, primarily to finance his wars. With two
upcoming exhibits to our state, residents of Louisiana and visitors to Napoleon’s
former territory will have the opportunity to experience some items of Josephine’s
life as an empress.
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©2003 Kristin Fouquet
Pierre-Paul Prud'hon. Portrait of Empress Joséphine. 1805. Oil on canvas. 244 x 179 cm. Louvre,
Paris, France.
writing