Madame de Sévigné (English: Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné)

A classic French author famous for her epistles. Although she lost her parents at a young age, she was brought up cheerfully by her uncles and showed her talent in Parisian society. She married the Marquis de Sévigne at the age of 18, lost her husband at the age of 25, and thereafter devoted herself to raising her two children, a boy and a girl. The core of this collection of 1,500 letters is a collection of letters written to her daughter over a period of 25 years, starting from the day her husband left for his post in Provence. The sadness of separation from her beloved daughter overflows with the true feelings of a mother, despite her naturally cheerful, witty, intelligent, and sensible mind, and still touches people's hearts today. It is also a valuable source of information that vividly depicts the various incidents, big and small, that occurred in the aristocratic society under Louis XIV. His unique talent can be seen in his outstanding imagination, his flowing and natural brushwork, and his delicate and beautiful depictions of rural landscapes. Some of his manuscripts were read at court and salons, but they were published by a close relative after his death.

[Ayako Fukase]

"Madame de Sévigné's Letters: Excerpts from the Letters of Madame de Sévigné, translated by Kyuichiro Inoue (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "Madame de Sévigné Correspondence I-III (Bibliothèque de la pléiade, published by Roger Duchêne, Paris)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの書簡文で有名な古典作家。幼時に父母を失ったが伯父たちのもとで明るく養育され、パリの社交界では才媛(さいえん)ぶりを発揮した。18歳でセビニェ侯爵と結婚、25歳で夫と死別、以後は一男一女の子供の養育に専念した。嫁いだ娘が夫の任地プロバンスに発(た)ったその日から25年にわたって書き送られた娘あての手紙が、1500通にも及ぶ書簡集の中心部をなしている。熱愛する娘との別離の悲しみは、生来陽気で機知に富み聡明(そうめい)で分別ある精神の持ち主から、母親の真情をあふれ出させて、いまなお人の心を打つ。ルイ14世下の貴族社会に起きた大小さまざまな事件を、鮮やかに描き出した情報文献としても貴重である。卓抜な想像力、流れるように自然な筆運(はこ)び、繊細で美しい田園風景の描写などにも独自の才能がうかがわれる。原稿の一部は宮廷やサロンで愛読されたが、出版は没後近親者の手になるものであった。

［深瀬絢子］

『井上究一郎訳『セヴィニェ夫人手紙抄』（岩波文庫）』▽『Madame de SévignéCorrespondance Ⅰ‐Ⅲ (Bibliothèque de la pléiade, texte établi par Roger Duchêne. Paris)』

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