Marie Duplessis

Biography

The childhood and the first youth of Alphonsine Plessis were marked by an extreme poverty, this one having to work very young person as maidservant of hotel with Exmes, then in a factory of umbrella with Gacé. Gone up to Paris at the fifteen years age, she works initially like washing machine and hatter until she becomes the mistress of a rich person trading who puts it in his pieces of furniture. This young woman extremely attracting with the smile enchanter, whose unusual beauty, elegance and the style will make the celebrity, quickly becomes, hardly old of sixteen years, the most coveted courtesan and most expensive of Paris.

In the portrait given of it by Alexandre Dumas wire, it was “large, very thin, black of hair, pink and white of face, it had the small head, of long eyes of enamel like a Japanese woman, but sharp and fine, the lips of the red of cherries, the most beautiful teeth of the world”. She then learns how to read and write, learns the piano, and will end up being regarded as extremely sharp and extraordinarily cultivated, able to converse on all the subjects, the men rich in sight being laid out to grant to him a regular financial aid in exchange of her company in their social life and deprived. Edouard Vienot made his portrait.

She then started to hold a living room attended by the writers and the politicians in sight. She showed herself with the Bois de Boulogne and the Opéra. She also modifies her noun, adding one “of” which sounds nobler with its patronym and giving up the first name of “Alphonsine” for that of “Marie”.

During her short life, Marie Duplessis was famous for her reputation of discretion, intelligence and in love full with spirit. No one of those approaching it for the first time could not have thought of being vis-a-vis a Courtisane. She, for these reasons, remained popular and in the good graces of several of her benefactors even after the end of their connection. She was the mistress of Alexandre Dumas wire of September 1844 at August 1845. Then it is supposed being become the mistress of Franz Liszt, which affirmed later to have offered to him to live with it.

Become the mistress of the count Edouard de Perrégaux, she marries it in January 1846 with London, but in front of the failure of their marriage turns over to France where she damages herself in a life increasingly agitated and dissipated in spite of the phthisis which consumes it. Less than one year later, it dies out in its housing of the 11, Boulevard of the Madeleine completely ruined and given up of all, except both of her former lovers, the Swedish count Von Stakelberg and the count de Perregaux, remained at its sides.

Poor girl! one told me that at your last hour,

Only one man was there to close you the eyes,

And that, on the way which leads to the cemetery,

Your friends of formerly were reduced to two!

ALEXANDRE DUMAS Fils .

Always it is that its burial with the Cimetière of Montmartre, where it rests in small fall, always flowered, decorated with these words: “Here Alphonsine Plessis rests”, passes to have been sumptuous with hundreds of people present.

Théophile Gautier and Jules Janin, which was with the number of his/her close friends made his praise but most beautiful and most touching is undoubtedly that of Franz Liszt who said once: “When I think of the poor Marie Duplessis, the mysterious cord of an ancient elegy resounds in my heart. ”

At the time of the auction of its goods to defray its debts, all the good one and less the good company of Paris was found among the purchasers trying to tear off its possessions.

Less than one year later, Alexandre Dumas wire paid to him homage with its Dame to the camellias , of which he said: “Not having yet the age where one invents, I am satisfied to tell”, who report his relation, under the name of “Armand Duval” with Marie Duplessis depicted under the features of “Marguerite Gautier”. Of this novel, it makes then a part which will be played in 1852. The following year, Verdi creates according to the part of Dumas wire, the not less famous opera Traviata , where it represents Marie under the name of “Violetta Valery”.

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