31 May Josephine, the Mistress who Became Empress
Josephine de Beauharnais (Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie) 1763-1814 was born to a wealthy family growing sugarcane on the island of Martinique. At 15, a fortune teller predicted she would “become more than a queen.”
When hurricanes destroyed the family plantation, it was arranged that her sister, Catherine-Désirée, be advantageously married to Alexandre Francois Marie, Viscount of Beauharmais. Unfortunately, the girl died. Grasping the opportunity, Josephine would replace her. At 16, she made the dangerous journey to Paris by boat. Alexandre did not find the uneducated, uncultured girl acceptable and was serially unfaithful, once abandoning her and the (two) children for an entire year. (They were married for eight years.)
Josephine went to court, became legally separated – and, surprisingly – eventually divorced. At the Viscount’s expense, she and her daughter moved to Pentement Abbey, a refuge for upper class women. (Her son was sent to boarding school.) Apparently innately sweet, she endeared herself to nobles who taught her to be a lady, or as de Belleville says, “the art of life.” After that, the young woman moved to the home of her father-in-law at Fontainebleau, in sight of an estate she would eventually get to know well.
During the 1794 Reign of Terror, the Viscount was guillotined and Josephine incarcerated for some months due to association. Every morning, a soldier would read a list of those to be executed that day. One story has it that she and her ex were imprisoned together (unlikely) and that he stepped forward when only the name Beauharmais was read – without specificity.
Josephine secured her ex-husband’s possessions when freed and, with the help of Madame Tallien with whom she’d been confined, was made welcome in a vibrant social circle. De Belleville equates this period with the flapper era in America – sexually liberated and partying. She was slim and elegant, but had bad teeth, so smiled rarely. Several strategic affairs with political figures followed. It was at one of these gatherings that 33 year-old Josephine met 27 year-old Napoleon Bonaparte.
