MARAT MONDAY! -

[kurotoshi.livejournal.com]

So, for today,

let's talk about Marat's relationship with his family! (taken from the same book as before!)

The young man was no doubt anxious to assert his independence and to begin seeking his fortune.  Some historians have speculated that perhaps his father expelled him or that he departed in ange, but a great deal of evidence testifies that his relationship with his family was a good one.  He went back to Geneva to visit his mother and father in 1776 ((NOTE FROM ME: which completly destroys the widely reported idea that Marat left when his mother passed away)) "Having returned to my family after such a long abscence," he wrote, "I couldn't deny myself the pleasure of spending some time with my folks." After Marat's death three of his siblings issued a declaration of gratitude to his widow, Simonne Évrard, for sharing their brother's burdens and dangers.

Marat's mother died in 1782 and his father the following year. Near the end of his own life, Marat wrote very warmly of them.  He attributed his studious nature and love of learning to his father's influence and credited his mother for his social conscience:

"It is to my mother that I owe the formation of my character, because my father was only concerned with my intellectual development. That honorable woman, whose loss still pains me deeply, guided me in my early years. It was she alone who opened my heart to a love of humankind, and to a yearning for justice and glory. Soon these precious sentiments would become the passions by which I would steer my life"

Comments

[livviebway.livejournal.com]

I vaguely remember a scene in Marat/Sade where he fights with his parents. So I take it that's not accurate?

[trf-chan.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I remember that scene, too. Probably included because it's quite commonplace to assert that those held to be "mad" or "bloodthirsty" have a screwed up home life. Kind of like how Robespierre's childhood is babbled on at length in a lot of books, for what it seems is the sole purpose of asserting that it "warped" him. (Not that it wouldn't have SOME kind of effect, but I digress)

Anyway, it's nice to know that Marat had such a lovely relationship with his family. =D Kind of sweet, in a way.

[livviebway.livejournal.com]

That reminds me of something I was thinking about while reading a biography of Talleyrand, the one by Duff Cooper I think. He was talking about Talleyrand's childhood, which basically consisted of neglect by his parents once he was useless as an heir, but then he was saying how in this regard he wasn't that different from many children of the aristocracy; how they would be left in the care of often disinterested nurses and neglected, except for the times they would be dressed up and paraded around as mini-adults. Although our modern conceptions of childhood emerged in the 18th century, obviously parenting styles were quite different back then and judging by modern standards you wonder how it didn't produce generations of traumatized psychos, which got me reflecting about modern parenting expectations, as clearly people weren't all warped by their childhoods.

[kurotoshi.livejournal.com]

Bingo!

:D He sure did! When he died, he left everything to Simonne and his sister as well~ :D