Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
to the regular lodge festivities , the women had special benefit collections for the poor , contests to find the best ideas for alleviating suffering , and rewards for people who had made a difference in the lives of the unfortunate . Significantly , one of the most effective and active lodges in carrying out charitable activities was the lodge La Candeur , with which the Princess de Lamballe was affiliated .
The friendship of other women and the role of women in society were also concerns of the Princess de Lamballe . Her library included books touching on the status of women and women ’ s friendship , such works as Clarisse Harlow , a five-volume Histoire des femmes françaises and a Bibliotheque des dames . Further , in her life at Court , she sometimes showed herself to be more interested in the company of women than in mixed company , even to the point that she once put herself into the bad graces of the Queen by giving a pre-ball dinner for women only . 24
It is precisely this attitude of the Princess de Lamballe toward the Queen that has baffled her biographers , that has left them struggling with what seems like the contradictions in her persona . On the one hand , contemporaries widely portrayed her as the Queen ’ s lackey with no mind of her own . On the other hand , as exemplified by that pre-ball party where she invited only women as well as her refusal to hold grand balls even though her friends reminded her that giving a large ball was a certain way to please the Queen , she appears not to have been tyrannized by the expectations of the Court and the Queen . The Count de Mercy-Argenteau , Austrian ambassador to France , wrote regularly to the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria , the Queen ’ s mother , about the failure of the Princess de Lamballe to give dinners or parties for the Queen and the way she wasted precious personal time with the Queen pleading for appointments for her friends . Further , he commented that “ people were shocked ” when the princess was away from her job , traveling in Holland , during the Queen ’ s early pregnancy . 25
Like the Duchess de Bourbon , then , the Princess de Lamballe was a sort of misfit at Court ; she had an intriguingly strong and independent personality . This strength of character manifested itself in a number of ways besides her stubborn unwillingness to adhere to Court pressures . One example was her attitude toward the superintendency . She pushed very hard to have her pay raised and her duties elevated , arousing the anger of many members of the court as well as the Count de Mercy-Argenteau , who complained regularly to the Empress Maria Theresa about her demands . Another was her approach to the superintendency once she had settled into it . She was , by many reports , hard-working and serious about her position . According to Mme . Campan , lectrice de Mesdames et première femme de Chambre de la reine , the princess “ usually stayed at Versailles in the beginning of her appointment and put great importance on the faithful execution of all the duties of her office .” 26 The memoirs of lawyer M . Morizot portray the princess as “ gifted with an excellent judgment . She is marvelous at attending to details .” 27 Her
24
Sorel , p . 113
25
Correspondance sécrète entre Marie-Thérèse et le Cte de Mercy-Argenteau , 3 vols ( Paris : Didot , 1874 ), 2:215 .
26
Mme . Campan , Mémoires sur la vie privée de Marie Antoinette ( Paris : Baudouin , 1822 ) 1:286 .
27
M . Morizot , avocat . Tableau abrégé des espiégleries de la cour , pendant les six premiers mois de 1792 , pour server de suite aux onze memoires précédens ( Paris : Labour , 1792 ), p . 7 .
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