Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Polish Queen



Catherine Delors has an excellent post on Queen Marie Leszczynska, long-suffering wife of Louis XV. More HERE. Share

4 comments:

Catherine Delors said...

Thank you so much, Elena! I am putting the finishing touches to my post on Queen Marie's eldest daughter, Madame Elisabeth.

elena maria vidal said...

I'm looking forward to it!

Anonymous said...

I complimented Catherine apropos her artistic license in composing her new banner visuals - are we not all wee Adam-n-Eve-n-Abel's? Is not our sojourn a procession from childhood --the inception of the human events in Watteaus art starts with a child, whose parents are placed next in the tableau, followed by a depiction of chivalrous aid to the infirm -- traversing a lifetime of learning of virtues, from conduct modelled on the sacrifices gleaned from the fruits of the labor of our elders?

Tolkein mimicked such classical imagery in his voyage to the Gray Havens at the end of his heroic trilogy, no?

The Polish Queen may not have relished her husband's vices but she avoided resorting to her own, and thus history failed to find anything noteworthy to record! She certainly laid up her treasures in Heaven, eight bambinos is nothing to scoff at, and in learning to love them with all their failings, she couldn't fail to love the father from whom they inherited those foibles. Therein lies the enduring bond of conjugal love, containing the seeds to overcome infidelity and jealousy: the grace of family ...

elena maria vidal said...

Thought-provoking reflections, as usual, Clare. Thank you. As you put it:

"The Polish Queen may not have relished her husband's vices but she avoided resorting to her own, and thus history failed to find anything noteworthy to record! She certainly laid up her treasures in Heaven...."

Yes, so true. Queen Marie gave example of a quiet and dignified life, always deporting herself in a virtuous manner, no matter what happened. It requires a lot of strength of character to be such a person.