La Politique du Cardinal de Retz: Passions et factions (review)

Cardinal Jean-François-Paul Gondi de Retz (1613–79), coadjutor archbishop of Paris from 1643 to 1654 and then archbishop until his forced resignation in 1662, is one of the best-known examples of a member of the secular elite forced by his family to undertake an ecclesiastical career. This is so because of his involvement in French politics, especially as an opponent of Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the queen mother's chief adviser, during the Fronde (1648–52) and his later activity as a diplomat in the papal court representing King Louis XIV.

In addition, Retz wrote a memoir that covered his life to 1655.The memoir, composed for an unknown woman, has long attracted the attention of historians, novelists, and literary scholars. Sources of the attraction include Retz's reputation as a conspirator, his narrative talent, and his ability to portray vividly the people around him, as well as the consternation that the memoir created with the regency government when it appeared in 1717.

Malina Stefanovska, professor of French and Francophone studies at University of California at Los Angeles, has spent much of her career writing about Louis de Rouvroy, the duc de Saint-Simon and chronicler of the court of Louis XIV in the years after Retz's death. This area of interest brings depth to her study of Retz's memoirs.

In chapter 1 she discusses Retz's theory of the social contract, a subject dear to political theorists of his time and the "la politique" of the title. Retz advocated an ambiguous contract between ruler and subjects that each would interpret in his or her own way. In this state of misunderstanding, the appropriate social bond would remain a desired goal that Retz thought would never actually be reached.

The second chapter explores how Retz applied his theory of ambiguous contract to personal relations. In passing, candidates for the position of unknown woman are presented, ranging from Mme. De Sevigné to Retz's illegitimate daughter. This chapter will be of particular interest to literary specialists.

The third chapter discusses Retz's views of a number of participants in the political life of seventeenth-century France (les politiques). Historians will find this chapter especially useful. Chapter 4 will attract those interested in political theory. It discusses "les factions" of the book's subtitle—that is, the predecessor of political parties. According to Stefanovska, Retz was one of the first theorists to discuss this subject.

The fifth chapter, "The Art of the Bond," is occupied with the nature of social bonds as seen by Retz and interpreted by the author. This chapter will interest both historians and literary scholars.

The final chapter discusses the application of Retz's theories about social bonds to his political and ecclesiastical actions during the Fronde. Stefanovska's analysis of Retz's presentation of himself as defender of the Church against the growing power of the nation-state is interesting, as is her presentation and interpretation of Retz's submission to royal authority in the last years of his life.

Some historians will find the book difficult because it is written by a literary scholar using the terms and concepts of her discipline. However, anyone who is faced with the problem of understanding memoirs written in seventeenth- or eighteenth-century Europe will find the effort worthwhile. In addition, historians interested in any aspect of life in seventeenth-century France will gain important insights because of the author's concentration on social, political, and personal bonds.