Sharing Grief/Initiating Consolation: Voltaire's Letters of Condolence

SharingGrief/Initiating Consolation:Voltaire'sLettersof CondolenceTHOMASM.CARR,JR. Theletterofcondolencehasgenerallybeenneglectedbystudentsof epistolarydiscourse1inspiteofbeinglocatedattheintersectionofa numberofrecentcriticalconcerns.Interestamonghistoriansofdeathisshiftingfromthearsmoriendithatpreparedthedyingforaholydeathtothegrief ofthosewhomournthedeceased.2Second,lettersofcondolenceraisethe problemoftherepresentationofgriefandtheadequacyoflanguagetocon- veyit.3Finally,arhetoricofconsolationisimplicitinthetopoiofcondolence selectedbytheletterwriter,andwhiletheconsolatorydiscourseofantiquity hasbeenthesubjectofmuchstudy,onlyrecentlyhasconsolationintheearly modernperiodattractedattention.4Voltaire'sextensivecorrespondencenot onlyoffersvariedexamplesoflettersofcondolence,butconsolationisa themetowhichherepeatedlyreturnedbothinhislettersandinthecontes.5 Ofcourse,whileconsolationandcondolencearerelated,theyarenotsyn- onymous.TheDictionnairedeTrévouxdefinescondoléanceasthe "témoignagequ'onrendÃquelqu'undudéplaisirqu'onadelapertequ'ila faite"whileconsolationisa"discoursquisertÃadoucirladouleurd'un affligé;soulagement,adoucissementquel'onapporteaudéplaisir,Ãl'affliction dequelqu'un."Condolencesareafirststepintheconsolatoryprocess.They areanexpressionofsympathyforthegriefsomeoneelseexperiencesdueto aloss;theymayormaynotbefollowedbyanefforttoeasethesorrowand 131 132 / CARR relievethegrief.Suchconsolationitselfusuallyinvolvesofferingarguments designedtourgemournerstoreframetheirlossinanewperspectiveorto showthemhowsomereplacementcancompensateforit. Threeareasareunderinvestigationhere:condolencesasasocialandepis- tolarypractice;theproblemofrepresentingone'ssympathyinsuchaway thatthecondolencesappeartobemorethangesturesrequiredbycivility; andtheconsolatorycommonplacesVoltairefoundmostcongenialtocondo- lences.I IntheAncienRégimethebienséancesdictatedclearexpectationscon- cerningtheexpressionofcondolences.Inhisrecentsurveyofthemanualsof letterwritingthatcodifytheseconventions,MauriceDaumasnotesthatsuch lettersareasignofpolitesociety'sincreasingconcernforcivilityandpoints tothegrowingimportanceofcondolencesforadeathwithinthelargercat- egoryoflettersofconsolationduringtheperiod1630to1725: Legenrefortanciendelalettredeconsolationreprésentetoutaulongde lapériodeétudiéeenviron8%deslettres.Laconsolation,quipeutconcerner lacaptivité,l'emprisonnement,lamaladie,estcentréedeplusenplussur ledécès.Lesmodèlesdelettresfamilialessemultiplientetsediversifient (jusqu'auxconsolationsentrefrèresetsoeurs.)Enfin,leslettresd'avisde décèsetlesréponsesprennentpeuÃpeulaplusgrandeplace.6 Themanualsofferedadviceonwritingsuchletters,sampleswrittenby epistolarymasterslikeMalherbe,andmodellettersdevisedbytheauthorsof thesehandbooksforallmannerofcircumstances.7Voltairehimselfavoided theoratoricalbrandofformalconsolationexemplifiedbyMalherbe,andfor imitationsinhiscorrespondenceoftheinventedmodellettersfurnishedby themanuals,onemustturn,nottolettershewrotehimself,buttotwostiffly formaloneswrittenin1767byofficialsofthecourtoftheduchessofSaxe- GothainformingVoltaireofherdeath(D14501,D14557).8 Voltaire'scorrespondence,nonetheless,offersanimpressiverangeofcon- dolences:carefullycomposedcomplimentsdecondoléancewhenetiquette requiredthemostformalrespect;short,rapidlywrittenbilletsthatconveyed Voltaire'simmediatereactiontotheinitialnewsofadeath;longerlettersin whichVoltaireuseswhatGenevièveHaroche-Bouzinaccallsthe"artallusif' oftransitiontopassfromthecondolencesthatoccupythefirstparagraphto adiscussionofothermattersoftheday;9requeststhatfriendsconveyhis condolenceswhen,foronereasonoranother,itwasnotopportuneforhimto writedirectly.10 SharingGrief/InitiatingConsolationI133 Condolences,ofcourse,areexpresseddirectlywhencircumstancesallow, butwhenlettersareinvolvedanepistolarypactofthreestepsisestablished. Aninitiallettercomesfromsomeoneneartothedeceasedannouncingthe death;theexpectationisthataletterofcondolencewillfollow,forwhicha letterofacknowledgmentmustbesent.11InVoltaire'scorrespondence,itis raretofindallthreelettersextant.OneexamplemightbehisannouncementofMmeduChâtelet'sdeathtoFredericktheGreat(D4039),theking'snot toograciouscondolences(D4047),andVoltaire'sresponse(D4059).Sogreat wasthesocialpressuretowritethatfriendsremindedVoltaireofhisdutyto sendacomplimentdecondoléancewhentheyfelthewasneglectinghis obligations.12Onesuspectsinsomecasesfriendsliked'Argentaifearedthat Voltaire'sfailuretowritewouldbetakenasasignthattheythemselveshad failedintheirdutytonotifyhimofthedeath.13Likewise,giventheburden thatacknowledgingagreatnumberofexpressionsofsympathyplacedonthe bereaved,Voltaireattimesincludedastatementinthecondolencesthatno responsewasexpected,ashedidwhenthedaughter-in-lawofhisoldfriend FyotdelaMarchediedin1765(D12293). Asthepremierpoetofhisday,Voltaire'sobligationwentfurtherthana simpleletter.AfterthankingVoltaireforhisexpressionofsympathyonthe deathofherformerloverandlongtimefriendFormont,MmeduDeffand continues,"Mais,monsieur,pourquoirefusez-vousÃmonamiunmotd'éloge? ...Quatrelignesdevoussoitenverssoitenprosehonoreraientsamémoireetseraientpourmoiunevraieconsolation"(D8032).Onehopessheexperi- encedtwicetheconsolationsheexpectedwhenshereceivedhisreplywhich containednotfourbuteightlinesofversepraisingtheirmutualfriend(D8040). However,Frederickwasnotsoeasilysatisfied.InDecember1758Voltaire repliedtotheking'sthank-youlettertothepoet'scondolencesontheocca- sionofthedeathofFrederick'ssisterWilhelminawithathirty-fourlinepoem (D7979).ThekingrebukedVoltairetestily,"J'aireçulesversquevousavez faits;apparemmentquejenemesuispasbienexpliqué.Jedésirequelque chosedepluséclatantetdepublic.Ilfautquetoutel'Europepleureavecmoi unevertutroppeuconnue"(D8062).Voltaireobeyedtheroyaldirectiveby writinganentirelynewpoem,the"Odesurlapertequel'Allemagneafaite deSaAltesseRoyaleMmelaMargravedeBareith"thatwasdulypublished inspring1759.However,thepoetdidnotalwaysaccedetosuchrequests; forexample,Voltairedoesnotseemtohaveobligedthemarquised'Argens's suggestionto"faireparlervotredouleur,votremuse"inhonorofherhus- band(D17598). Voltaire,ofcourse,madethelettersorpoemsofcondolencerequiredby etiquetteandfameservehislargerpurposes.Perhapsthemostfundamental functionofcondolencesistoreaffirmthetiebetweenthebereavedandthe 134 / CARR letterwriter,andVoltaireusestheoccasionprovidedbythesocialobligation tosendcondolencestostrengthenthisrelationship,orevenorientitaccording tohisagendaofthemoment.Forexample,thecondolencessentuponFormont'sdeathin1758allowedVoltairetoreestablishhislanguishing correspondencewithMmeduDeffandwhosesalonattractedtheeliteof Parisiansocietyandwhocountedamongherintimatesthewifeofthede factoprimeministerandVoltaire'spatron,Choiseul.Similarly,duringaperiod in1757whenVoltaireandFrederickwereonlyexchangingmessagesthrough theking'ssister,VoltairetooktheoccasionofthedeathofFrederick'smother towritethemonarchdirectly(D7315).HislettertohisnieceMmeDenison thedeathofherhusbandinApril1744offersanexampleoftheuseof condolencestoaffirmamoreintimatebond.Bestermantellsusthatuncle andniecehadalreadybecomeoccasionalloversby1744,14thustransforming Voltaire'sotherwiseratherconventionaluseofthetoposoftheconsolation offriendshipintoanamorousinvitation:"Vivezpourvosamisetpourmoi quivousaimetendrement"(D2958).15 Thus,lettersofcondolenceinvariablyprovemostinterestingwhenread aspartofanintricatenetworkofon-goingpersonalexchange.Evenwhena letterseemstobeanisolatedtributesentoutofregardfortheformalitiesof civility,asubtextalmostalwaysaccompaniestheexpressionofsympathy. II Voltairefoundlittleneedtoresorttothewell-worntoposofthedifficulty ofwritingsuchletters;ifhehadtoberemindedtowrite,itwasmorelikely becauseofanoversightordisinclination,thanforinabilitytofindwords. Nonetheless,hislettersillustratetheparadoxconcerningthelanguageof grief.Ontheonehand,thesorrowoverthelossmaybebeyondlanguage,the mourner'sgriefsodeepthatwordscannotconveyit.Onemightthuspostu- late,asdoesVincentKaufmann,that"lesgrandescondoléancessontmuettes, commelesgrandesdouleursauxquelleselless'efforcentderessembleretde s'associer"(138).Ontheotherhand,socialobligationdoesnotallowfor silence:notsendingcondolencesismorelikelytobetakenasalackofsym- pathythanasthesilenceofunspeakablegrief.AsRogerDuchênehasputit, often"ceslettresneprenaientd'importancequesionnelesavaitpasécrites."16 Ironically,thesetwoapparentoppositessometimesconvergeinclichésince conventionalformulaecanbothmaskanabsenceoffeelingorbetherefuge of profound grief. Theemotionalchargeofthecondolencesdependsonatripartiterelation- shipthatcanbevisualizedasatriangle,withthedeceasedattheapexand theanglesofthebaseoccupiedbytheletterwriterandtherecipient.The SharingGrief/InitiatingConsolationI135 intensityofthesympathythatisattheheartofanycondolencesisafunction oftheintimacybetweentheletterwriterandtheletter'srecipient.Thebond betweenthedeceasedandtherecipientdeterminestheintensityofthe recipient'sgriefforwhichtheletterwriterisexpressingsympathy;finally, thedegreeofclosenessbetweenthedeceasedandtheletterwriterdetermines whethertheletterwriterexperiencesapersonalgriefthatoverlayssympathyfortherecipient'sgrief. Onemightpredictthatthelevelofemotionalinvolvementwouldbethe weakestincasesinwhichtheletterwriterdidnotknowthedeceased,andthe recipientwasonlyanacquaintancewhoseowntieswiththedeceasedwere ratherweak.Attheotherextreme,whenbothletterwriterandrecipientwere closelyattachedtothedeceasedaswellasstronglybondedtoeachother,one wouldpredictthemostintensecondolences. Thedifficultyofgaugingtheintensityofeachlineofforceinthistriangu-larrelationshipcomplicatesthetaskofwriting(orreading)condolences.In fact,writersofcondolencescanonlybesureoftheirownfeelingstowardthe deceasedandtothebereaved.Theymayhaveafairlyreliableimpressionof thebereaved'sownfeelingtowardthem,butmeasuringthebereaved'sgrief ismuchmoreproblematic.AsoneofthecharactersinMlledeScudéry's Cléliesuggests,thebienséancesoftenrequirethatonemournaspouseoneisdelightedtoberidof,ordisplaysorrowwhenone'ssecretemotionisjoy overaninheritance.17Thisquestionisnotinconsequentialsince,ingeneral, oneowesaletterofcondolencetosomeonewhosegriefisgreaterthanone's own.Ifdeterminingtheserelationsisdifficultforthebereavedandconsoler, itisallthemoretroublesomeforreadersoutsidethetriangle.Forexample, inVoltaire'sowncase,afterthedeathofMmeduChâtelet,washetheincon- solablemourneroftheletterstod'Argentai("[J]erevienspleurerentrevos braslerestedemamalheureusevie"[D4014])andtoVoisenon("[J]eviendrai bientôtverserdansvotreseindeslarmesquinetarirontjamais"[D4018]), or,asheappearsinalettertoMmeDenis,amanwhosesorrowwastem- peredbyknowingexactlywherehewouldfindhis"uniqueconsolation" (D4015),thatis,inthearmsofhisniece. Furthermore,AncienRégimeetiquetterequiredthatthewriter'sexpres- sionofcondolencespassthroughthefilterofsocialrank.Evengivenan equalintensityoffeeling,condolencestosuperiors,equals,orinferiorswould becastindifferentregisters. Intheirpurestform,condolencesareanacknowledgementofthesuffer- ingsofanother,agrievingforanother'sgrief.Whentheattachmentbetween thebereavedandtheletterwriterisweak,theactualcontentofthelettercan belargelyformulaicsince,asMauriceDaumashaspointedout(532),the actofsendingthecondolencesitselfisitsmessage.However,whentherela- 136 / CARR tionsarestrong,thecontentitselfisthrownintorelief,andconventional formulaeriskbeingreadasemptyclichés.Thus,therhetoricalproblembecomespersuadingthebereavedthatone 'sobligatoryprofessionofsuffering fortheirsufferingisnotmerelyperfunctory.Themosteffectivestrategyin thisregardistoindividualizethecondolenceswithpersonaldetailsthatal- ludetovariousaspectsoftherelationshipsthatformthetrianglebetweenthe deceased,thebereaved,andtheletterwriter.Asecondmajorstrategyisto usestylisticfeaturesthatdrawattentiontotheintensityoftheemotionsevoked. ToillustratehowVoltairehandlesthisproblem,Iwilldiscussaseriesof examples,beginningwithonesinwhichVoltaire'sattachmentistheleast intense,andthuswherehiscondolencesmightbeexpectedtobethemost conventional.Anexampleofratherweakattachmenttoboththedeceased andthebereavedisfoundinVoltaire'scondolencestotheRussianambassa- dorinBerlin,HermannKarlvonKeyserlingk,whomVoltairehadjustbegun touseasanintermediaryforinformationforhishistoryofRussia.Voltaire seemsnottohaveknowneithertheambassadororhisdeceasedwife: Jesuissensiblementtouchédevotreperteetdevotreaffliction;jenesavais paslorsquejevoussouhaitaistouteslesfélicitésdontvousêtessidigne quevouseussiezessuyéunsigrandmalheur;jen'ail'honneurdevous connaîtrequederéputation,onm'aditcombienvousêtesaimable,etplus vousavezétéaimédeMadamevotrefemme,pluslasensibilitédevotre coeurvousrendÃplaindre....Cecoeurs'intéressevéritablementÃtout cequivousregarde,etjevoudraispouvoirvousendonnerdespreuves. (D7992) Inspiteofitsprotestationsofattachment,emphasizedbyadverbslike sensiblementandvéritablement,theletterismostsuccessfulinevokingan emotionalresponseonthepartofVoltaireonlywhenhementionshisembar- rassmentforthepainhemighthavecausedtheambassadorbysendinga previousletterhehadwrittenbeforebeinginformedofthedeath.18Thisapol- ogycontainspraises("lesfélicitésdontvousêtessidignes")thatserveas pretextformoreextendedonesoftheambassador'scharacterandhiswife's love,eveniftheyaresomewhatweakenedbythefactthattheirsourceis hearsay.Theletterremainslargelyformulaicandexpressesapoliteconcern thatmostlikelywouldnotbeputtothetest,butthisisinkeepingwiththe ambassador'srankandVoltaire'spreviouslackofrelationswithhim.Thedeathofinfantsprovidesanothervariantofrelativelyweakemotionalinvolvement .Inmostcases,Voltairehadnorelationshiptothedead childtoinvoke,andinanerawhenonechildinfourdiedbeforereachingthe ageofone,suchdeathswereoftenaccepted,evenbyparents,withresigna- SharingGrief/InitiatingConsolationI137 tion.19HisbriefcondolencestothejournalistandprolificauthorSamuelFormeyuponthedeathofaninfantchildseemsomewhatcallous,themore sosincetheyappearmidwayinaletterthattreatsmanyothertopicsona lighttone:"JevousassurequejesuistrèssensibleÃlapertequevousavez faite;maiss'ilvousresteautantd'enfantsquevousavezfaitdelivres,vous devezavoirunefamilledepatriarche"(D8245).ButsinceVoltaireisreply- ingtoalettersentbyFormey,onecanassumethatheismerelyconforming tothetonesetbythefatherofthelostchild.Theopeningofhiscondolences in1755toClaveldeBrenles,withwhomhewasonmoreintimateterms, uponthedeathofanewbornsondevaluatethedeadinfantsimilarlybyrefer- ringtotheparents'abilitytocompensatefortheirloss:"Jepartagevotre douleur,aprèsavoirpartagévotrejoie;maisheureuxceuxquipeuventcomme vousréparerleurspertesauplusvite"(D6350).20However,inthiscase, Voltairedoesnotstopwiththisimplicittributetotheparents'vigorbutgoes onexpresshissympathyandevokebothparents'griefinamorepersonal vein. Hiscondolencesin1766whenhissecretaryWagnièrelosthisfatheroffer thecaseofstrongtiesbetweenVoltaireandabereavedpersonwhosegrief forthedeceasedwasdeep.Hisletterinthiscaseisasformulaicastheone sentvonKeyserlingk;inasenseitislesspersonalsinceitdoesnoteven containthepraiseofthemournerorofthedeceasedfoundinthelettertothe ambassador.Onlythereferencetotheincompetenceofdoctorsindividual- izesthecondolences:"MoncherWagnière,jepartagevotredouleur.Vous voyeztropcombiencepetitlivretdesmédecinsestinutile.Nosjourssont comptésetleserreursdesmédecinsaussi.Ilfautserésigner,c'estnotreseul partage.Dites,jevousenprie,Ãtoute.votrefamillecombienjem'intéresseà elle.Puissemonamitiéêtreunedevosconsolations"(D13186).However, eventhoughthisbilletaddscommonplacesontheinevitabilityofdeathtothe conventionalformulaefoundinthelettertotheambassador,itstelegraphic styleconveysasenseofurgency.Thelettertohisdevotedsecretarygainsin directnessandsimplicitybyomittingtheprotestationsofrespect,therein- forcingadverbs,andthepolitetransitionsdueasocialsuperior. Finally,Voltaire'sletterstohisnieceontheoccasionofthedeathofher fatherin1737andofherhusbandin1744illustratehiscondolencesina situationinwhichthebondsbetweenhimandthebereavedarethestrongest. Insteadofindividualizinghiscondolencesbydwellingoneitherhisownor hisniece'srelationwiththedeceased,Voltairechoosestostresshisconcern fortheemotionalandpracticaldisarraycausedbyherloss.Inbothletters, theinevitableconventionalphraseologybecomespersonalizedasitisincor- poratedintoamiseenscèneofVoltaire'sparticipationinhersorrow. 138 / CARR...