Voltaire, the great French philosopher, poet and writer, called Emilie du Chatelet "the divine Emily." About how divine Madame du Chatelet looked, contemporaries argued. But her mind and talents were not liked only by those who did not understand what a woman can do in general in the sciences.
Emilie du Chatelet was born in 1706 in Paris. Before marriage, the future celebrity was called Gabrielle Emilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil. She was born into the family of a secretary who served Louis XIV, who, due to a passion for luxury, went down in history under the name of the "sun king".
Ordinary fate
The father early noticed his daughter's outstanding abilities and far-sightedly did not mold her into a husband's wife. Emily received an excellent education at home. She was brought out early.
They argue about this page of her life: some said that she was successful. Others argued that the girl was not attractive. Here is what an evil-speaking contemporary wrote about her: “Imagine a woman tall and dry, with sharp features and a pointed nose - this is the physiognomy of the beautiful Emilia, whom she is so pleased with that she spares no effort, forcing her to admire herself. She wants to appear beautiful in defiance of nature and rich in defiance of her modest means."
It is not known how this lady Emily got away. Most likely, the fact that she chose a path unusual for a woman of her time. At social events, the girl did not hesitate to show her mind. Nevertheless, the female fate of an intelligent aristocrat initially took shape as usual. At 18, she was married to a 30-year-old Marquis du Chatelet. There was no question of marriage for love: in fact, in that environment, feelings did not play a role in the conclusion of marriages. Nevertheless, the situation was quite satisfactory for both spouses. After the birth of three children, Emily decided that she had fulfilled her duty and could devote time to herself and her interests. She considered offspring an annoying misunderstanding - the children were brought up in schools at monasteries.
At that time, there were practically no divorces: the spouses who were dissatisfied with each other simply left. This is what Madame and Monsieur du Chatelet did.
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At the same time, both were pleased with the decision: the marquis, a military man, kind, but stupid and limited, spent a lot of time in the camps, where he felt better than in the family. There he easily made mistresses. The wife was not jealous.
She herself was not averse to going to the side. An affair with one frivolous rake almost drove her to suicide. Emily interpreted this sad story cleverly: she decided that fate had given her a sign - she needed to do more science.
Far from the temptations of the light
In 1733, a turning point occurred in the life of Madame du Chatelet: she met Voltaire. He was 12 years older than her, known and was in disgrace for his poem "The Virgin of Orleans", where he brought the national French heroine Jeanne d'Arc, the church and the knights into a comic light. The philosopher and poet urgently needed to get out of the capital away from sin. At this difficult moment, the wife of du Châtelet gave Voltaire a helping hand. They invited him to settle in the family castle of Ciresur-Blaz in Champagne.
Voltaire gladly accepted the offer. The Marquis prudently withdrew. And Voltaire and Emily began to equip the castle for scientific work. Thus began the happiest years of the life of both the philosopher and Emily. With Voltaire's money, the estate turned into an abode of muses and sciences. Madame du Chatelet was not particularly rich: when she needed money for new books, she sat at the card table. Thanks to Emily's mathematical mind, the card game brought her considerable income. Now Voltaire's money and … his enthusiastic love appeared. What was du Chatelet doing?
To begin with, Emily translated Newton's Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy into French. The woman provided the translation with detailed comments. In addition, she adapted her scientific work to the methods of mathematical calculations accepted on the continent.
In 1737, Madame du Châtelet learned that the French Academy of Sciences had announced an essay competition on the nature of fire, and decided to participate in it. The woman spent a lot of time in the laboratory equipped in the castle. The competition was won by the work of Leonard Euler. But Emily's study, "An Essay on the Nature and Spread of Fire," was published at the expense of the academy. In this work, du Châtelet outlined the foundations of the modern theory of infrared radiation. The woman was accepted as a member of the Bologna Academy of Sciences - French scientists did not accept women into their ranks. True, here too Emily showed independence: she somehow appeared at a meeting of scientists in a man's suit. Everyone, of course, noticed that there was a woman at the meeting. But they did not dare to drive her away. The marquis did this trick a couple more times …
Du Châtelet did not shy away from the humanities either. Her works "Discourse on happiness" (there, however, it was said that only the wise can be happy) and "On the Existence of God" hardly deserve close attention today. But they testify to the breadth of the scientist's interests.
Meanwhile, Emily's children were growing up. The woman considered the education of young people one of the most important tasks.
The castle of Ciresure-Blaz in Champagne became home not only for Emily, but also for Voltaire, so in 1740 she published a 450-page work "Foundations of Physics". In it, she brought together almost all the achievements of science of that time. At the same time, du Châtelet did not compile thoughtlessly: of all the carefully studied works of Newton, Leibniz, Descartes and other great scientists, she chose the most valuable and reasonable, boldly entering into polemics with recognized authorities.
The Marquise loved to study: among her friends was, for example, the physicist Bernoulli, who stayed at her monastery for a long time.
In general, Emily loved guests. But she accepted them in her own peculiar manner. The whole day the friends were left to themselves: the woman spent all the time at the desk. Only in the evening, during a late supper, they were allowed "to the body" …
Victim of the last love
It was not science, as the supporters of the patriarchy predicted, that ruined the great woman, but love. And not at all to Voltaire. Their relationship over the long years of life and work together has become too stable. They may have existed side by side as brother and sister. In any case, Madame du Chatelet one day felt ready for a new feeling.
And the feeling was not long in coming. His target was Jean François de Saint-Lambert, a young officer who did not try his hand at poetry very well. Unlike Voltaire, he did not share Emily's passion for science. But he did not particularly criticize the interests of women. However, they, of course, were united by something else. Du Châtelet was already 42 years old, but she fluttered on the wings of love, like a young girl.
Voltaire was jealous at first. But I received a tactful rebuke from Emily: “My friend, you yourself said that you cannot love me the way it was at the beginning, without prejudice to your health. Will you really get angry if one of your friends decided to help you?"
Voltaire the philosopher decided that the logic of his girlfriend was iron, as always. Soon he was already walking with Jean François, explaining to the young man how to properly handle the Marquise.
Then it became known that Emily was expecting a child from Saint-Lambert. Here Voltaire teamed up with the Marquis's young lover: they managed to convince her naive husband that his wife was pregnant with him.
Emily was overcome with dark forebodings about the coming birth. That is why she took up scientific work with double strength. The pregnant woman hardly left her desk. Childbirth began when the Marquise pored over the next work. Oddly enough, everything went smoothly. A girl was born.
On September 10, 1749, Emily died unexpectedly from an embolism. Her daughter died a few days later. Hearing about the death of his beloved, Voltaire fainted. He soon wrote: "I did not lose my beloved, but half of myself, the soul for which it seemed my soul was intended."
Frederick the Great spoke about Emily: “I lost a friend whom I knew for 25 years, a great man, whose only drawback was that she was a woman, a man who was honored by all of Paris.”
Maria Konyukova