Bashkirtseff
Orig | CZ

Paul de Cassagnac

Moderate Aktualizováno: 2025-11-20

Research Status: Moderate Last Updated: 2025-11-20 Diary Coverage: Book 13 (1879) - Frequent mentions, romantic interest

Overview

Paul Adolphe Marie Prosper Granier de Cassagnac (1842-1904) was a French journalist, politician, and duelist. He was a prominent Bonapartist and editor of Le Pays, known for his fierce political writings and numerous duels.

Historical Background

Career

  • Journalist: Editor of Le Pays (pro-Bonapartist newspaper)
  • Politician: Deputy in the National Assembly, ardent defender of Napoleon III's legacy
  • Duelist: Famous for fighting numerous duels over political disputes
  • Polemicist: Known for aggressive, provocative writing style

Political Position

  • Ultra-Bonapartist: Unwavering supporter of the Second Empire and Napoleon III
  • Anti-Republican: Fierce opponent of the Third Republic
  • Conservative: Defended traditional social hierarchies

Social Position

Despite his political prominence, Cassagnac's social standing was complicated:
  • From wealthy but not aristocratic background
  • His father's immense fortune from unknown sources
  • His journalistic career was considered somewhat déclassé by old aristocracy
  • His dueling reputation added both glamour and notoriety

Relationship with Marie Bashkirtseff

Romantic Interest (1878-1879)

Marie was strongly attracted to Cassagnac and considered him a potential match:
  • Physical attraction: She found him handsome and commanding
  • Intellectual appeal: His political passion and literary abilities impressed her
  • Social calculation: His connections could advance her position
  • Ambition: She believed "avec lui je serais une force" (with him I would be a power)

Disillusionment (April 1879)

In Book 13, Marie learns disturbing information about Cassagnac:
  • Marital scandals: Affairs and domestic troubles with his wife Julia
  • Hungarian mistress: Ongoing extramarital relationship
  • Hypocrisy: His public moralism versus private behavior
  • Rejected dowry: Claim of refusing 5 million franc dowry "because there was a stain in the family"

Marie's reaction:

"Alors, c'est ainsi mon pauvre Cassagnac... tu es un sale personnage à l'intérieur ? Et c'est ce particulier-là qui nous racontait avoir refusé une dot de cinq millions"
(So that's how it is, my poor Cassagnac... you're a dirty character inside? And this is the man who told us he refused a dowry of five million)

Her Regret

Marie reflects on missed opportunity:
"A-t-il été bête Popaul ? Quel idiot. Avec moi il serait devenu tout au monde"
(How stupid Popaul was! What an idiot. With me he would have become everything)

This reveals both her ego and her genuine belief in her potential as a partner for an ambitious man.

Historical Verification

Paul de Cassagnac did marry Julia (exact details require further research). His reputation for both political dueling and personal scandal was well-established in contemporary Paris.

Significance in Marie's Development

Cassagnac represents:

  • Marie's political phase: Her Bonapartist sympathies (later evolving)
  • Romantic pattern: Attraction to powerful, established men
  • Social learning: Understanding the gap between public reputation and private reality
  • Lost possibilities: Her regret shows her self-awareness of her own potential

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