Woldemar

Research Status: Basic Last Updated: 2025-01-23 Diary Coverage: Up to 1880-10-15

Woldemar was a family member or family associate who served as a messenger between Marie's mother in Russia and Marie in Paris in 1880.

In October 1880, Marie's mother sent Woldemar to Paris to explain to Marie and her aunt why she couldn't come to France or take Marie to Biarritz. The reason was a legal complication: Marie's mother was bound as guarantor in a lawsuit for 200,000 rubles.

Marie's mother writes: "I sent, she says, Woldemar to Paris to explain this to you but - 'he apparently told you nothing.'" Marie responds: "I should think so, they talked with my aunt and I learned nothing, but you remember well that I suspected something."

This reveals the family's tendency to keep Marie uninformed about difficult matters - having Woldemar explain the situation to her aunt rather than to Marie directly. Marie finds this approach frustrating, preferring direct communication rather than being "managed" by partial information and lies.

The name Woldemar (German/Baltic form of Vladimir) suggests Baltic German or Russified German origins.