Art, obsession, and identity
Napoleon Bonaparte was the first emperor of France and one of history's most powerful men ever. Yet despite commanding a sprawling empire covering most of continental Europe, the military leader was plagued with a passion for the woman he loved until his dying day.
Ridley Scott's historical drama sees Joaquin Phoenix play the famous French leader, with Vanessa Kirby cast as his first wife, Empress Joséphine. But who truly was this woman who captured Napoleon's heart? Click on to find out.
The future Empress of France was born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie in 1763 in Les Trois-Îlets, Martinique. Her family was wealthy and owned a sugarcane plantation.
Raised on the tropical island, Joséphine later wrote: "I ran, I jumped, I danced, from morning to night; no one restrained the wild movements of my childhood."
In 1766, the family lost a lot of their fortune when hurricanes tore through the sugarcane estates. Joséphine's need to find a wealthy husband became more pressing.
Her younger sister, Catherine, was arranged to be married to a relative named Alexandre de Beauharnais. But she died at the age of 12 in 1777, and Joséphine quickly became a replacement.
In 1779, Joséphine sailed to France to marry Alexandre. They had a son, Eugène, and a daughter, Hortense, who later married Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother. The marriage was miserable; Alexandre abandoned the family for over a year to live with a mistress, and also frequented brothels, leading to a court-ordered separation.
In 1793, the Reign of Terror went after the privileged members of society. The Committee for Public Safety ordered Alexandre and Joséphine to be arrested, and they were held at Carmes Prison in Paris.
Just five days before the end of the Reign of Terror, Alexandre and his cousin, Augustin, were executed. Joséphine was released, and recovered the possessions of her dead husband.
After her time in prison, Joséphine had a number of affairs with leading political figures, including Paul Barras (pictured), the main leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799.
Trying to distance himself from Joséphine, Barras encouraged her relationship with a shy, young Corsican officer, Napoleon Bonaparte (pictured), who was six years her junior.
Napoleon and Joséphine soon became passionate lovers. Completely smitten, he wrote in one letter, "I awake full of you. Your image and the memory of last night’s intoxicating pleasures has left no rest to my senses."
On March 9, 1796, they married in a civil ceremony in Paris, which wasn't valid for a number of reasons. Joséphine reduced her age to 29, the official who conducted it was unauthorized, and Napoleon gave a false address and date of birth. The marriage was also not well received by Napoleon's family, who were shocked that he had married an older widow with two children.
The illegalities of the marriage would later prove convenient when a divorce was warranted. It was at this time that she dropped her name as "Rose," and went by "Joséphine," the name of Napoleon's preference.
Two days after their marriage, Napoleon left to lead the Army of Italy (a field army of the French Army at the Italian border) in a triumphant campaign. While he was away, he wrote numerous letters to his new wife.
However, Joséphine rarely wrote back. When she did, her letters were dry. She left behind Paris, and started an affair with a lieutenant, Hippolyte Charles, which soon reached the ears of her husband.
Infuriated, Napoleon began an affair with Pauline Fourès during his campaign in Egypt. She became known as "Napoleon’s Cleopatra." The relationship between Napoleon and Joséphine never recovered.
Napoleon was elected Emperor of the French in 1804, making Joséphine empress.
The coronation ceremony, officiated by Pope Pius VII, took place at Notre-Dame de Paris, on December 2. Napoleon first crowned himself, then put the crown on Joséphine's head. This showed he rejected the clergy as the power of Europe.
However, this moment of rejoicing quickly transformed into rage. Before the ceremony, Joséphine caught Napoleon in the bedroom with her lady-in-waiting, which almost ended their marriage. Napoleon also had affairs with several other women.
It soon became apparent that Joséphine couldn't bear any more children. And with the premature death of Napoleon's heir and nephew, and Joséphine's grandson, Napoléon-Charles Bonaparte, divorce was the only option.
Napoleon began to create lists of eligible princesses. At dinner on November 30, 1809, Joséphine was informed it was her national duty to consent and enable Napoleon to acquire an heir. On hearing the news, she screamed and collapsed on the floor.
At the divorce ceremony in 1810, they both read a solemn statement of devotion to one another. Sobbing through the words, it seems that over time Joséphine grew to deeply love Napoleon.
Despite the split, Napoleon ensured that his ex-wife wouldn't go unattended. He once wrote, "It is my will that she retain the rank and title of empress, and especially that she never doubt my sentiments, and that she ever hold me as her best and dearest friend."
Napoleon married Marie-Louise of Austria, who bore him a son in 1811, Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte. Titled King of Rome, the baby would rule briefly as Napoleon's successor.
After the divorce, Joséphine lived a comfortable and lavish life at the Château de Malmaison, near Paris. She was a famed cultivator of roses, and brought in horticulturists from the UK. In 1810, she hosted a rose exhibition and produced the first written history on the cultivation of roses.
Joséphine died of pneumonia on May 29, 1814, soon after walking with Emperor Alexander I of Russia in the gardens of Malmaison. She was 50 years old.
Napoleon learned of her death via a French journal while in exile on Elba. He stayed locked in his room for two days, refusing to see anyone. Perhaps referring to her numerous affairs, Napoleon later admitted, "I truly loved my Joséphine, but I did not respect her."
Despite their tumultuous relationship, the emperor's last words on his deathbed at St. Helena were said to be: "France, the army, the head of the army, Joséphine."
Despite never producing the heir Napoleon desired, the ruling families of Sweden (pictured), Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and Luxembourg descend directly from Empress Joséphine.
Sources: (History Hit) (History Today)
Who was Joséphine Bonaparte? The woman who captured Napoleon's heart
Vanessa Kirby portrays the empress in Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon'
LIFESTYLE History
Napoleon Bonaparte was the first emperor of France and one of history's most powerful men ever. Yet despite commanding a sprawling empire covering most of continental Europe, the military leader was plagued with a passion for the woman he loved until his dying day.
Ridley Scott's historical drama sees Joaquin Phoenix play the famous French leader, with Vanessa Kirby cast as his first wife, Empress Joséphine. But who truly was this woman who captured Napoleon's heart? Click on to find out.