Une femme de deux espaces : Pauline de Schwarzenberg

Between Family Life and the Milieu of the Salons: Pauline of Schwarzenberg Pauline of Schwarzenberg (1774-1810) – wife of Joseph I, Earl of Schwarzenberg, the founder of the Schwarzenberg primogeniture and sister-in-law of a famous marshal – stays in the public mind as the tragic victim of the fire in the Austrian Embassy in Paris on 1 July 1810. This tragic event made it possible that the Countess of Schwarzenberg lived a 'life after life': her image was created and finalized during the 19th century. However, it seems to be rather unfair to the Countess since it was not her death, but first of all her life that made her a really exceptional personality, standing out due to her distinct talent for fine arts, the gift of excellent written communication (her correspondence is a real reading experience), but also due to the fact that she adopted Rousseau' s model of 'nouvelle mère', that is of a mother who takes care of her child from the very beginning breast-feeding it, looking after its health, education and socialization. However, her motherhood did not lead the Countess away from her usual duties relating to the position of wife of the governing Count of Schwarzenberg: she was able to comply with the requirements for representation, social life, économie matters and philanthropy. The Countess maintained extensive correspondence with her parents, her husband who was often tied up by his duties outside home, and with her friends. She had a nice friendship with Mrs de Staël in Vienna, playing in theatre performances under the writer's direction. Countess of Swarzenberg was an experienced reader and used to think about what she had read. She contributed to the establishment of the park in Třeboň. Pauline of Schwarzenberg also was a good painter – the album of her drawings containing gently feminine views of places she was familiar with was published in Paris. Countess Pauline was a talented, skillful, and active aristocrat who was, perhaps unwittingly, aware of the fact that the life style based on the ancestry privileges would soon be over.