LHMP #462 Merrick 1996 The Marquis de Villette and Mademoiselle de Raucourt

 Following a long tradition of framing f/f sex as “something newly prominent,” the French Mémoires Secrets of 1784 asserted it had “never been flaunted with as much scandal and show as today.” But while male homosexuals were arrested by the hundreds, far less attention was given to women, leaving fewer traces for historians to reconstruct. One notable exception is the actress Mademoiselle de Raucourt. This article compares her context to that of the Marquis de Villette to examine difference in the treatment and reception of male and female homosexuality among social prominent figures. [Note: My summary of this, as usual, will focus primarily on Raucourt.]

Villette was a wealthy aristocrat with philosophical and literary interests. He dabbled in both legal and military careers, but ran into trouble over a misrepresented duel, as well as his notoriety for homosexual relations. This notoriety took the form of gossip and satire, but despite occasional encounters with the police (and being the subject of investigations) he did not face legal penalties.

His marriage in middle age went some way to changing his reputation. During the Revolution, he took something of a moderate position, which resulted in more radical voices linking his sexuality to the decadence of the court.

Raucourt was the daughter of an actor and began her own career at the Comédie Française at the age of 16. Early mentions of her praised her beauty and intellect. Sexual speculation began with guesses as to which aristocrat would take (or had already taken) her virginity, as actresses were assumed to all moonlight as mistresses to the wealthy. Her disinterest in that path resulted in her becoming notorious for her romantic affairs with women. Her rejection of the career of paid mistress, combined with a profligate lifestyle, led her into bankruptcy four years into her career, though she was rumored to have income from some female aristocratic admirers.

Due to finances, she temporarily fled France for several years in company with her lover Mademoiselle Souck. She returned under the sponsorship of Marie-Antoinette, and this later resulted in Raucourt being named as one of the queen’s female lovers in political pamphlets that framed Marie-Antoinette as a lesbian.

Gossip also linked Raucourt’s name with singer Sophie Arnould, with one source claiming the two had “married.” Arnould had both male and female lovers and several of the latter moved between her bed and that of Raucourt.

In pornographic literature, Raucourt was cast in the role of leader of a secret society of lesbians, known as the Anandrine Sect. These texts also referenced Arnould and Souck as part of the Sect. This fictionalized version of Raucourt proclaimed the long history of lesbianism and promoted it as a better choice and option for women. These pornographic texts, however, typically ended with a young female protagonist at risk of being seduced into the Anandrine Sect being “rescued” by a male lover.

Raucourt was said to sometimes dress as a man, not only for stage roles, but when visiting her female lovers. Raucourt had no revolutionary sympathies, and political pamphleteers once again depicted her as leader of a band of lesbians and sodomites against the prostitutes of Paris, which latter were framed as representing the Revolution. Raucourt, along with other actors of suspect politics, was arrested but eventually revived her career, with some (perhaps surprising) support from Napoleon, who included her in a group of entertainers traveling with him.

She spent her last years in company with a woman she had met in prison and had engaged in long correspondence with.

Both Villette and Raucourt were used as examples of the decadence of the Ancien Régime. Their sexuality was a theme of personal attacks, but also as a context for political attacks. Due to the nature and purpose of these attacks, they do not represent reliable history, but represent prevalent attitudes toward sexuality.