Family quarrels within the very family that emerged from the Frev until the Restoration
1)Charlotte and Augustin Robespierre
As we all know on Tumblr, the quarrel between Augustin and Charlotte Robespierre is documented in many well-sourced posts, despite the fact that they generally had good relations before the French Revolution. In her rather unreliable memoirs, Charlotte Robespierre blames the entire conflict on Madame Ricord and on motives that were supposedly non-political. However, the letter Augustin sent to Maximilien shows that the reasons were either more serious than she claimed, or that they stemmed from entirely different causes.
“My sister does not have a single drop of blood that resembles ours. I have seen and learned so much about her that I regard her as our greatest enemy. She abuses our spotless reputation to lay down the law on us and threatens to take a scandalous step in order to compromise us. We must take a decided stand against her. We must make her leave for Arras, and thus take her away from us, a woman who causes our common despair. She would like to give us the reputation of bad brothers, her calumnies spread against us aim at this goal. I would like you to see the citoyenne La Saudraie she would give you certain information on all the masks that it is interesting to know in these circumstances. A certain Saint-Félix seems to be from the clique.”
She had to return to Arras but came back to Paris where she sent this letter to Augustin
« Your (votre) aversion for me, my brother, far from diminishing, as I flattered myself, has become the most implacable hatred, to the point that the mere sight of me inspires horror in you; also, I must not hope that you will ever be calm enough to listen to me, which is why I will attempt to write to you. Crushed under the weight of my sorrow, incapable of connecting my thoughts, I will not undertake my apology. Yet, it would be so easy for me to demonstrate that I have never deserved in any way to excite this fury which blinds you, but I abandon the task of my justification to time, which unveils all perfidies, all darknesses. So, when the blindfold which covers your eyes will be torn apart, if you can distinguish the voice of remorse in the disorder of your passions, if the cry of nature can make itself heard, returned from an error which is so fatal to me, do not fear that I will ever reproach you for having guarded it for so long ; I will only occupy myself with the joy of having rediscovered your heart. Ah! if you could read at the bottom of mine, you would blush for having insulted it in such a cruel manner, you would see there, with the proof of my innocence, that nothing can erase the tender attachment from it which ties me to you, and that this is the only emotion to which I relate all of my affections ; without complaining about your hatred, what does it matter to me that I am hated by those who are irrelevant to me and who I despise? Their memory will never come to trouble me, but being hated by my brothers, I, for whom it is a necessity to cherish them, this is the only thing which can render me as unhappy as I am.This passion of hatred must be atrocious, since it blinds you to the point of bringing you to slander me among my friends. Nonetheless, do not hope in your delirium to be able to make me lose the esteem of a few virtuous persons, which is the only good which remains to me, along with a pure conscience ; full of a just confidence in my virtue, I can defy you to detract it and I dare to tell you that, beside the good people who know me, you will lose your reputation rather than harming mine. Thus, it is important to your tranquillity that I am far away from you, it is even important, as they say, to the Public sake that I do not live in Paris! I still do not know what I have to do, but what seems the most urgent to me is to clear you of the sight of an odious object, also, as from tomorrow, you can return to your apartment without fearing to meet me there. I will leave from today unless you formally oppose it. My stay in Paris should not bother you, I take care not to connect my friends to my disgrace, the misfortune which persecutes me has to be contagious, and your hatred for me is too blind in order not to fall on everyone who shows interest for me. Also, I only need a few days in order to calm the disorder of my thoughts, to decide on the place of my exile, because, in the obliteration of all of my faculties, I am in no state to take a course of action. Therefore, I leave you since you demand it, but, in spite of your injustices, my friendship for you is so indestructible that I will not retain any bitterness from the cruel treatment which you make me endure. When, being disillusioned sooner or later, you will come to hold the feelings for me that I deserve, when shyness does not prevent you from informing me that I have recovered your friendship and, wherever I may be, may I even be beyond the seas, if I can be useful to you in anything, know how to inform me of it and I will soon be by your side.
I send you the exact summary of the expenditures which I have made since your departure for Nice. Sorrowfully, I have learned that you have singularly degraded yourself through the manner in which you have spoken of this affaire d'intérêt. Because of this, I oblige you to observe that, in all of these expenditures, there are debts for the shoemaker, the tailor, a washtub, and powder, prior to my return from Nice, you will also observe that the money that was returned to Madame Delaporte had been lent by her to René during my stay in Nice, that the 200 livres given to René are for his wages which had not been paid to him in the last year, finally, you will also distinguish postage for letters, and if you still have any doubts after this, you can share them with me, I will elucidate them, I will give all of my remaining money to you, and it this does not match my expenditures, this can only be because I have forgotten a few items. Robespierre
PS: You will observe that the polisher is not paid, nor is the locksmith who has made a key for your secretary.Â
PS: You have to think that, while leaving your apartment, I will take all necessary precautions in order to not compromise my brothers. The quarter where citoyenne Laporte lives, to whose home I plan to retreat temporarily, is the place of the entire republic where I can be ignored the most.”
It was clear that the political circle she associated with was different from that of her brothers, both in members and in goals. Her brothers were executed, and therefore there was never any reconciliation between them.
2) The break between Jean Pache and his father Jean-Nicolas Pache
The rupture between Jean Pache and his father, Jean-Nicolas Pache, is also an interesting subject of study. Before the French Revolution, Jean Pache—who had lost his mother at a young age—was raised primarily by his father, who taught him agriculture. During the Revolution, Jean Pache remained close to his elder sister Sylvie, his brother-in-law Xavier Audouin, and to his father, who sent him letters of recommendation. Xavier’s brother even wrote friendly letters mentioning him when Sylvie married his bb rother:
“Limoges, June 3, 1793, Year II of the French Republic
I inform you, my brother, that I have returned to Limoges, where I was pleased to receive the two commissions you sent me. I am satisfied to be assigned to serve under General Arbonneau. I am convinced that, in addition to the pleasant company I shall enjoy near him, I shall also have the advantage of profiting from his knowledge and learning more about the art of war.
It appears, from my appointment as aide-de-camp, that it is not necessary for me to join the regiment of carabiniers. However, you have not told me what course I should take to report to the general, nor what equipment I should be provided with, whether in clothing, supplies of every kind, or horses. Please, I beg you, write to tell me what I must do, what certificates I need, and what various things I must obtain.
Please also let me know when I should present myself, and where I am to report; but try to delay my departure as much as possible, for, being worn out from the arduous campaign I have just made in the Vendée as a cavalryman from Haute-Vienne, I cannot reach my post for a few more days.
This information will complete your efforts on my behalf, and you will have earned eternal rights to my gratitude. Father and mother send you a thousand kind regards, as do my sister and her family; I join them in assuring you of my affection.
I was pained to learn of the minister’s resignation. It will no doubt delay Dufort’s promotion, and I do not hesitate to say that he possesses valuable military knowledge, and that through his advancement the Republic would gain a capable senior officer.
My sisters ask me to send their friendship to you and to Sylvie as well. My respects to the Monge and Pache families. In my next letter I shall reply to Jean Pache’s.
I end by assuring you of my most sincere friendship.
Your brother, Joseph Audouin.”
When Jean-Nicolas Pache and Xavier Audouin were arrested for many months—and could have been executed during the White Terror—Jean was present at the tribunal to support the decree permitting their release.
Yet this close father-son relationship ultimately broke apart. Under Napoleon, Jean accepted the title of Baron of the Empire (whereas Jean-Nicolas Pache detested Bonaparte and refused his offers). Even if Jean earned the title through merit, he later became an ardent royalist during the Restoration. He even had his guests address him as Colonel Baron Jean.
He associated with Count de Broyes, who lived at the Château de Jandun near Thin-le-Mouthier, and visited him whenever he traveled in the area. While Sylvie and Xavier visited Jean-Nicolas every year, Jean himself never came.
He also renounced his family name “Pache”—not only because of his father’s uncompromising revolutionary convictions but also likely because of Jean-Nicolas’s role in the fall (and death) of Marie-Antoinette. He neglected his father, who, after the deaths of Sylvie and his granddaughter Sylvie Félicité, lived alone in a severely depressed, abandoned state.
One may also wonder whether Jean distanced himself from his sister and brother-in-law. On one hand, Xavier Audouin evolved from Hébertiste revolutionary to royalist and maintained ties with certain members of the royal court. On the other hand, neither he nor Sylvie could escape their revolutionary past—Sylvie had even signed the 18 December 1792 “Adresse au peuple, par la Société patriotique de la section du Luxembourg”, calling for the trial (and therefore death) of Louis XVI—something that could have harmed Jean’s career. They also likely disapproved of how he abandoned their father.
To be fair, Jean may nevertheless have used his influence to ensure authorities left his father in peace, despite his political past. Moreover, many children of prominent revolutionaries experienced administrative—or even judicial—difficulties because of their fathers’ reputations. Perhaps Jean sought to avoid such consequences by no longer associating with his family.
3) FĂ©lix and Daniel Le Peletier
Daniel Le Peletier was a staunch monarchist from the beginning, having emigrated in 1791. He did everything in his power to support the Bourbons during the Restoration, whereas his brothers Michel and Félix Le Peletier remained committed republicans (while their brother Amédée and Suzanne Le Peletier, Michel’s daughter, were republicans for a time before turning royalist).
But more than ideological differences, it was Daniel’s relentless determination to recover what he considered his money that strained his relationship with Félix. As long as their mother was alive he could not defraud him, but he wasted no time attacking Félix’s finances after her death.
In 1804, Regnault de Saint-Jean-d’Angély, a friend of Félix, wrote concerning Félix’s property ( while he had to endure the persecutions of Bonaparte’s regime as a neo-Jacobin opponent, and narrowly escaped death when fleeing deportation):
“Through the negligence of one brother and the ill will of another, […] Le Peletier has been unable to receive any income or see the liquidation of a single estate.”
Everything suggests that the negligent brother was Amédée, and the one showing ill will was Daniel.
During the Bourbon Restoration, Félix narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by Ultra-Royalists and was soon exiled. Daniel, together with Amédée, filed a lawsuit against him, demanding 33,000 francs for advances supposedly made on the properties of their grandmother, as well as those of Bacqueville, Chimay, d’Aligre, and Randon. Perhaps this was meant to delay Félix’s departure, though this seems doubtful.
In 1819, François-Simon Germain, a friend of Félix who managed his affairs, wrote to Minister Decazes to describe Félix’s desperate financial situation:
He noted that “on one hand, his own family—now politically opposed to him—not only shows no concern for his fate, but is the first to demand repayment of family debts contracted in his absence. Worse still, they leave him responsible for repaying, in their name, large sums owed to countless creditors, annuitants of the entire family, who have the legal right to demand payment simply because the personal property sold must cover the debts of three or four unsettled estates that could not be liquidated before his exile.”
It should be noted, however, that Daniel also filed a lawsuit at one point against Suzanne Le Peletier over financial matters, so he may not have been targeting Félix specifically. Nevertheless, after Félix returned from exile in 1821, Daniel visited him—accompanied by several friends—suggesting a partial reconciliation.
4) The Conflict Between Félix Le Peletier, Amédée Le Peletier, and Suzanne Le Peletier Over Her Marriage
This dispute was famous, and the newspapers delighted in reporting it. Suzanne wished to marry Witt, a childhood friend, but her two uncles refused and acted in bad faith. They slandered Suzanne’s governess, spreading absurd lies accusing her of accepting 30,000 livres to support the marriage. They also claimed this woman had “sequestered Suzanne in Chaillot.”
It was further revealed that Félix threatened Witt’s parents. Here is an extract I found, addressed to Madame de Witt:
“Only an atrocious crime would allow your son to marry my niece. She is a victim, manipulated with cunning to achieve her aims. Even those who deceive her know everything.
One day, if your son marries Minette, he will learn more. When the secret is revealed, he shall have my life or I shall have his—but the peace of his household will be broken forever, if he survives…”
Ultimately, the Council of the Five Hundred sided with Suzanne, and the marriage was celebrated on 30 March 1798. It is unsurprising that Suzanne refused to see her uncles for several years, although they eventually reconciled.
On Jean Pache:
https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/779573958449168384/the-career-of-jean-pache-from-soldier-in-the?source=share
On Suzanne Le Peletier, her relationship with FĂ©lix Le Peletier, and more details on her life, political convictions, marriages, and children:
https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/795252246414819328/the-relationship-between-f%C3%A9lix-le-peletier-and?source=share
On the relationship that Félix got with his family : https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/795835541273935872/what-was-f%C3%A9lix-le-peletiers-childhood-like-and?source=share
Charlotte Robespierre et ses amis
Charlotte Robespierre et ses amis – Persée
Charlotte Robespierre et ses amis (suite) – Persée
