At age forty-seven, Colette seduced her 16-year-old stepson, Bertrand de Juvenel, which led to the 1924 divorce from his father, Henry de Jouvenel. [1]
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, commonly known simply as Colette, was born on 28 January 1873, in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, a small village in Burgundy, France. She was the youngest of three children in a middle-class family. Her father, Jules-Joseph Colette, was a tax collector, and her mother, Adèle Eugénie Sidonie Landoy, was a homemaker.
Colette spent her early years in the picturesque French countryside, surrounded by nature, which would later influence her writing. She was an avid reader from a young age, developing a love for literature and storytelling. Despite her inclination towards the arts, Colette received a conventional education and was sent to the local convent school.
In 1893, at the age of 20, Colette married Henri Gauthier-Villars, a well-known Parisian writer and critic, known by his pen name Willy”. The marriage marked a significant turning point in Colette’s life. Willy introduced her to Parisian literary and artistic circles, exposing her to the vibrant cultural scene of the time. Under the pseudonym Willy, Colette began writing a series of novels known as the Claudine series, which revolved around a young girl’s coming-of-age experiences.
Although the four novels were published under Willy’s name, it was Colette who penned them. The first novel, Claudine at School (1900), achieved considerable success and brought the author some recognition. However, Colette’s contribution to the works remained largely unacknowledged, and her relationship with Willy became strained.
Colette and Willy separated in 1906, although their divorce was not final until 1910. Colette had no access to the sizable earnings of the Claudine books – the copyright belonged to Willy. Colette embarked on a journey of self-discovery and began performing in the music halls of Paris, showcasing her talents as a dancer and actress. This period of her life provided material for her later novels, such as The Vagabond (1910), which depicted the challenges faced by a young woman in the entertainment industry.
Colette had her first and only child, a daughter, in 1913 when she was 40 years old. The baby was named Colette but acquired the odd nickname Bel-Gazou (“beautiful babbling/chirping”). It has been widely acknowledged that Colette was a neglectful mother. She married her daughter’s father, Henry de Jouvenel, a journalist and politician, but their marriage failed quickly.
Early life experiences, marked by a blend of rural simplicity and the cultural richness of Paris, laid the foundation for Colette’s unique perspective as a novelist. Throughout her writing career, she published over 1200 articles for newspapers, magazines, and journals, and she died on 3 August 1954. Her literary contributions, combined with her unconventional life, have secured her a lasting legacy as one of the most celebrated French writers of the 20th century.
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