English Her mother had a brother who adored his nieces, and this brother was a cardinal, more precisely Cardinal Mazzarino, adviser to King Louis XIV, wealthy as well as one of the most influential men in all of France.
Cardinal Mazzarino brought his nieces to the French court, hoping to arrange excellent marriages for them. Everyone talked about Mazzarino's nieces, and people even began referring to them collectively as the «Mazzarinette».
Giulio Mazzarino (1602-1661) effectively governed France as prime minister during the regency of Anne of Austria, because Louis XIV ascended the throne at just five years old. Curiously, he was never a man of faith. He was given the title of cardinal for his services, but in reality he was a soldier and a diplomat.
Hortense met Charles, an exiled nobleman who, like her, kept his distance from any serious monogamous relationship. Charles pretended to ask for her hand in marriage, but Uncle Mazzarino would never have allowed his favorite niece to end up marrying a man in exile who was known for his excesses.
During this period, however, Mazzarino fell ill and suddenly became extremely eager to marry off all his beloved nieces, and he succeeded. Rich and powerful men lined up, jostling to secure a Mazzarinetta. For Hortense, his favorite, her uncle did not choose just any husband, but reserved the very best of husbands for her, marrying her to what was probably the richest man in Europe. This gentleman was Armand-Charles de La Porte, Duke of La Meilleraye, Duke of Mazzarino (a title he acquired through his marriage to Hortense), Marquis of Montcornet, Prince of Château-Porcien and commander general of the artillery.
We will call him «Duke Spitface». Because spitface is a funny word and because it describes something slimy and disgusting, though still less slimy and disgusting than Duke Spitface himself.
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Le donne che vivevano come "female husband"
A volte si è parlato di Charke come di un «marito femmina» (l'espressione originale, che non è mai stata usata in nessuna lingua se non in inglese, sarebbe female husband). Essenzialmente si trattava ...
Here are a few amusing little facts about the man who married Hortense:
- Duke Spitface pulled out young women's teeth so that their smiles would not tempt men to commit impure acts;
- he ordered cows to be milked quickly because, according to him, it was a very erotic act and men might become aroused.
Even though over the years Uncle Mazzarino had already tried to foist other Mancini sisters on him, Duke Spitface had never agreed to marry them, saying that his wife would be Hortense or no one and that if he did not marry her, he would die. All this happened when the duke was twenty-four and Hortense was ten. In the end, Hortense found herself married to him at just fifteen.
As for the obsessions the duke developed after the marriage:
- every day he took Hortense to the chapel and forced her to pray on her knees, asking forgiveness for having done terrible things such as laughing or dancing;
- he did not want his wife to see his friends or family, would not let her leave the house, and constantly humiliated her (Hortense eventually wrote that her husband «hated everything that made me happy»);
- from time to time, he organized late-night raids on Hortense's bedroom because he thought she was hiding men there;
- he covered the nudity of paintings and sculptures displayed in the house so that Hortense would not succumb to lust upon seeing them.
- In a fit of rage against his wife, Spitface devastated the art collection Hortense had inherited from Uncle Mazzarino, scribbling over nudes and destroying the genitals of sculptures. The largest art collection in Europe, which included works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian and Rubens among many others, was partially lost.
Hortense lived for seven years with a man who constantly controlled her and psychologically abused her every single day. During those years, Hortense had four children she would never have wanted. It is said that one of them was born aboard a carriage because Count Spitface forced Hortense to follow him everywhere, so as never to lose sight of her.
Hortense decided to pack her bags and leave forever. And so, on June 13, 1668, Hortense escaped. She headed for Italy, where she hoped her sister Marie would take her in.
Marie was more than happy to welcome her, although her own married life was hardly going smoothly either, as one can easily imagine considering that her husband had taken to impregnating a string of women who were not Marie, including her best friend, who lost that title instantly. The example of strength and independence set by her sister Hortense gave Marie the courage she needed to start enjoying life and leave behind the humiliations inflicted on her by her husband.
Once again Hortense fled, this time accompanied by her sister, while in Italy Duke Spitface was pulling out all the stops with all the most powerful men in Paris to get them to help him find Hortense and bring her home.
In the end, Hortense and Marie returned to Paris, which at first glance might seem like a terrible idea, but let us not forget that Marie had been the great love of the King of France in her youth. Ignoring Duke Spitface's complaints, Louis XIV sided with the Mancini sisters and granted them a pension that allowed the two sisters to live independently.
Duke Spitface did not give up and never rested. Eventually he managed to freeze all of Hortense's income, including her royal pension. Once he was certain he had all of Hortense's money under his control, he let her know that she would not see a penny until she came home. Hortense assessed the situation and decided that the best thing to do was to go even farther away. This time she headed for England, where her old lover Charles lived. Remember Charles? Well, Charles is now Charles II, King of England. This once again confirms Uncle Mazzarino's terrible job managing his nieces' suitors.
Charles was famous for loving parties and excesses, just like Hortense. Even though now that he had become king one might have expected a little more sobriety, Charles had not changed one bit. They were a perfect match: both had no problem with the other sleeping with whomever they wanted.
After another couple of lovers, Charles and Hortense decided to remain friends because it was impossible to keep up with Hortense, and anyone who tried quickly gave up. She nevertheless continued to have a special place at the English court and the freedom to live completely independently.
Unfortunately, Charles died in 1685, once again leaving Hortense without protection. The new king, James II, Charles's brother, was unwilling to offer her the protection and income she had enjoyed until then, but he agreed to let Hortense remain in England rather than send her back to France to her dreadful husband. Without money and without a protector, she spent several more years partying and accumulated a mountain of debt.
A force of nature, an untamable, wild, cultured, restless, independent woman, with an iron will and immense determination. A woman who, together with her sister, changed an entire nation's view of the rights a married woman should have, and who lived her life the way she wanted.