Sophie Swetchine
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Anne Sophie Swetchine ( in Paris.
Biography
She was born Sofia Petrovna Soymonova (sometimes Soïmonov or Soymanof) on 22 November 1782 in Moscow, the daughter of Secretary of State Peter Alexandrovich Soimonov (1734–1801) and his wife, Catherine Boltin (1756–1790).
She spent her early years at the court of Empress Catherine the Great, as her father was one of the empress's closest advisors. She was given a good education, learned to speak several European languages and was popular at court. In 1797, she was made lady-in-waiting to Empress Maria Fedorovna. In 1799, Sophie married General Nicholas Sergeyevich Swetchine. Even though he was his wife's senior by 25 years, their relationship was described by contemporaries as a good one, though the couple did not have children, which is said to have caused her suffering.
It was perhaps also in part the reason for her turning to religion[
From 1826 until her death in 1857, she kept a salon at number 71,
Works
Her Life and Works (the best known of the latter being "Old Age" and "Resignation") were published by her friend
Quotes
Madame Swetchine is noted for the quotation: "How easy to be amiable in the midst of happiness and success." She was reported to have said that "Travel is the frivolous part of serious lives and the serious part of frivolous lives."
References
- Sainte-Beuve, Nouveaux lundis, vol. i.
- E Scherer, Etudes sur la littérature contemporaine, vol. i.
- public domain: Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Swetchine, Madame". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 224.
- Maturin M Ballou, "Travels Under the Southern Cross" Houghton Mifflin, NY, 1894
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the - File:http://www.tocqueville.culture.fr/en/portraits/p_amis-swetchine.html
External links
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .