The Muse's Tragic End

Mary Pickering

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511596551.005

4 - The Muse's Tragic End

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 January 2010

Mary Pickering

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Mary Pickering: Affiliation:
San José State University, California

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You were…the most eminent woman from the point of view of your heart, mind and even character whom universal history has heretofore presented to me.

Comte, “Onzième Confession annuelle,” October 12, 1856

HEALTH, FINANCIAL, FAMILY, AND FRIENDSHIP PROBLEMS

As de Vaux labored on her book, she had to face myriad problems that would have proved daunting to any writer. She had to contend with the pressure from Comte to become more than a friend, though she told him frequently did that she not love him. She was disturbed not only by palpitations and fatigue but also by family fights. She loved her mother dearly for her selflessness but found her to be blind to what was going on around her. In de Vaux's eyes, Madame Marie was overly suspicious of Comte and excessively solicitous of Max. Comte, who found Max presumptuous, aggravated the problem by severely criticizing the work on the sciences that he was writing. Max would no longer speak to him. Given these tensions with Madame Marie and Max, Comte seemed intent on estranging de Vaux from her family. But she felt she owed them the “justice that is due to them” for taking care of her.

Nevertheless, she increasingly relied on Comte to supplement their care. He lent her money to pay for heat and clothes, which allowed her to keep up with the fashion of the day.

Type: Chapter
Information: Auguste Comte
An Intellectual Biography
, pp. 183 - 229

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511596551.005 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2009

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