Controversy and Consolation: The Animal in the Royal Court, Madame and her Spaniels

Abstract

'Elle a des lumières', wrote Leibniz in admiration of Madame Palatine, with whom he corresponded about scientific progress. Against the backdrop of the pervasive controversy over l'animalité, Elisabeth Charlotte von der Pfalz, living in what she considered an 'alien world', writes: 'Dogs are the best people I have found in France, I always have four of them with and around me'. I explore in Madame's letters the contours of the controversy over l'animalité, the borderlines of the human, human/animal relationships, and the important role of animals, notably dogs, in her daily life. I consider among other points Madame's philosophical and theological reflections concerning animals, Mignard's lost portrait of her favourite dog, physical and affective comfort, true friendship (comparisons between the friendships of humans and that of dogs), and finally, Madame's dogs as actors in anecdotes she relates to her correspondents. Echoing Sainte-Beuve's declaration, 'Madame est un utile, un précieux et incomparable témoin de moeurs', prominent historians of our day such as Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, remind us of Madame's extensive epistolary network, extolling the merit of her letters as an exceptional mirror of a crucial period of early modern Europe.