‘The secret of knowing how to be bored’

Abstract

This chapter explores the daily realities of life in disgrace. Starting with the example of prisoners of state, it considers the experience of life in the Bastille or other state prisons before turning to the fate of those sent into internal exile. Life in exile was for some an ordeal, for others an adventure and the chapter examines the range of unwritten conventions governing the conduct of a disgracié. Amongst the obstacles to be faced were travel to unknown locations, the need to find accommodation and establish social contacts with the local population, to deal with pressing family affairs and to fight off boredom without appearing to show disrespect to a monarch they had already displeased. For many, exile was brief and not especially unpleasant, but it should not be dismissed too easily. Victims of what was termed ‘profound disgrace’ could suffer grievously as their lives were turned upside down.