Madeleine Neveu's Epistle To My Daughter

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Madeleine Neveu's "Epistle To My Daughter"

Madeleine Neveu eloquently gives words of wisdom to her daughter Catherine in her piece entitled, "Epistle to My Daughter." Madeleine is quite aware of the attitude surrounding educated women in her time period. Yet, she abandons those opinions to express her own for her daughter. Her epistle embraces the need for a woman to be true to herself and to stand on her own two feet, as opposed to relying on a man to hold her up.

Madeleine’s epistle is quite straightforward. Her message to her daughter is very sincere. She starts her epistle by referring to traditional views on how one should live their life. "Ancient lovers of learning, / Said that to God one must do one’s duty, / Then to one’s country, and a third to one’s lineage" (ll.1-3). But Madeleine is quick to refute those opinions. She then states that while she does honor God, she is completely helpless when it comes to public service affairs on the other hand because men have all the power. "I revere the Lord God; as for my country, I lack all power, / Men have full authority" (ll. 7-8). It is here that Madeleine refers to the Salic Law, the law that excludes women from the throne. But Madeleine’s duty to her "lineage" or daughter is taken much more seriously. Since Madeleine has no control over Salic Law, she takes control of the matters she has a say in. Her daughter is under her control. She feels the need to provide the best life for her daughter as possible. And thus she writes this piece as a guide for her.

After Madeline refutes the ideas of the old, she presents ideas for the future. The piece seems to pause just before she focuses solely on her daughter. The tone of the first nine lines is snobbish almost. Madeleine seems to be raising her nose to ideas of the old. But as she begins to focus on her daughter, the tone changes. The snobbish tone becomes softer, gentler, as if she’s raising her daughter’s chin to meet her gaze and speak to her:

But as concerns you, my daughter, who are so dear to me / I would be liable to great blame and reproach / If I were to lead you on the beaten path, / Seeing that your heart is born into virtue.

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