'Josephine: A Life of the Empress'

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer introduces and analyzes the book "Josephine: A Life of the Empress" by Carolly Erickson. Specifically, the paper contains a review and summary of the book. The writer explains that "Josephine" covers the life of de Beauharnais Bonaparte, the Empress of France and wife of Napoleon. She was born Yeyette Tascher in Martinique, and she grew to be one of the most well-known and powerful women on earth. The writer notes that it was not an easy journey, which is one of the things that makes this central character so important and so interesting. How she came to be Empress is almost a fairy tale story, but her fall from grace makes it more of a melodrama and tragic tale of woe. The writer maintains that the author handles both quite well, for the most part.

From the Paper:

"Josephine was Empress, but Napoleon never trusted her or loved her completely again. She gave up her lover, but he was still bitter, and he often treated her with cruelty or patronization. He took mistresses, treated her harshly, and criticized her for aging after she turned forty. As Napoleon gained more power, he became more ambitious, more dictatorial, and crueler, certainly to his wife.
"Josephine discovered him with another woman, and he became so furious he struck her and threatened to ban her from his homes. He actually told her that when she was no longer politically suitable for him, he would abandon her, and because she had nowhere else to go, now that she had abandoned her lovers, she stayed on. It was a low point in her life, and in their relationship."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Erickson, Carolly. Josephine: A Life of the Empress. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.

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