The ‘terror’ or the Revolution
Interior of Bourges Cathedral
7
Marie Madeleine d’Houët 1781 -1858
Marie Madeleine brought to her work in education the very
rich experiences of her own life.
She was born in Châteauroux in 1781 and grew up during
the French Revolution. She and her family lived through the
Reign of Terror and several members of her family, including
her own father, were imprisoned by the revolutionaries.
Priests and nuns as well as members of royalist families such
as hers lived in constant fear of imprisonment and death.
Her education at home was largely overseen by her mother.
In addition to the usual schoolroom tasks she was introduced
to practical tasks such as laundry work and the management
of a large household.
Coming as she did from an influential family she acquired
from an early age the skills needed in dealing with people
from all parts of society.
The year 1804/05 proved to be for her a year of deepest
trauma. The horrors of the Revolution had passed and in
August of that year she married Joseph de Bonnault d’Houët
in the Cathedral at Bourges. She and Joseph were immensely
happy together and often rivalled each other in their service
of the poor and in visiting the sick. Soon however, it was
clear that Joseph’s health was failing, the cause of his illness
being traced to the visits that both of them frequently made
to the destitute in the city hospital. Joseph died in July 1805
after less than one year of marriage.
Marie Madeleine’s piety was Catholic
in the widest sense of the word, and
was neither exclusive nor narrow.
