3rd August 2024 Marilys & Beena
This is a collage by Marilys. It is a love letter by Denis Diderot. Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and chief editor of the Encyclopedia. Despite being talented, he was never recognized for his merit, accepted as part of the French Academy, and lived in poverty until Empress Catherine the Great saved him financially.
The letters to Sophie were a literary treasure. Marilys found the original letter on the internet. She sent the translation that I copied below. It is a beautiful love letter. As all love letters are, most don’t end well.
“I write without seeing. I came; I wanted to kiss your hand and then leave. I will leave without this reward; but won’t I be sufficiently rewarded if I have shown you how much I love you? It is nine o’clock, I am writing to tell you that I love you. I want at least to write it to you; but I don’t know if the pen will comply with my desire. Will you not come so that I can tell you and then leave? Goodbye, my Sophie, goodnight; does your heart not tell you that I am here? This is the first time I am writing in the dark: this situation should inspire me to write very tender things. I feel only one thing: I cannot leave this place. The hope of seeing you for a moment keeps me here, and I continue to speak to you, without knowing if I am forming characters. Wherever there is nothing, read that I love you.”
I hope you enjoyed the collage as well as the love letter by Denis Diderot😊.
3 thoughts on “Denis Diderot’s Love Letter to Sophie”
This collage is overly romantic and totally soppy but that was the aim. When i discovered this letter in the book made of 187 of Diderot’s letters, i found it really beautiful and romantic, quite different from most of the other letters which are often philosophical. Denis Diderot and Sophie Volland exchanged 550 letters in their life but only 187 reached us, all from Denis, because he was a famous writer. Recently, I came across the website of the National Library of France. Many old documents are scanned and available online. I wanted to see if this letter was really poorly written since it was written in the dark. It is not so bad isn’it ?
The lady on the left is not Sophie, as there is no portrait of her, but the wife of the painter, Alexandre Roslin. The flowers of the red background are a painting I photographed at the museum in Dijon, France (a beautiful museum, I recommend it). The lace is from the Brussels museum of fashion. The white flowers on the right are from the tapestry in the hallway of a hotel in Noto, Sicily, which had truly fantastic decor. I also recommend a visit to Sicily; it’s superb, there are many beautiful things to see, and the food is excellent.
If you have the time, read some of Diderot’s brilliant essays as well as his novel, “Jacques the Fatalist.. His writings were sharp and full of wit; he wasn’t really a romantic, but he survived only 5 months after Sophie’s death.
Dear Marilys
Thank you for describing the collage, it is easier to understand the collage now.
Much love
Beena
My dear,
Thank you for filling in the much needed gap in the story.
Much love
Beena