Adrienne de LaFayette - A Hero's Wife

Adrienne de LaFayette was a French lady who dedicated her life entirely to her husband and her family. Her life was short but incredibly intense. Today we will follow her story.
The images used are in the Public Domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Music - YT Audio Library.
Sources / Further reading
Madame de LaFayette and Her Family by Mary Macdermot Crawford, James Pott & Co, New York, 1907
Life of Adrienne d’Ayen, Marquise de LaFayette by Marguerite Guilhou, Translated from the French by S. Richard Fuller, Chicago, Ralph Fletcher Seymour, 1918
Memoirs, Correspondence and Manuscripts of General Lafayette by Lafayette, published by His Family, 1837. PDF book (gutenberg.org.)

[@jbos5107]

Lafayette is still a hero to America and to learn of the price he and his family paid literally brought me to tears. I doubt many Americans know of that cost. Thank you for telling the stories of the very real people who for good or bad made the world we all live in today.

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you so much for your comment. Indeed, the story of Lafayette and his family is really touching, and also inspiring.

[@mileslong3904]

I always found him interesting. Dude practically swam the Atlantic to fight for American Independence.

[@donsarde]

I have always admired Lafayette and had no idea just how very sad their were. Thank you for the insight into their lives ,what courageous lady she was. ❤

[@lorisewsstuff1607]

As an American I have always found Lafayette's story particularly poignant. He was a great man, noble in the best sense of the word. Thank you for sharing his family's story.

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you for watching.

[@madeleinebuehler4201]

The State of Massachusetts celebrate Lafayette’s day every Mai 20th. A bust statue of LaFayette is à permanent fixture at the Massachusetts State House.

[@livesandhistories]

@@madeleinebuehler4201 Wonderful!

[@AmiNa-nw5ld]

She was extremely beautiful in both appearance and soul. Her story with her husband is one of kind .

[@livesandhistories]

Very well said, Ami. Thank you for watching.

[@ruthienelson3682]

What a beautiful love story of a couple deeply devoted to each other and their family. This Lafayette couple is an example of the way God designed human love between a man and woman should be. Unconditional love.

[@livesandhistories]

Well said Ruthie. Thank you for watching.

[@sissyrayself7508]

Yes..they are a beautiful picture of matrimony and commitment.

[@ruthienelson3682]

@@sissyrayself7508 I have experienced that level of love, commitment and devotion in my life. True love cannot be bought nor sold. It runs deep to the core of our souls and stands firm. For better or for worse.

[@mileslong3904]

Abigail Adams was shocked and delighted by Madame Lafayette because she loved her husband dearly. Mrs. Adams only experienced the French nobility and their tendency towards infidelity otherwise.

[@robertdudley4017]

A very remarkable lady who endured much pain and heartache she never gave up in trying to renight with all her family, thank you for another superb journey into history.

[@livesandhistories]

Yes, thank you.

[@robertdudley4017]

@@livesandhistories a plesure as always thank you.

[@junelovell1189]

I loved this essay: I believe the Hôtel de Noailles, most recently called Hotel St James Albany, is the original home of Madame. It is located on Rue Rivoli across the street from Tuileries and down the street from Louvre. There was a plaque in the garden which identified the building as the site of the marriage of Lafayette to Adrienne. These people were dedicated and loyal. It is almost impossible to comprehend the sacrifices they made and the hardship they endured.

[@kristinetaulbut4975]

What an amazing woman. What a devoted couple, so rare

[@livesandhistories]

Very rare, indeed. Thank you so much for watching.

[@SlimRhyno]

In many ways, I love Adrienne Lafayette more than Gilbert... and I'm an American, so that's really saying something. I truly can't imagine how much it must have worn on her to be constantly afraid that every day might be her love's last. And, remember, it's not like nowadays where military spouses can often have weekly or even daily contact with their loved ones using such modern technologies like email, or even satellite phones if a spouse is in a truly remote firebase or forward observation camp. The Lafayette's letters took as long as 3 months to get to their destination. That is, if they made it all. Oh, and don't forget, a response letter still has to make it back to France in order for her to know that her true love was okay. Oh, and then the whole prison thing. I mean, she had literally chosen the very real likelihood of death rather than leave her beloved! God, she is just so strong on so many levels... an stellar example of a great woman from history. Thank you for sharing this story. Tales like this need to be told so that my three little daughters have even more positive female role models to aspire to be like as each of them grows up.

[@livesandhistories]

I’m really glad you liked meeting Adrienne. She was a formidable woman with a heart of gold. Thank you for watching. All the best to you and your three little daughters.

[@SlimRhyno]

@@livesandhistories Aww. Thank you! And although Violet, my oldest, is getting close to being able to start reading some more focused academic/historical books, she just isn't quite there yet. Although, as fast all of them seem to be growing, I'll probably wake up tomorrow and they'll all be better readers than their dad! 😄 Well thank you once more for choosing such an underappreciated woman from history. Although, I was just thinking that with so many small-minded patriarchies running the show for so long, you could put that "underappreciated" title on almost any willful, intelligent woman from any bygone era. I mean, even Hypatia was killed by an angry mob of men, and she was easily one of the most gifted minds of her day. She actually built her own astrolabes, which were highly sought after by both royal cartographers as well as the richest sea captains. She apparently built hers to much more exacting standards, thus making tracking one's position via the stars much more of an exact-ish science, rather than a series of well educated guesses. Oh, wow. I really went off on a tangent there. My apologies. What I MEANT to say was... Thank you. That's very sweet of you. Oh, and I am very much looking forward to diving into more of your work. You are clearly passionate about what you do, and I just really enjoy seeing that in the work of other people. Well, it's been my sincere pleasure getting acquainted with you, but I can hear one of little munchkins calling me, heh! So, until next time, do take care.

[@annfisher3316]

I share the stories of the courageous, inspiring women you present with my daughter. Thank you! 💛

[@livesandhistories]

Wonderful to hear that! :) I am sending you both my best wishes.

[@patriciatolliver4057]

Patty-I think this was a true love story. They cared so much for each other and their children. There are so many couple who should take a page out of their book.

[@livesandhistories]

Well said, Patty.

[@AmericanAmy]

What a life it was! She seemed so brave and so loyal. Thank you for telling her story. 😍

[@livesandhistories]

She was indeed. Thank you for watching.

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

This was great, than you. American honors Lafayette for his great contribution to our fight for freedom and democracy.

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you for watching Kimberly.

[@kokonana4086]

What a remarkable lady! She's like the French version of Penelope of Greek mythology. True love & true dedication that holds the entire family together despite their misfortune and everything.

[@livesandhistories]

She was indeed. Thank you for watching.

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

A true gentlewoman.

[@livesandhistories]

Indeed.

[@ludovicleprinceroyal8721]

I really appreciate this channel. There is so little French culture content in the English language. I would love to hear the background story of the Comte d Artois and the Chateau de Bagatelle. Thank you again.

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you for saying that. Your suggestion is a good topic also.

[@thomasplant660]

Thank you for the light you shed on Adrienne De Noailles DeLafayette and her life and of their ordeal after the American Revolution, we owe them so much in the pursuit of our freedom.

[@lovelive2216]

Wow amazing story!! Her strength and courage to never give up is so powerful. Truly amazing woman 💪🌹👏

[@livesandhistories]

She was an amazing woman. Thank you for watching Abby.

[@lauralaladarling3775]

Thank you so much for this wonderful history of the most remarkable and devoted wife, Madame Lafayette and her brave and honourable husband. It is very she suffered so much but her loyal character, and determination to be reunited, even in a prison of hell, with her husband and eventually win their freedom by letters and petitions, is a victorious story of love over circumstances. To be in freedom with her husband and her beloved children married, despite her demise shortly afterwards, was a triumph and as you report, she was the happy and full of joy at these events, in her final years. Xxxx

[@livesandhistories]

Laura, I could not agree with you more. "A victorious story of love over circumstances" - very well said! Thank you for watching. Happy New Year to you!

[@vickimay3249]

Lafayette is one of the original Patriots. Wow!!! I had no idea. Thank you😊

[@livesandhistories]

I'm glad you found this useful. Thank you for watching, Vicki.

[@suzannecater4266]

I just finished reading The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray. It's a novel covering 3 periods of French history (French revolution, WWI, and WWII), including a lot of information about this amazing woman.

[@livesandhistories]

Sounds interesting. Adrienne was utterly amazing, indeed. Thank you for watching, Suzanne.

[@rachellesch8681]

Their relationship reminds me of the poem “To Lucasta” by Richard Lovelace “Yet this inconstancy is such As you too shall adore; I could not love thee (Dear) so much, Lov’d I not Honour more.”

[@livesandhistories]

That's a beautiful poem, Rachel.

[@winnieg100]

There are so many streets and buildings named for LaFayette

[@olzhena9681]

Amazing, She was a true woman…..

[@Vic-mv8iz]

What a wonderful story and you have such a lovely voice I was just managing to keep track of your presentation. She wrote a letterl using a tooth pick amazing I'll certainly subscribed to hear more of your presentations

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you so much for your kind comment. I'm so glad you liked this presentation. I hope you will enjoy watching the others too :)

[@megreads9]

Hello from Lebanon, i always had passion about the french in all genres : Culture, Fashion, History, Literature. Would you please mention in every video the books that you take as ressources. I would like to buy them if it possible. Thank you. Great job you've done as always, please keep forward, i am learning a lot from your precious documentaries.

[@livesandhistories]

I'm so glad you like the content on this channel. Thank you very much for watching.

[@thesugarandspice82]

I love these types of videos

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you.

[@baylorsailor]

Great love story!... If I block out the crazy wig on Lafayette in his portrait I can see that he was rather handsome. Adrienne looked a lot like Marie Antoinette when their portraits were side by side.

[@livesandhistories]

Yes, I think so too. But more importantly Adrienne found LaFayette handsome :) Thank you for watching.

[@lisapop5219]

This actually brought a tear to my eye

[@livesandhistories]

It was a heartbreaking story for me too. Thank you very much for watching, Lisa.

[@whenitsraining861]

Thank you. I am behind in terms of American history. Videos well-narrated like this is a great step to understanding the figures of history properly. I enjoyed this video as well.

[@livesandhistories]

You're very welcome! As always, thank you for watching. Hope it went well with your exams.

[@whenitsraining861]

@@livesandhistories It did. My school history mostly covers that of the Indian continent and of Europe. Watching the history videos I find of KZbin are a great relief. Among them, I also love your videos in particular as they are very well-made and that you also work hard behind them, not just for popularity. Thank you again.

[@motorcop505]

I am so glad that I recently discovered your channel! It is wonderful. Every video is filled with information on people were famous as well as those who were less so. It must require a great deal of time and effort to create these marvelously crafted videos. I can't thank you enough for providing this gift to the world. PS - Your voice is positively enchanting! I could listen to you read the phone book. Best wishes from Delaware, USA. 🇺🇸

[@livesandhistories]

Your kind comment brought a smile to my face. Thank you :) It is encouraging for me to know that there are people like you who appreciate my work. Sending you best wishes!

[@Damnjob]

I’m from Delaware too, also a history lover. What is the narrator saying at 2:07, seemed to make Adrienne’s mother ___ the marriage??

[@livesandhistories]

@@Damnjob "... seemed to make Adrienne's mother doubt that the marriage ..." Thank you for watching.

[@loonylinda]

thankyou for bringing these people of the past to life for us...Adrienne was very beautiful both inside and out.

[@livesandhistories]

Indeed, she was.

[@Jerseyboondocks]

I absolutely love how you pronounce the French names... I don't mean to sound cheesy but I watched every single one of your videos...thank you!

[@livesandhistories]

That is very kind of you Aileen. Thank you :)

[@loriboufford6342]

Thank you.😊

[@j9501b]

Had to watch.. As LaFayette is my last name. Creole from New Orleans.

[@livesandhistories]

Wonderful! Thank you for watching, Michelle.

[@marietgagliardi]

Lafayette was a good man and deserves to be remembered. He wanted a republic but didn't want the king murdered. He deserved better

[@livesandhistories]

Quite so. Thank you for watching.

[@mariasussman6683]

Thank you for telling us her story

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you for watching Maria.

[@Westpark16]

Winston Churchill was the 2nd person to be given Honorary US citizenship, 1963 The First was Lafayette Our favorite fighting frenchman ❤

[@realchinese9834]

Tear shedded from my eyes for hearing such a touching story of Madame Lafayette, it seems to me that she's not a French women who has lovers and salons thru their life, but a conservative Chinese women who dedicated her whole life to her husband and family.

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

An interesting subject for your profiles would be Pasquale Paoli. He led a revolutionary insurgency in Corsica, issuing the first constitution to embody Enlightenment principles and limiting the island's Genoese overlords to a couple of ports. But in 1769 the French bought Corsica and squashed his regime. (His secretary, Napoleon's father, became a collaborationist, getting his son into a French military school...) He went into exile in London and became part of Samuel Johnson's set. After the 1789 revolution the French gave him a hero's welcome and let him return to Corsica, where he quarrelled with Napoleon himself, and after a few years he had to return to London. Another would be Napoleon's youngest brother Jerome. He went to America, married an American woman and had a child, but Napoleon made him return to Europe, divorce his wife, marry a German princess and become King of Westphalia. (Unlike the Emperor's other brothers, they say he was a fairly competent ruler.) He lived to see his nephew Louis-Napoleon establish the Second Empire and make him a Marshal and President of the Senate.

[@livesandhistories]

Very interesting. I will add them to my list. Thank you very much James.

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

I found a video about Jerome's American wife here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6GxmmaYlsR3p6M Looks like an interesting channel!

[@winnieg100]

Such a wonderful story!

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you for watching Winnie.

[@simplyvenus5994]

She has the same name as me :)💕

[@livesandhistories]

Nice. Thank you for watching.

[@gwig3630]

New to your channel, and I appreciate your choice of topics and the details you provide. Well done!

[@livesandhistories]

Thank you Susan. I'm happy you're here.

[@esterherschkovich6499]

Always interesting videos..thank you🌸🌸🌸

[@livesandhistories]

Glad you like them!

[@johnnylafayette]

Our bloodline is vast and nothing can take that nobility from our spirit

[@bplatt1069]

How marvelous it must’ve been to be married to such a wonderful man! It’s too bad Monsieur, the Marquis’s efforts weren’t entirely successful.

[@dianebrady6784]

Fayetteville NC is named after Lafayette AND we have a replica Eiffel tower.

[@livesandhistories]

Interesting. Thank you for watching.

[@danetteperez3863]

How can America thank this extraordinary family of heroes. We are eternally grateful and indebted to Christians that suffered for this nation.

[@GoGreen1977]

Why does it matter if they were Christians? I'll honor anyone who helped support this country no matter their religion (or none at all). Many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the writers of the Constitution were not religious men, or they were Deists, not Christians.

[@RavW1776]

It's an interesting and helpful perspective on the Marquis de Lafayette, one of my favorite figures of the Revolutionary War. And it is a rare lecture offered from the perspective of the women in his life, which is the part of history that is most often left silent. The video makers, however, missed many opportunities to create a more engaging visual representation of such key historical events in Western history. Most of the entire video just shows the same two portraits. What's the point of producing a video if you don't actually vary the images? Obviously only one contemporaneous picture of his wife was done -- but why not have modern artists create illustrations of some of the events -- as well as those of her mother, aunt, and children? Are there no images of the chateau where they lived after he was released from prison? It's hard to believe it is not a preserved historical site somewhere in France? What about the prison where the Marquis spent all those years in prison? With a little more effort, they could have made a 3-star video into a 5-star one.

[@livesandhistories]

I would have liked to be able to include various pictures in the video. But, in this case I could not find many pictures related to the characters of the story. This is only a small channel, at this moment in time, so I can only dream about working with artists that can create illustrations. I am glad you gave this video a 3-star rating. Thank you very much. :)

[@cindyschell6870]

I believe that you are expecting a very great deal from one person to produce. Not to mention the incredible expense of the additions you have suggested. I believe that the content was very good.

[@ayliea3974]

My, you're setting lofty goals for our generous author. I think she did a good job. Why don't you make the video of your dreams?

[@lauriejones4507]

@@ayliea3974 hear, hear! I agree.

[@marcus8258]

Fascinating story! Subscribed:-)

[@livesandhistories]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you.

[@Melissab704]

Why didn’t they move to America following the war? They had discussed it🤷🏻‍♀️

[@helenchappell6502]

Lafayette believed he could influence French politics.

[@deborahmcgee7970]

Pity they didn’t

[@Jossianne19130]

SAD THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE CC FOR IMPAIRED LIKE ME AND MANY OTHERS!!! I will read the comments...

[@bigd4746]

Very interesting. Thank you

[@livesandhistories]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@selecttravelvacations7472]

Could you upload these checked with CC available? Thank you.

[@julianarodriguex899]

The hotel where the Marquis stayed here in Sparta, Georgia still stands.

[@livesandhistories]

Great! Somehow, one feels "closer" to history when one discovers such details. Thank you very much for sharing this here.

[@katiamarin9425]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@aanon5716]

lafayette was not considered handsome even in his time. he had bulging eyes & a small mouth. paintings of famous aristos were always made more flattering than they really were in life.

[@helenchappell6502]

But he was both charming and intelligent. Washington looked upon him as a son.

[@dianacervantes9303]

There’s reconstruction or computer edita that show what he might of looked like he wasant ugly but not the most handsome guy in the planet

[@Uhaul-wg5fj]

🌷

[@maxmantell5009]

She should’ve been in Hamilton

[@susprime7018]

Then came Robespierre.

[@crystalharris7394]

❤️❤️❤️

[@mileslong3904]

What a cutie.

[@deborahmcgee7970]

Why did she not send her daughters to America

[@suzetteperkins1089]

❤️🐨

[@laara1426]

This podcast is not about French culture

[@ace6285]

@@laara1426 That is a very simplistic statement.

[@CountessKitten]

@@laara1426 how rude and crass of you to even mention!

[@nazlsenay7312]

.

[@De.France]

Thank you ❤️