Christine George, age 16, of Hattiesburg, Miss., for her question:
WHAT WAS THE BACKGROUND OF THE FAMOUS JOSEPHINE?
Josephine was the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, one of French history's most important figures. She was a beautiful and very special woman.
Josephine was the daughter of a French planter in Martinique in the West Indies. When she was 17 she married Vicomte Alexandre de Beauharnais. They had two children: a son, Eugene, and a daughter, Hortense.
The Vicomte was one of the last victims of the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. Josephine was in prison for a time and narrowly escaped being guillotined.
Josephine became friendly with Vicomte de Barras, one of the new leaders of the government at that time. Through his influence,_she got back some of her husband's property and became a leader in the fashionable society of Paris. It was at Barras' home that Josephine met Napoleon. He immediately fell in love with her and they were married in 1796.
We know that Josephine was an intelligent, beautiful woman. Napoleon undoubtedly found a great deal of joy and relaxation in his marriage. History tells us that she gave her husband much advice as he rose to power.
Josephine was graceful and stately in her public appearances, which made her an asset to Napoleon. When Napoleon was crowned emperor, Josephine was crowned empress.
In 1809, after 13 years as husband and wife, Napoleon and Josephine still had no children. Napoleon was afraid that he might die without a son, and that his empire would crumble. So he finally decided that he would have to divorce Josephine.
The news was upsetting to Josephine but they said their last good byes. The empress begged her husband not to forget her. She promised never to doubt his.love.
Napoleon married Marie Louise of Austria in 1810. A year later a son, Napoleon II, was born to them.
When they were divorced, Napoleon bought Josephine a small estate in Malmaison, not far from Paris. She retired there with imperial honors.
After Napoleon II was born, Josephine begged to see him. To please his former wife, Napoleon once brought his son to Malmaison for a visit, without Marie Louise's knowledge.
When Napoleon went to Elba in exile, Marie Louise was not allowed to go with him. Josephine wrote a letter to Napoleon, and asked permission to join him. He was forced to write back that it was impossible. But before his letter arrived in Paris, Josephine had died.
History tells us after he was crowned emperor, Napoleon personally placed the crown on Josephine's head as she became empress. He took her small crown in his hands and lifted it off a number of times in a playful manner, as if to tell her that she should wear it very lightly.
While they were still married, there was much gossip about Josephine in Paris. With Napoleon off on his various military campaigns, gossips said she was seeing other men. The truth of most of these stories is difficult to prove.