Femcel Fridays #3: "The Story of Adele H." (1975)
The story of Adele Hugo, Victor Hugo's daughter, her unrequited love, and the reality of the unmarried woman.
The Story of Adele H. (1975)
At first glance, The Story of Adele H. seems like a typical romantic period drama, delving into the passionate infatuation of Adele Hugo, daughter of the esteemed writer Victor Hugo, with a dashing British soldier. However, beneath its surface, Franรงois Truffautโs film unveils a profound exploration of gender dynamics, societal norms, and the relentless pursuit of personal freedom.
โIt is an incredible thing to do, for a young woman who could have been enslaved to the point of not being able to go out alone for five minutes to buy some paper, to walk over the sea, to fly over the sea, to pass from the old world to the new world to rejoin her lover. This thing I will do.โ
Adeleโs Journal of Exile was initially published in 1968 under the title Le Journal dโAdรจle Hugo, Volume 1. It was through Professor Frances Vernor Guilleโs meticulous research that the once obscured details of Adeleโs tragic life began to surface. In 1969, the French film director Franรงois Truffaut stumbled upon Guilleโs captivating narrative about Adele, recognizing its cinematic potential. However, it wasn't until 1975 that he could bring his vision to fruition. Truffaut had been intrigued by the idea of adapting Adele Hugoโs life into a film, stating, โI felt it would be a fascinating challenge to concentrate on a single character, obsessed by a one-way passion.โ
Adele, the youngest of Victor Hugoโs five children, was born into wealth among the most privileged upper-class society, yet she found herself far from being her fatherโs favorite. Victor Hugo instead doted on his oldest daughter, Leopoldine, leaving Adele to live in her sisterโs shadow. Tragedy struck the family early on when Leopoldine died in a tragic boating accident. She drowned alongside her husband, Charles Vacquerie, on September 4, 1843, in Villequier, France. Leopoldine was only nineteen years old at the time of her death, while Adele was thirteen.
Her brother, in a private letter, referred to Adele as โLady Nostalgia.โ She was incredibly dramatic and driven by passions, as well as superstitious. She participated in seances with her family, attempting to speak with her dead sister; at times her sister appeared to answer their questions. Adele also had an important premonition:
โOne night while I slept, in the dreams which precede oneโs deepest sleep, the face of an Englishman appeared before me and told me that he would play the role of lover in my life.โ
Amidst political upheaval in France, Victor Hugoโs decision to seek refuge in Jersey led to a period of seclusion for the entire family. While Hugo immersed himself in writing, Adele found herself stifled by the constraints of societal expectations. As a woman, her freedom was limited; she was prohibited from venturing into public spaces unaccompanied, and societal pressures placed a premium on her marital status.
โIn eternity you will be made of beauty. In eternity you will be made of fire. In eternity you will be made of light. In eternity you will be made of flames.โ
Despite her privileged upbringing, Adele grappled with a lack of agency in a world dominated by men. Throughout her life, she encountered numerous suitors, yet it was Albert Pinson, an Englishman with a penchant for gambling, who captured her heart. His aloof demeanor stood in stark contrast to the fawning courtiers she was accustomed to, drawing her in with an irresistible allure. However, as Adeleโs infatuation grew, Pinsonโs affections waned, leaving her longing for a love that seemed perpetually out of reach.
The harboring of grandiose delusions (she later claimed to have composed all of the popular European operas of the time) is often indicative of severe manic depression or schizophrenia. Attempting to save her love, she resorts to classic female manipulator tactics, such as falsely claiming pregnancy and threatening self-harm, all of which ultimately drive him away for good.
โI went back; I talked of insignificant things. I was ravishing, dazzling; I had a veil of tulle which rendered me incomparable. I was on fire.โ
The rejection Adele faced was enough to unsettle any woman. She was accustomed to the attentions of fops, but an Englishman presented a different kind of challenge. Honorรฉ de Balzac, a renowned French author, famously remarked that he had never seen a more attractive woman than the thirteen-year-old Adele. Despite receiving numerous proposals from affluent suitors approved by her father, Victor Hugo, Adele perceived these offers as transactions rather than genuine expressions of love. None of these men captivated her like Pinson did.
It became a family drama as only the French could dream up. The runaway girl, so driven by passionate romanceโmuch like her father wasโwilling to go through great lengths in order to achieve independence from her family. Secretly planning and scheming for months, Adele was able to escape the confines of her family and run away on her own to Halifax, where Pinson was stationed as an officer.
However, when she arrived, Pinson was surprised to see her and brushed her off completely. He was no longer interested in marrying her. He was, however, willing to take the money she so generously offered him, in order for him to pay off his gambling debts.
While no one deserves to be stalked the way he was, itโs an unfortunate side effect of gambling with a fragile womanโs heart. According to the book La Misรฉrable on Adeleโs life, author Leslie Smith Dow was able to research Pinsonโs character and found a secondary source: โHe was found to be completely self-centred, insensitive, without a soul, without any ideals, and without ambition other than to easily obtain the means to lead an indolent life.โ In other words, Pinson was a nineteenth century fuckboy.
Little is known of the actual Albert Pinsonโs personal history, the records being lost to time. This is speculation, but perhaps he had been scorned by a woman early on in his life and thereby vowed to scorn every woman thereafter. Why else would he refuse to marry the beautiful, rich, and well-spoken Adele? His refusal to commit may have been fueled by his mounting debts and libertine lifestyle. Yet, in hindsight, itโs clear that Pinsonโs actions were driven more by shortsightedness than by any deliberate malice.
In 1866, Pinsonโs regiment was relocated to Barbados, prompting Adele to pursue him to the New World, still clinging to hope that he would finally commit to their relationship. However, in the Caribbean colony, Adeleโs mental and physical well-being further deteriorated.
Remarkably, Adele encountered a compassionate stranger who took pity on her and offered to provide care and support. Madame Cรฉline Alvarez Baa, a former slave from Trinidad, extended her kindness to Adele during her time of need. At that time, Adele found herself in dire straits, wandering the streets in tattered clothing, with matted hair, and murmuring to herself. When Madame Baa realized that Adele was related to the great Victor Hugo, she wrote the man a letter, offering to accompany Adele to Paris and back into the care of her family.
Itโs a remarkable display of compassion and humanity that a complete stranger, a former slave, would extend help to Adele in her time of need. Upon their safe return to Paris, Victor Hugo expressed immense gratitude to Madame Baa, presenting her with a gold bracelet as a token of appreciation. Shortly after their initial encounter, Victor Hugo, known for his amorous pursuits despite his advanced age in his seventies, engaged in a brief romantic liaison with Madame Baa. In his diaries, he referred to her as a romantic conquest, describing her as โthe first negress of my life.โ
As for Adele, succumbing to schizophrenia, a condition her uncle also suffered from, she spent the remainder of her life in asylums and later received the best hospital care that money could buy. While Albert Pinson bears some responsibility for her emotional unraveling, one wonders if a less isolated existence might have spared Adele such profound suffering. She passed away at eighty-five, on April 21, 1915. A New York Times obituary noted, โShe failed to entirely recover her reason, and after the death of her father lived a solitary existence in her villa, morose and seldom speaking. When she did consent to converse, it was never of the past.โ
Itโs a tragic tale, one that echoes across the pages of history time and again. Despite the rhetoric of feminism promising equality, Adeleโs story reminds us of the persistent barriers women face on the path to freedom. Without a protector, women like Adele are vulnerable in a world that often fails to safeguard their autonomy. Hindered by societal constraints, Adeleโs genius lay stifled, her aspirations thwarted by the confines of patriarchal norms. She saw Pinson as her savior, the one who would liberate her from her family and allow her to live independently of her father. She sacrificed a life of comfort for him, only to receive grief in returnโwhen all she truly desired was freedom.