Page "Joséphine de Beauharnais" Paragraph 13

In January 1796, Napoléon Bonaparte proposed to her and they married on 9 March.

Until meeting Bonaparte, she was known as Rose, but Bonaparte preferred to call her Joséphine, the name she adopted from then on.

Two days after the wedding, Bonaparte left to lead the French army in Italy, and during their separation, sent her many love letters.

In February 1797, he wrote: “ You to whom nature has given spirit, sweetness, and beauty, you who alone can move and rule my heart, you who know all too well the absolute empire you exercise over it !” Many of his letters are still intact today, while very few of hers have been found ; it is not known whether this is due to their having been lost or to their initial scarcity.