The Illuminating Conflict between Madame de Stael and Napoleon Bonaparte

The notorious relationship between Madame de Stael, also formally known as Germaine de Stael, and Napoleon Bonaparte can be seen as electrifying and has helped provide in depth knowledge regarding the actions and livelihood of Bonaparte. In the book On Politics, Literature, and National Character, Madame de Stael describes the many attributes pertaining to Napoleon some positive and others negative. Madame de Stael’s fascinating background enabled her to become a very educated woman especially during the French Era she lived in, which allowed her to have great influence on politics. Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise to power was initially viewed by Madame de Stael as a possible rejuvenating revival of France after the revolution. Madame de Stael quickly learned that Napoleon Bonaparte was very arrogant and in her own words “I was made increasingly apprehensive. I had a vague feeling that no emotions of the heart could influence him. He considerers a human being a fact or a thing, not a fellow man. He does not hate nor does he love. For him, there is nothing but himself; all others are ciphers.” Stael became fascinated with Bonaparte because she had never met any man like him due to the unique mindset Napoleon Bonaparte possessed. Madame de Stael declares that Bonaparte has three principal foundations on which he thrives off of consisting of “satisfying men’s interests at the expense of their virtues, to deprave public opinion by sophisms, and to give the nation war for an object instead of liberty.” It can be gathered from Madame de Stael’s thoughts about Napoleon that he was firmly against intellectual women and thought that women should not be involved in politics. The influence that Madame de Stael had is what truly scared Napoleon, as the moment he neglected her ideas regarding the revival of France she turned against him. Madame de Stael was the lead orchestrator of the most prominent salon in France and she quickly began to spread her criticism of Napoleon’s tyranny. Madame de Stael explains in On Politics, Literature, and national Character how Napoleon was a mastermind by ultimately initially tricking the people of France into thinking he saved the French people from anarchy and Jacobinism. Madame de Stael goes on to state that her republicanism ideas of liberty were shot down due to the strong support of Napoleon. The reader is able to identify a strong sense of hatred directed towards Napoleon later on in Madam de Stael’s life as she states in response to the English Cabinet Ministers, “My desire was to see Bonaparte victorious and slain.” Madame de Stael was clearly against the beliefs and ideals Bonaparte performed. She goes on to even state “I believe I have shown that there is no counter-revolution so fatal to liberty as the one he made” backing her disagreement with the way Bonaparte was controlling France. Ultimately Madame de Stael played a huge role during the historic Bonaparte era and her actions carry on providing knowledge to the modern world. Stael was able to express to the world who Napoleon Bonaparte truly was by indirectly describing traits such as intimidating, strategic genius, power hungry, selfish minded, and fearless through her writings Corinne and Delphine along with her influence on the French people.