Émilie
La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight
by
Lauren Gunderson
Theatre Pro Rata
June 7-22
106 Mendel Hall
St. Catherine University
Madame Du Châtelet at her desk by an unknown French artist
Émilie Du Chatelet
Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonneller de Breteuil, marquise du Châtelet, was born on December 17, 1706 in Paris, to a family that was part of the lesser nobility of France. She had six brothers; her father was Principal Secretary and Introducer of Ambassadors to King Louis XIV. She was educated at home by tutors, but her education includes more than was typical for young French women of her class: she studied math, literature, and science, as well as Latin, Greek, Italian, and German. She was wed on June 12, 1725 in an arranged marriage; this was usual for the time. She had two children who survived, a daughter born in 1726 and a son in 1727. A third child, born in the spring of 1733, died in summer 1734. After the birth of her third child, Émilie resumed her studies. Her friendship, and subsequent romantic and intellectual relationship with Voltaire, also began in 1733. Such relationships were not uncommon among Émilie’s class, and her husband essentially approved the liaison.Émilie and Voltaire lived and worked together on scientific and mathematical issues, primarily at her country house in Cirey.
Portrait of Voltaire at age 24 by Catherine Lusurier after Nicolas de Largillière’s painting.
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (21 November 1694-30 May 1778), known by his pen name Voltaire, was a writer, historian, and philosopher; he was famous for his wit, his attacks on the Catholic church, and his support for freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state. His views led to his imprisonment on several occasions. Because the work of science in this period was also intricately involved with both politics and religion, the work that Émilie and Voltaire pursued at Cirey was seen as a threat to the established order of both cosmos and nation.
Science in the Age of Enlightenment (from Wikipedia)
The scientific history of the Age of Enlightenment traces developments in science and technology during the Age of Reason, when Enlightenment ideas and ideals were being disseminated across Europe and North America. Generally, the period spans from the final days of the 16th and 17th-century scientific revolution until roughly the 19th century, after the French Revolution (1789) and the Napoleonic era (1799-1815). The scientific revolution saw the creation of the first scientific societies, the rise of Copernicanism, and the displacement of Aristotelian natural philosophy and Galen’s ancient medical doctrine. By the 18th century, scientific authority began to displace religious authority, and the disciplines of alchemy and astrologylost scientific credibility.
While the Enlightenment cannot be pigeonholed into a specific doctrine or set of dogmas, science came to play a leading role in Enlightenment discourse and thought. Many Enlightenment writers and thinkers had backgrounds in the sciences and associated scientific advancement with the overthrow of religion and traditional authority in favor of the development of free speech and thought. Broadly speaking, Enlightenment science greatly valued empiricism and rational thought, and was embedded with the Enlightenment ideal of advancement and progress. As with most Enlightenment views, the benefits of science were not seen universally; Jean-Jacques Rousseau criticized the sciences for distancing man from nature and not operating to make people happier.
Science during the Enlightenment was dominated by scientific societies and academies, which had largely replaced universities as centers of scientific research and development. Societies and academies were also the backbone of the maturation of the scientific profession. Another important development was the popularization of science among an increasingly literate population. Philosophes introduced the public to many scientific theories, most notably through the Encyclopédie and the popularization of Newtonianism by Voltaire and Émilie du Châtelet, the French translator of Newton's Principia. Some historians have marked the 18th century as a drab period in the history of science; however, the century saw significant advancements in the practice of medicine, mathematics, and physics; the development of biological taxonomy; a new understanding of magnetism and electricity; and the maturation of chemistry as a discipline, which established the foundations of modern chemistry.
In the frontispiece to Voltaire's interpretation of Isaac Newton's work, Elémens de la philosophie de Neuton (1738), the philosophe sits translating the inspired work of Newton. Voltaire's manuscript is illuminated by seemingly divine light coming from Newton himself, reflected down to Voltaire by a muse, representing Voltaire's lover Émilie du Châtelet—who actually translated Newton and collaborated with Voltaire to make sense of Newton's work.
Eating the Enlightenment
French cuisine as we think of it today really began in the 18th century. Several recent books elaborate on this development at length: E. C. Spary’s Eating the Enlightenment: Food and the Sciences in Paris, 1670-1760 and Sean Takats’s The Expert Cook in Enlightenment France. The AmericanPhilosophicalSocietyMuseum ( has created a series of podcasts with recipes about French cuisine and the evolution of modern cooking. Here’s one tempting recipe from the site for you to try:
Paris Mushroom Soup
by Dorie Greenspan Around My French Table
Makes 6 servings
This smooth soup is a true Parisian creation: it’s made with champignons de Paris, or what we know as plain white or button mushrooms, and it’s inspired by a soup I had in one of my favorite Paris bistros, Les Papilles (whose name means taste buds). At the little restaurant, the soup comes to the table in a big tureen, and you’re encouraged to dip the ladle into it as often as you like. I love that way of serving — it’s so welcoming and so generous.
When we had the soup at Les Papilles, our shallow soup plates were brought to the table sans soup but with a small mushroom “salad”: thin slices of raw mushrooms seasoned with salt, pepper, chopped chives, and parsley and topped with a tiny bit of crème fraîche. When the hot soup was poured over the salad, the mushrooms cooked justslightly. You can easily adopt the practice at home, or you can be a little more casual about it and just float the seasoned mushroom slices on top of the soup. Either way, you’ll get to enjoy that nice contrast between the cooked soup and the raw vegetable.
Just so you know, the name champignons de Paris is more honorific than correct these days. While the mushrooms did get their start near Paris — Louis XIV had them in the gardens at Versailles — and while they were found growing in the catacombs beneath Paris when construction for the metro began, today the mushrooms are more likely to come from the Loire Valley.
For the soup 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1½ large onions, coarsely chopped 3 large garlic cloves, split, germ removed, and coarsely chopped Salt and freshly ground white pepper 1½ pounds white mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed, and sliced 1/3 cup dry white wine 2 parsley sprigs 1 rosemary sprig 6 cups chicken broth or water (if you’re using water, you can add 2 large or 4 regular-sized chicken bouillon cubes)
For the salad 6 large white mushrooms, wiped clean and trimmed 2 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced (optional) 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives Salt and freshly ground white pepper Crème fraîche, for serving (optional)
To make the soup: Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over low heat. Toss in the onions and garlic, season with salt and white pepper, and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the mushrooms and the remaining tablespoon of butter, raise the heat to medium, and cook, continuing to stir, for another 3 minutes or so, until the mushrooms release their liquid. Increase the heat to high and cook until almost all of the liquid evaporates. Pour in the wine and let it boil until it, too, almost evaporates.
Toss the herbs into the pot, add the broth or water (and the bouillon cubes, if you’re using them), and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pot almost completely, and cook at a gentle simmer for 20 minutes. If you can, pull out the rosemary sprig (it will have lost its leaves).
Working in small batches in a blender or food processor, puree the soup until it is very smooth; or use an immersion blender. If you’re using a processor or an immersion blender, you probably won’t get a super-smooth soup. If you’d like, you can push the pureed soup through a strainer, but it’s really not necessary. Taste for salt and white pepper. Pour the soup back into the pot and heat it gently — it shouldn’t boil, but it should be very hot.
To make the salad and serve: Divide the mushrooms, scallions (if using), parsley, and chives among six soup plates; season lightly with salt and white pepper. Ladle the soup into the bowls, and top each with a dollop of crème fraîche, if desired.
Serving Arrange the salad in the bowls, and ladle the soup over the salad — if you’re looking for a little drama, do this at the table. If you’d like, finish the soup with a spoonful of crème fraîche.
Storing The soup can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days or packed airtight and frozen for up to 2 months.
The Play
Émiliewas commissioned and premiered at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California in 2009. Subsequent productions took place in Berkeley, Atlanta, Winston-Salem, and Seattle.Dramaturgical site for the play:
Preview of the South Coast Rep production 2009:
Review of South Coast Rep production 2009:
Video clip from the production:
Preview of the 2011 production at ArtsWest, Seattle:
Blog review of the ArtsWest production:
Preview of the Wake Forest University production in 2012:
Symmetry Theatre production 2012 (Berkeley, CA)
Reviews of Symmetry production:
Commentary on the math in the play:
The Playwright
Lauren Gunderson is a playwright, screenwriter, and short story writer from Atlanta, Georgia. She received her BA in English/Creative Writing from Emory University and her MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University—Tisch School of the Arts. She has written over a dozen plays, a number of which involve issues related to science. Her work has received national praise and awards including the Berrilla Kerr Award for American Theatre, Global Age Project, Young Playwright’s Award, Eric Bentley New Play Award and Essential Theatre Prize. Visit her website at Follow her on Twitter: @LalaTellsAStory.
Some Issues and Questions to Consider about Emilie
Emilie’s studies were encouraged by her father, yet she did not encourage her daughter’s: what might explain this discrepancy?
Emilie’s challenge in this play is to understand the questions of her life: questions related to both her intellectual interests and her romantic passions. What is your sense of the importance of both aspects of her life to her?
In the 21st century, women remain underrepresented in the fields of math, science, and engineering, despite recruitment efforts by educators at all levels. What was your own educational experience in these fields, and how is that reflected in your current life?
Resources for Émilie
Books
La dame d’esprit:a biography of the Marquise Du Châtelet
Judith P. Zinsser
New York: Viking 2006
Émilie Du Châtelet: rewriting Enlightenment philosophy and science
Judith P. Zinsser and Julie Candler Hayes
Oxford: Voltaire Foundation 2006
Selected philosophical and scientific writings
DuChâtelet, Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil,marquise, 1706-1749. Edited and with an introduction by Judith P. Zinsser.
Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press 2009
Émilie du Chatelet, Mary Somerville, and the Newtonian Revolution
Robin Arianrhod
New York: Oxford University Press, 2012
The Expert Cook in Enlightenment France
Sean Takats
Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011
Eating the Enlightenment: Food and the Sciences in Paris, 1670-1760
E. C. Spary
University of Chicago Press, 2012
Online
Some additional items of interest
In the course of rehearsals, we came up with a few other books and films related to this historical period or to issues related to science, math, and women that we thought might be of interest.
Films
Barry Lyndon
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film explores 18th century British culture through the eyes of a young, ambitious Irishman.
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders
The struggles of a woman trying to survive in 17th century England. Based on the novel by Daniel Defoe.
Agora
Historical drama about philosopher/mathematician Hypatia in Roman Egypt in the earth 5th century.
A Beautiful Mind
Film biography of mathematician and Nobel Prize winner John Nash, who sufferedfrom schizophrenia.
Books
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
A math professor with a brain injury shares the pleasures of math with his housekeeper.
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
Biography of Nobel Prize winning mathematician John Nash.