The 48 Laws Of Power

King

LouisXVof

France

began

to

keep

officialmistressesinthe

early

days

ofhis

reign,

eachwoman’s

good

fortune

rarelylasting

morethana

few

years.

ButthencameMadamede

Pompadour,

who,

whenshewasa

middle-classchildofninenamed

jeanne

Poisson,

hadbeentold

by

afor-

tune~tellerthatshewould

someday

bethe

king’s

favorite.Thisseemedan

absurd

dream,

sincethe

royal

mistressalmost

always

camefromthearis~

tocracy.Jeanne

neverthelessbelievedherselfdestinedtoseducethe

king,

and

doing

sobecameherobsession.She

applied

herselftothetalentsthe

king’s

favoritehadto

have-—-music,

dancing,

acting,

horseback

riding——-

and

sheexcelledin

every

one

ofthem.Asa

young

woman,

shemarried

a

manofthelower

nobility,

which

gave

her

an

entree

to

thebest

salons

in

Paris.Word

quicklyspread

ofher

beauty,

talent,charm,

and

intelligence.

Jeanne

Poissonbecameclosefriendswith

Voltaire,

Montesquieu,

and

other

great

mindsofthe

time,

butsheneverlost

sight

ofthe

goal

shehad

setherselfasa

girl:

to

capture

theheartofthe

king.

Herhusbandhada

chateau

ina

forestwherethe

king

wouldoften

gohunting,

andshe

began

to

spend

alotoftimethere.

Studying

hismovementslikea

hawk,

she

wouldmakesurehewould

“happen”

tocome

upon

herwhileshewasout

walking

inhermost

alluring

dress,

or

riding

inher

splendid

coach.The

kingbegan

totakenoteof

her,

making

her

gifts

ofthe

game

he

caught

in

thehunt.

In 1744 Louis’scurrent

mistress,

theDuchessede

Chateauroux,

died.

Jeanne

wentontheoffensive.She

placed

herself

everywhere

hewouldbe:

atmaskedballsat

Versailles,

atthe

opera,

wherevertheir

paths

would

cross,

and

wherevershecould

display

her

many

talents:

dancing,singing,

riding,coquetry.

The

kingfinally

succumbedtoher

charms,

andinacere-

mony

atVersaillesin

September

of

1745,

this

twenty—four—year~old

daugh-

terofarniddleaclass

bankingagent

was

officiallyinaugurated

asthe

king’s

mistress.Shewas

given

herownroominthe

palace,

aroomthe

king

could

enterat

any

timeviaahidden

stairway

andbackdoor.Andbecausesome

ofthecourtierswere

angry

thathehadchosen

a

womanoflow

origins,

he

madehera

marquise.

FromnowonshewouldbeknownasMadamede

Pompadour.

The

king

was

amanwhomthe

slightestfeeling

ofboredom

would

op-

press

outof

proportion.

Madamede

Pompadour

knew

that

keeping

him

underher

spell

meant

keeping

himamused.Tothatendshe

put

oncon-

stanttheatrical

productions

at

Versailles,

inwhichshestarred.She

orgaw

nizeclelaborate

huntingparties,

masked

balls,

andwhateverelseitwould

taketo

keep

himdivertedoutsidethebedroom.Shebecamea

patmness

of

the

arts,

andthearbiteroftasteandfashionforallofFrance.Herenemies

atthecourt

only

grew

innumberwitheachnew

success,

butMadamede

Pompadour

thwartedthemina

totally

novel

way

fora

l-:ing’s

mistress:with

extreme

politeness.

Snobswhoresentedherforherlowbirthshewonover

withcharmand

grace.

Mostunusualof

all,

shebefriended

the

queen,

and

insisted

that

LouisXV

pay

more

attentiontohis

wife,

andtreat

her

more

kindly.

Eventhe

royalfamilyhegmdginglygave

hertheir

support.

To

nature

afmen

isamhi»

lions

uswe’/I

m‘

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and

puts

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limits 10 one3'

gum!

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siblrerivalthe

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the

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the

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l4E:9—lS27

LAW 47 413