'she had eyes only for Carlo'. Such writers fly in the face of probability
and reveal themselves as poor judges of human nature.
Marbeuf repaid Letizia in an eminently practical and concrete way.
Knowing of Carlo's parlous finances, he alerted him to a little-known
procedure whereby the children of distressed French nobility could
receive a free education. In theory, Joseph could be trained for the
priesthood at the seminary at Aix, Napoleon could be sent to military
school, while the eldest girl might secure a place at Madame de
Maintenon's school at St-Cyr. There was just one snag: parental
applicants had to submit both a certificate of nobility and of indigence,
and competition for the free places was ferocious, only 6oo being available
in the whole of France. Nevertheless, with his contacts and patronage
Marbeuf was confident of success. In 1778, while Carlo was still out of
Corsica, Marbeuf solicited the Minister of War, Prince de Montbarrey
for free places for Joseph and Napoleon, enclosing the certificates of
poverty and of four generations of nobility. Montbarrey replied
provisionally on 19 July 1778, granting Napoleon a place at the military
academy at Brienne and Joseph his indentures at the Aix seminary.
However, there were conditions: the two Buonaparte sons had to be clear
that they could not both be trained for the same profession; they had to
pass the entrance examinations; and final confirmation had to await a new
certificate of nobility from the royal heraldist in Versailles. Final
confirmation of Napoleon's place at a military school was not received
from the Minister of War until 31 December 1778.
Marbeuf again pulled strings. The preliminary education, so necessary
after the fragmentary instruction in Corsica, would be given at the school
at Autun, run by his nephew the Bishop; Marbeuf guaranteed payment of
Napoleon and Joseph's fees. Carlo gushed with gratitude and wrote a
sonnet in praise of his benefactor, who does not seem to have reciprocated
by ending the affair with Letizia. Such was the complex family situation
as Napoleon, at the age of nine, prepared to depart for Autun. What was
the impact of those first nine years, in which all the essential 'formation'
of his personality was done?
The Corsican legacy may partly account for the ruthless pragmatism in
Napoleon's personality, the impatience with abstract theory and the
conviction that, ultimately, human problems are solved by main force.
There is also the 'primitive' aspect of the adult Napoleon, frequently
noticed by memorialists and biographers. The psychoanalyst A.A. Brill
wrote: 'There is no doubt that Napoleon represents the very acme of
primitivity,' and went on to argue that his universal fascination lies in his
embodiment of those primitive qualities we can scarcely acknowledge
marcin
(Marcin)
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