Chateaubriand as Historian and Memorialist of Tsar Alexander I: The Judgement of a Great Figure from the French Restoration

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2019.2.393

Keywords:

François-René de Chateaubriand; Alexander I; the War of 1812; the Congress of Verona; the Holy Alliance; the French Restoration; Memoirs

Abstract

This article analyses the memoirs of François-René de Chateaubriand (a writer, diplomat, and leading political actor in the French Restoration) in terms of his acquaintance with the Russian Emperor Alexander I. The article’s author describes in detail the political context of this aquaintance and the transformation of their relationship as it was affected by the influence of external factors and changes in Alexander’s political views. Chateaubriand’s memoirs are compared with similar sources (both Russian and French) in order to analyse why he arrived at his evaluations of Alexander. It is shown that despite their mutual sympathy and the closeness of their religious and political views (especially at the time of the Congress of Verona), the convinced monarchist Chateaubriand gave a rather sceptical appraisal of the efforts of the Russian emperor, whose erratic reform attempts and liberal views (which were not realised in a consistent political programme) led, in his opinion, to the Decembrist Revolt. According to the author, Chateaubriand created in his memoirs a tragic image for the tsar: the emperor’s liberal aspirations were in conflict with the need to adopt a conservative approach. This image has parallels in Romantic literature, an insight which allows us to look afresh at Chateaubriand’s discourse.

Author Biography

Marie-Pierre Rey

Dr. Hab. (History), Professor, Université de Paris I-Panthéon-Sorbonne; Ural Federal University.

12, place du Panthéon, 75231, Paris, France.

19, Mira Str., 620002, Yekaterinburg, Russia.

ORCID 0000-0003-1993-3137

mariepierre.rey@gmail.com

References

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Published

2019-06-21

How to Cite

Rey, M.-P. (2019). Chateaubriand as Historian and Memorialist of Tsar Alexander I: The Judgement of a Great Figure from the French Restoration. Quaestio Rossica, 7(2), 556–570. https://doi.org/10.15826/qr.2019.2.393

Issue

Section

Problema voluminis