Couvelet

Overview

Jules-Louis Couvelet(-Berthault), «ancien officier», who married Justine, the widowed comtesse Acard, in June 1878, a week before her daughter Julia married Paul de Cassagnac, and was one of Julia's witnesses (081.0093, Le Figaro, 28 June 1878; 085.0231). He was thus Cassagnac's stepfather-in-law: in June 1880 Le Figaro reports the Cassagnac christening «au château de Garges (Seine-et-Oise) chez M. Couvelet le beau-père de M. de Cassagnac» (089.0008). The Mon Journal t.13 index has «Couvelet-Berthault (Jules-Louis) : 28, 56, 109, 294». His wife has her own entry, COMTESSE_ACARD.

How Marie uses the name

From 1879 «Couvelet» becomes Marie's sneering shorthand for Cassagnac's marriage and new family: «la mère Couvelet» (Julia's mother, 086.0058), «le beau-fils de Mme la comtesse Couvelet» (Cassagnac himself, 086.0109), «les … choses relatives au mariage Couvelet» (Cassagnac's marriage, 086.0409). In the joke correspondence with Bojidar Karageorgevitch from 30 June 1879, «le père Couvelet» and «la mère Couvelet» are the two writers' own signatures (085.0478; t.13 index «Couvelet Père : surnom du Prince Karageorgevitch Bojidar», «Couvelet Mère : signature de Marie Bashkirtseff»); those paragraphs carry MERE_COUVELET (Marie's mask name), not this entry. Which of the two is meant in 086.0069 («des histoires sur la mère Couvelet» told on the train to Dieppe with Blanc, 13 August 1879) is not clear.

References in Diary

081.0093 (1878-06-28); 085.0231 (1879-06-06); 086.0058, 086.0069, 086.0096, 086.0109, 086.0409 (Aug–Oct 1879); 089.0008 (1880-06-21).