Emile d'Audiffret

Research Status: Comprehensive Last Updated: 2026-05-24 Diary Coverage: March 1873 (carnet 003) through February 1884 (carnet 103); peak intensity carnets 024--055 (Oct 1874--Mar 1876) References: ~2,400 lines across diary entries (including all nicknames)

Overview

Emile d'Audiffret is the young Niçois nobleman who becomes the first serious romantic preoccupation of Marie Bashkirtseff's adolescence. Marie herself, in her final accounting (carnet 103, February 1884), places him first in her numbered catalogue of love interests: "D'abord le Surprenant mais stupide Emile d'Audiffret... Quinze ans... Premier amour non, mais premier... quelque chose." He dominates the diary from late 1874 through early 1876, with a dense constellation of nicknames (at least twenty), satirical verses, anonymous letters, invented verbs, code name systems, and extended psychological self-analysis. His significance lies less in the relationship itself -- which never progressed beyond flirtation and mutual avoidance -- than in what it reveals about Marie's emerging emotional and literary intelligence.

Marie gives him more nicknames than any other person in the diary, a measure of both her fascination and her need to keep him at ironic distance. The principal names: "Girofla" (from the operetta Girofle-Girofla by Charles Lecocq, 1874), "le Niçois," "Feu" (Fire), "le trésor" (the treasure, used ironically by her aunt), "le Surprenant" (the Surprising One), "Soroka" (Russian: magpie, shortened from "britaya soroka" -- shaved magpie), "Terffidua" (Audiffret reversed), "Hector" (mock-heroic Trojan allusion), "Bibi-Girofla," "Audiffer," and a gallery of grandiose historical names -- Antiochus, Epiphane, Héliogabale, Mardochée, Sardanaple -- all chosen for their connotations of excess and ruin.

The Audiffret Family

Historical Background

The famille d'Audiffret is a subsisting family of French nobility originating from the valley of Barcelonnette, on the borders of Dauphine and upper Provence. Their proven lineage dates to 1390, when Constantin Audiffret served as governor of Fort Jauzier. The family was maintained in noble status four times between 1669 and 1824. A branch dispersed into the county of Nice and Piedmont, establishing themselves as local gentry. The most illustrious member of the wider family was Gaston d'Audiffret-Pasquier (1823--1905), adopted by the former Chancellor of France, who served as president of the Senate under the Third Republic -- but this was the Parisian branch, far removed from the Niçois Audiffrets.

The Tour Audiffret (Château de la Tour des Baumettes)

The family seat was the Château de la Tour des Baumettes, built around 1850--60 on the ruins of an ancient watchtower in the Baumettes quarter of Nice, west of the city center. Designed by architect Louis Dunski (born Warsaw 1829, died Nice 1888) in a neo-gothic style with crenellated towers, bartizans, machicolations, and an interior blending troubadour and Moorish decor. The three-hectare park was filled with statues of Neptune, griffons, and chimeras. The château dominated the Nice skyline -- Marie writes that she "règle ma montre d'après la grande horloge du château" (sets her watch by the castle clock). In Marie's satirical "Complainte" (September 1875), the château becomes a symbol of Audiffret's overreaching: "Là-haut, là-haut, sur la colline / Regardez bien ce beau château."

The château was put up for sale in early 1876 with a reserve price of 300,000 francs -- Marie eagerly fantasized about buying it: "Me voyez-vous à la tour, dans la chambre du Surprenant?" (carnet 055, March 1876). Family friend Desforges said it was being sold for debts. In 1878, the property was acquired for 162,500 francs by Count Joseph Caravadossi d'Aspremont, a retired military officer prominent in Nice's high society. It was subdivided in 1922 and transformed into a residential condominium.

Léon d'Audiffret (the Father)

Emile's father, Léon d'Audiffret, appears in the diary as "le vieux Emile," "papa" (the family's ironic private name for him), or simply "le vieux Audiffret." Marie's circle regarded him with contempt. As early as April 1873, she records gossip about his dishonesty: "Le vieux Audiffret refuse de payer à Mme Mortier pour deux ans, disant qu'il n'a jamais rien pris. C'est une infamie" (carnet 004). In 1880, Marie's aunt describes him as "un ancien marchand de drap qui était conspué à Nice" (a former cloth merchant who was despised in Nice) until his son Emile's social rise rehabilitated the family name (carnet 088). Marie and Olga sent anonymous threatening letters to both father and son at the Tour Audiffret: "Père deux fois infortuné" / "Père trois fois infortuné."

Mme Audiffret (Step-mother) and Marie Audiffret (Sister)

Per Kernberger (2013), the woman referred to as "Mme Audiffret" is Emile's step-mother. She separated from Léon d'Audiffret "à grand scandale" and moved to Paris, where she maintained a salon frequented by ambassadors and society figures (carnet 088, May 1880). Marie's aunt was jealous of her social connections. The sister, Marie Audiffret, was removed from a convent by her father and kept at the Tour; gossip circulated that she was infatuated with an Italian tenor named Gnom and followed him through the streets in disguise (carnet 049, November 1875). In Paris in 1880, the younger Marie Audiffret appears as a rival: Soutzo admits she "lui plaît" but says he would never marry her because "la mère est une cocotte ou à peu près" (carnet 088). Marie Bashkirtseff recalls bitterly that Marie Audiffret had once "dissuad[é] son frère d'aller chez nous" and "m'arrangeant de la belle façon" when Marie was barely sixteen.

Identity

- Full name: Emile d'Audiffret (sometimes written "d'Audiffret-Latour" in the diary, Dec 1873) - Social position: Niçois aristocrat; permanent member of the Cercle de la Méditerranée (Nice's most exclusive gentlemen's club, established 1872) - Age: About 24 in spring 1875 (approximately 8 years older than Marie) - Residence: Tour Audiffret (Château de la Tour des Baumettes), Baumettes quarter, Nice - Presented to Marie's family: Friday, 22 May 1875 (carnet 072 retrospective note) - Social circle: Saëtone (go-between), Andriot, Galula, Fiouloulou; frequented promenades, theater, pigeon shooting at Monaco

Physical Description

Marie considers him the handsomest man in Nice. Her aunt concurs: "une face adorable." Marie's early physical notices are precise but guarded: "ses jolis cheveux, son oreille rouge et sa fraîche joue... on pourrait l'embrasser avec plaisir sur la joue près de l'oreille" (carnet 04, raw). His complexion particularly appeals -- she compares his "teint" to d'Arnim's and to the Duke of Hamilton's: "le duc a le plus beau teint du monde... les deux dont je viens de parler ont le teint et pour cela je les distingue." He wore a distinctive "chapeau tube" (top hat) and "habit blanc" (white suit), but Marie notes with class contempt that he only dresses up on Sundays: "Quel petit paysan que cet Audiffret, il met son chapeau tube et un paletot clair les dimanches seulement" (October 1873). By 1876, her aunt reports from Nice that "Il a perdu tout son chic... il fait pitié."

The Arc of the Relationship

Phase 1: Background Figure (March 1873 -- Autumn 1874)

Audiffret first appears in the diary on 24 March 1873 (carnet 003), not as a romantic interest but as an incidental figure in the Gioia scandal: the painter Bensa mistakes "le jeune Audiffret pour un garçon d'écurie" (a stable boy) and is astonished that the "duchesse" speaks to him. Audiffret is linked to the courtesan Gioia from the start -- giving her gifts of 20,000 francs -- and Marie views him with mild contempt as an imitator of the Duke of Hamilton: "Audiffret est vraiment le coq du village... il imite le duc, pauvre garçon perdu!" (April 1873).

Through 1873--74, Audiffret appears as part of the Promenade scenery. Marie involuntarily blushes when she sees him, which infuriates her: "Maman a dit qu'elle est dégoûtée de me voir rougir pour Audiffret. Moi aussi cela me dégoûte mais est-ce ma faute?" (October 1874). She insists he means nothing: "Je le nomme le gentil Audiffret comme j'ai nommé Galula le gentil Niçois" -- he is simply the only young man available in the thin Nice off-season. She notes his "Hector" nickname (classical mock-heroic) and "Terffidua" (his name reversed), already beginning her compulsive naming practice. He copies Hamilton's manners, sitting in his carriage with a "majestic air" -- Marie finds this pathetic yet touching.

Phase 2: Escalation and Mutual Pursuit (Spring -- Summer 1875)

The relationship intensifies after Audiffret is formally presented to Marie's family on 22 May 1875 (carnet 034). He begins visiting with his break (carriage), accompanied by Saëtone. Mutual flirtation becomes open: "nous avons couru tous les deux l'un après l'autre." They pass love notes on biscuits at social gatherings. Marie sees him as an equal -- same age bracket, both playful: "il est un coquin et je suis une coquine, voilà pourquoi il m'amuse, je me sens libre avec lui comme avec un camarade" (October 1875). She dreams of him: "Girofla nous recevait à dîner chez lui, et dans son jardin il avait une maison bâtie avec des fraises" (carnet 05, raw). The carnets of this period (033--044) contain the densest references -- carnet 050 alone has 278 lines mentioning him or his nicknames.

Yet Marie is perpetually ambivalent. She compares him unfavorably to the Duke of Hamilton in social standing: "Que la vanité des hommes est grande! Si Audiffret n'avait pas cette grande masse de pierres je n'en parlerais même pas" (the château being his only real distinction). She calls pursuing him a humiliation for "une grande reine comme moi." Her mother and aunt view the attachment with alarm; her aunt avoids the Promenade so Marie won't encounter him.

Phase 3: Crisis -- The Gioia Betrayal (September -- October 1875)

In autumn 1875 (carnets 045--046), Audiffret abandons Marie for the courtesan Gioia. Marie spies on them: "le Niçois traverse la rue la sort de voiture et ils rentrent ensemble" (October 1875). Her aunt condemns him: "un vilain paysan, un vaurien, un mauvais homme." Marie writes the satirical "Complainte" -- a mock-ballad in octosyllabic verse cataloguing Audiffret's possessions and predicting his ruin: "J'avais de superbes terrasses / Avec d'immenses marronniers... Mais un jour papa en colère / Fit feu! Et il ne reste rien... Plaignez le pauvre Girofla... Oui, j'étais le grand d'Audiffret / Dans les théâtres, aux restaurants / Dans les cafés, j'étais le maître, / J'avais des regards perçants. / On ne peut plus me reconnaître."

The code name system is established (October 1875, carnet 046): "Feu" (Fire) = Audiffret; "le Torrent" = Marie herself; "la Rosée" (Dew) = Olga Sapogenikoff; "la Neige" (Snow) = Marie Sapogenikoff; "c'tte femme" (that woman) = Gioia. Marie notes the parallel with Mme de Sévigné's seventeenth-century code names, revealing her literary self-consciousness. Olga Sapogenikoff is also revealed to be in love with Audiffret, creating a triangle of jealousy. Saëtone acts as go-between and meddler.

Phase 4: Obsessive Return (October -- December 1875)

Carnet 047 (October 1875): Audiffret returns to Nice (his windows open October 17). Marie's emotional oscillation intensifies. She develops the "Bibi" nickname system -- Audiffret becomes "Bibi-Girofla" (originally Lord Loftus's nickname, applied universally). She discovers the anagram "Emile Audiffret" = "Fou frit d'Amélie" and invents neologism verbs to replace the forbidden word "aimer": "terffiduer" (from Terffidua), "hamiltonner" (from Hamilton), "pépiner," "enoteasser" (from Enoteas = Saëtone reversed). Extended third-person "Bibi" narration (October 19) serves as a distancing technique. She fabricates a "couronne du martyr" (crown of thorns from rose branches) to wear until "rehabilitated." Final resolve: "Je ne veux plus aimer cet homme" (October 23).

Carnets 048--052 (November 1875 -- January 1876): The obsession continues despite Marie's resolutions. At the opera, hearing "Connais-tu le pays" from Mignon -- the romance she once sang in front of Audiffret -- she stands up involuntarily. "Le Surprenant ne m'a même pas regardée, au fait je ne sais pas, je vois si mal." The "Soroka" nickname emerges: "tout le monde chez nous... donne un nom affreux à ce pauvre garçon, on le nomme britaya soroka [shaved magpie] et par abréviation on dit soroka simplement" (carnet 053). Marie learns he wept at the Opera all evening -- "pleurer pour de vrai" -- supposedly after being expelled by "l'Anglaise" (Gioia). She and Olga compose anonymous letters to the monks at Cimiez, who deliver them in person to the Tour Audiffret. The humiliation of the Cercle de la Méditerranée invitation refusal (December 1875) cuts deepest: "J'ai demandé une invitation, lui l'a refusée, voilà toute l'histoire en neuf mots" (carnet 051).

Phase 5: The Roman Cure (January -- March 1876)

In carnets 053--055 (January--March 1876), Marie travels to Rome partly to escape the Audiffret obsession. She writes furiously: "Homme vraiment maudit, canaille indigne, sale Niçois! Comme il m'a humiliée et comme il me tourmente!" (carnet 053, January 1876). But distance works its cure. By March 1876, with new Roman interests (Antonelli, then Torlonia), she can view the affair with growing detachment: "J'étais amoureuse d'Audiffret, et deux mois ont suffi pour l'anéantir, ou plutôt quelques jours" (carnet 055). Her aunt writes from Nice that his château is for sale and "Il a perdu tout son chic... il fait pitié." Marie's reaction: exultant fantasy of buying the château herself -- "Acheter le château c'est acheter la souveraineté de Nice." She recognizes the pattern: "Le duc a duré jusqu'à Audiffret, Audiffret a duré jusqu'à Antonelli. Jamais il ne m'arrive d'être bien portante de coeur."

Phase 6: Nostalgic References (1876 -- 1884)

After the Rome period, Audiffret recedes into a comparative figure. In December 1876, returning to Nice in despair, Marie writes: "J'eus un moment si désespéré... que j'épouserais Audiffret; je ne saurais mieux expliquer mon état d'abattement" -- he now serves as a measure of rock-bottom (carnet 068). In January 1877, she sees him at the opera -- "excessivement beau, dans sa loge" -- and conducts a long nostalgic analysis of the relationship and lost opportunities. She observes that in all their conversations she never once showed wit: a failure she attributes to the paralyzing effect of attraction.

In February 1877, she reflects: "Audiffret est venu avec une lenteur effroyable, Antonelli est venu par suite de l'influence communicative de l'Amour sur moi" -- comparing the slow development of the Audiffret attachment to the sudden arrival of later interests. By December 1877, "Girofla" appears as a fond memory: "Cette chère petite et ce bon Emile, cet excellent Girofla" (carnet 077). In July 1877, a retrospective note establishes the timeline: "Vendredi 22 mai 1875, on présente Audiffret. Lundi 20 décembre 1875 je lui demande une invitation pour le Cercle de la Méditerranée et il ne la donne pas..." (carnet 072).

Paris years (1880--1884): The Audiffret family reappears in Marie's Paris social life. In May 1880 (carnet 088), "les Audiffret" -- Mme Audiffret and her daughter Marie -- are fixtures at Parisian salons. Marie competes with Marie Audiffret for Soutzo's attention. Her aunt erupts against the Audiffrets at dinner -- "les attaques non dissimulées sont aussi utiles que des louanges." Marie asks about Mme Audiffret's social fall and learns she maintains good connections despite scandal.

In February 1882, Marie writes the definitive retrospective: "Le surprenant... mais stupide Emile d'Audiffret, vous vous rappelez, hein? Eh bien je l'ai rencontré il y a deux ans chez Mme de Lesseps et... absolument rien. Pourtant il a bien fait battre mon coeur de quinze ans... Moi qui m'endormais tous les soirs en pensant à comment je reverrai Audiffret... Je l'ai revu comme un tas d'autres" (carnet 094). In April 1881 she acknowledges it was "dans l'enfance et par vanité." The very last reference, February 1884 (carnet 103): "C'est drôle je n'ai jamais été jalouse excepté pour Audiffret dans le temps et encore les grands mots que j'employai, ça venait des romans..." -- the mature artist recognizing her younger self's literary borrowings.

The Nickname System

Marie's proliferating nicknames for Audiffret constitute one of the diary's most distinctive literary features. The full catalogue from the raw carnet index and Kernberger (2013): | Nickname | Origin / Meaning | |---|---| | Girofla | From Lecocq's operetta Girofle-Girofla (1874); Girofla is the twin bride who is abducted | | le Niçois | "The man from Nice" -- class-based reduction to provincial origin | | Feu | "Fire" -- code name in the Sévigné-inspired system (Oct 1875) | | le Surprenant | "The Surprising One" -- his most enduring epithet, used through 1884 | | Soroka | Russian: magpie; from "britaya soroka" (shaved magpie); flashy, attracted to shiny things | | Pie rasée | French translation of "britaya soroka" | | Terffidua | "Audiffret" reversed; basis for the invented verb "terffiduer" | | Hector | Mock-heroic classical reference to the Trojan prince | | Audiffer | Truncated/affectionate diminutive | | Bibi / Bibi-Girofla | Originally Lord Loftus's nickname, applied universally; "Bibi" for extended third-person narration | | Bébé | "Baby" -- diminutive | | Antiochus | Seleucid king -- connotation of oriental excess | | Epiphane | Antiochus IV Epiphanes -- "the Manifest/Illustrious," ironic | | Héliogabale | Roman emperor Elagabalus -- notorious for debauchery | | Mardochée | Mordecai (from the Book of Esther) | | Sardanaple | Sardanapalus -- archetype of ruined luxury (cf. Delacroix) | | Mistigri | Card-game term; also slang for a cat | | Hector / le superbe Hector | "The superb Hector" -- mock-heroic | | le trésor | "The treasure" -- used ironically by Marie's aunt | | frère Emile de la Misère-et-Corde | "Brother Emile of Misery-and-Rope" -- monastic mockery | | Impetuous Squire | Per Kernberger; English mock-chivalric | | le rossignou che vola | Italian: "the nightingale that flies" -- used by Ricardo from Nice (March 1876) |

Social Context: Nice Aristocracy

Audiffret's world was the insular Niçois aristocracy -- a class caught between its Sardinian/Italian heritage and the post-1860 French annexation. The Cercle de la Méditerranée, where Audiffret held permanent membership, was established in 1872 on the beach as Nice's most exclusive gentlemen's club, serving as the social hub for the city's "viveurs" and competing with Monte Carlo for the attention of the international elite. Marie's finding his name in the membership book (carnet 046, October 1875) -- alongside Hamilton and Johnstone -- confirmed his social standing, even as she despised his provincial roots.

The Audiffret family occupied an ambiguous position. The "de" in the name suggested nobility, but Léon d'Audiffret was rumored to have been a cloth merchant; the family's rehabilitation came through Emile's social polish and his château. Marie's circle of friends associated with Audiffret -- Saëtone, Galula, Andriot, Fiouloulou -- formed the young male social world of Nice's Promenade des Anglais, a world of theater boxes, pigeon shooting at Monaco, operetta performances, and elaborate courtship rituals conducted entirely in public space.

Marie's Self-Analysis

Marie's retrospective judgments on the Audiffret episode are remarkably consistent across nearly a decade: - 1875: "Il m'a plu, il m'a intéressé; ne confondons pas" (he pleased me, he interested me; let us not confuse) - 1876: "Je ne crois pas avoir été amoureuse du Surprenant, il m'a énervée et voilà tout" - 1881: "Audiffret ne l'a-t-il pas été [le but suprême] pendant quelques mois? Oui, dans l'enfance et par vanité" - 1882: "il a bien fait battre mon coeur de quinze ans... c'est passé, oublié mais ça a été" - 1883: "Je n'ai été vraiment amoureuse que d'Audiffret à Nice et encore par ignorance" - 1884: "les grands mots que j'employai, ça venait des romans"

The contradiction is revealing: she simultaneously claims it was nothing ("vanité," "ignorance," "des romans") and admits it was the most real of her attachments ("vraiment amoureuse," "premier... quelque chose"). The Audiffret experience taught her to distrust her own emotions and to deploy literary techniques -- third-person narration, code names, invented vocabulary -- as defenses against vulnerability.

Le Procès Veauradieux Connection

Marie's circle performed a running joke from the play Le Procès Veauradieux (1875) by Hennequin and Delacour, involving a "bonnet grec et robe de chambre" -- associated with the domesticated husband Marie imagines Audiffret becoming.

Associated Music

In her 1884 catalogue of romantic interests and their associated music (carnet 103), Marie assigns Audiffret the opera Mignon (1866) by Ambroise Thomas, specifically the aria "Connais-tu le pays" which she once sang in front of him. She also composed "vers et complaintes" (verses and laments) of her own about him -- the "Complainte" and the "Prédiction de Cassandre."

Diary Coverage by Carnet

The following carnets contain significant Audiffret content (based on reference density): - 003--006 (Mar--Jun 1873): Background figure in Gioia scandal - 010--015 (Sep 1873--Jan 1874): Promenade encounters, involuntary blushing - 016--017 (Jan--Mar 1874): Continued background presence - 024--027 (Oct 1874--Jan 1875): Growing attention, "Hector" and "Terffidua" nicknames - 030--044 (Mar--Sep 1875): Escalation, mutual flirtation, formal presentation - 045--047 (Sep--Oct 1875): Crisis -- Gioia betrayal, code names, "Complainte" - 048--052 (Oct 1875--Jan 1876): Obsessive return, Soroka nickname, anonymous letters, Cercle humiliation - 053--055 (Jan--Mar 1876): Roman exile, gradual detachment - 068 (Dec 1876--Feb 1877): Nostalgic analysis on return to Nice - 072 (Jul 1877): Retrospective timeline - 077 (Dec 1877): Fond memory - 088 (May 1880): Audiffret family in Paris society - 094 (Feb 1882): Definitive retrospective -- meeting at Mme de Lesseps - 100 (Jun--Jul 1883): "Vraiment amoureuse... par ignorance" - 103 (Feb 1884): Final catalogue and last reference