Oncle Emile (Emile Stépanovitch Babanine)

Overview

Emile Stépanovitch Babanine was one of the sons of Grand-papa Stepan Babanine, and so a brother of Maman and of Ma tante Nadine Romanoff. He died in Russia in about May 1874. Marie heard of it in London in September 1874. The Mon Journal indexes name him: t.5 «†Babanine (Emile), oncle, 252, 303» and t.9 «†Babanine (Emile Stépanovitch), oncle de Marie Bashkirtseff, 158». Kernberger (2013, glossary) has «Émile: Uncle Babanine». The patronymic is from Grand-papa, Stepan («Etienne»).

Relevance to Marie

Marie hardly knew him, and she admits it: «Je suis une heureuse nature … C'est qu'Emile, mon pauvre oncle, est mort il y a quatre mois. Une demi-heure après je n'y pensais plus» (023.0628). His death mattered to her mother. Maman and Ma tante, his two sisters, went into mourning (023.0678), and Marie writes in December 1874 that Maman learned of the death on her return to Nice and that «cette mort l'émut profondément» (027.0278). Two years later he is the one the family remembers most warmly among the Babanine brothers: «Emile était le plus aimant de tous mais il est mort» (067.0481). In 1881 Marie counts him among Grand-papa's nine handsome children (091.0055). His death also enters Marie's superstitions, through a dream of losing a tooth (039.0128) and the two mirrors broken at the Villa Baquis (042.0003).

Identification

Whether the «Emile» who stayed with the family in Nice in February-March 1873 was this uncle is not settled; see Emile Tutcheff.

References in Diary

Sources