The Tutscheff Family

Research Status: Basic Last Updated: 2025-12-07 Diary Coverage: Up to 1873-02-27

A Russian family in Nice whose social choices caused tension in Marie's family's social relationships.

Mentions in the Diary

• February 27, 1873: Marie's mother tells her "Maintenant avec les Howard c'est fini, les Tutscheff sont là" (Now with the Howards it's finished, the Tutscheff are there). The Howard family had a dinner party to which they invited the Tutscheff but not the Bashkirtseffs, causing hurt feelings.

Historical Context

The incident reveals the competitive and sometimes exclusionary nature of aristocratic social life in Nice. The fact that the Howards chose to invite the Tutscheff instead of (or without) the Bashkirtseffs was interpreted as a social snub.

This type of social slight was significant in the carefully calibrated world of 19th-century aristocratic society, where:

• Invitations signaled social standing
• Exclusion could indicate falling favor
• Competing families vied for the same social connections
• A dinner invitation was a valuable social commodity

Marie's mother's comment suggests she saw this as a real setback in their social positioning, with the Tutscheff family displacing them in the Howards' social orbit.

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Research Status: Basic Last Updated: 2025-07-05 Diary Coverage: Up to 1874-02-14-15

Identity

Russian family that Marie's mother considers as an alternative living arrangement when feeling overwhelmed by social pressures.

Diary References

1874

• February 14: During the emotional breakdown after the concert humiliation, Marie's mother suggests "nous ferons mieux de vivre avec les Tutcheff" as an escape from their current difficult social position.

Context

• Russian family, likely relatives or close family friends
• Represents a refuge from current social difficulties
• Alternative living arrangement for the Bashkirtseff family
• Symbol of retreat from Nice society when social pressures become unbearable
• Mother's suggestion indicates level of desperation about their social isolation