Thoughts of the day: Napoleon's ex wife

(no one would read it if I name this piece "Josephine de Beauharnais")

I’m back baby doll!

Well, just like Ted (HIMYM), I can’t pull it off, can I? There are some particular phrases that need confidence, charisma and personality to pull it off, or else you’re just a creepy pervert. When Morgan (Criminal minds) calls Garcia “Baby girl”, it’s sexy and intimate in a pleasant, friendly, innocent way, but when you call a coworker that, you’re definitely sued. And “baby girl” is such a throw up pick up line. Who even says that?

Anyways, I just finished my MBA’s essay last week. One of my friend told me the right word is “thesis”, which I refused to use. I know, God knows (any Gods if there is one), the professors know what my essay contribute to this society. So, with a little shame that I have left, it is an essay for me from now to eternity.

For the last 20 days, I was running for this essay’s deadline so I used all of my nonsense abilities, my random thoughts and my bragging power to complete 90 pages of nothing, so I have none of my brilliance left to devote for this blog. Even though no one read it, even though I turn it into a blah blah segment and not a serious movie review anymore, I still appreciate that my blog exists. It’s another alter ego of mine that I don’t want to let go, I guess.

Here is the main “nothing” thing.

Today, I accidently read something about Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife, Josephine de Beauharnais. It’s not like I don’t know her, indeed, I once read an article about this woman who was Napoleon’s true love long time ago and this didn’t set a great picture of her, at all.

From what I remember from the article, which is still remaining as true facts in history, Josephine was older and living in a higher class than Napoleon. When they first met, she was a widow with 2 children, had some lovers and a bad reputation for her private life. After the marriage, Josephine quickly had an affair with a younger man while Napoleon was fighting in the battle. He sent her a lot of love letters while she only sent him back a few ones with no emotion and care. Then after discovered the affair, she managed to get Napoleon forgive her and make her become France queen.

In my Vietnamese’s traditional opinion and young, arrogant, shallow prejudice at that time, I didn’t like this Josephine one bit. Napoleon was far too good for a woman like her. She was old, ambitious, spendthrift, cheating slut for all I knew. And honesty, she was. She had none of the quality that I appreciate and had all of the thing Vietnamese women consider unmoral. And on the paintings, she wasn’t even that pretty.

Until now, when I’m older and nicer than I used to be, my perspective of the world is surely changing for the greater good,  I realize Napoleon and Josephine love story is just a broken one with uncompleted, regretful ending. It’s not like they were so wrong for each other, they weren’t right either.

So Josephine met Napoleon when he was nobody. I read that at first Napoleon used his relationship with Josephine as a ladder to climb into the elite class but then he actually fell for her charming, elegant, mysterious personality. About Josephine, I still don’t why she agreed to marry Napoleon anyways because she definitely did not love him. Money? Potential? Drunk? One careless “yes” that couldn’t take back? Only she knew for sure. And how did she manage to make a man madly in love with her like that? Not just about the love letters Napoleon sent her in the battlefield, I’m talking about how he could forgive her after knowing about his wife’s public 2-year affair and being humiliated by the British. He was the man in power at that time, he could have everything or anyone he wanted. With all the glory and macho arrogance of a winning general, he still had a heart to stay by her side like nothing happened, not even an attempt to revenge on Josephine’s lover. Napoleon was never be famous for being kind so all the good thing Napoleon did for Josephine, I guess it came from his unconditional love. His love for Josephine lived above the embarrassment, the public opinion, his ego and a great doubt that she actually never loved him, so even though I don’t get it, I somehow give my respect to him.

Napoleon’s passionate love was big enough to make their marriage survive this time but it couldn’t be the same. Something did happen, Josephine did cheat. Her affair did break his love, his trust, his respect for her. Well, not shattered, just broken. She wasn’t his Goddess anymore. While Josephine didn’t have any affair after she became the queen but Napoleon had countless ones. And when she couldn’t give him a child, he divorced her no matter what. The attraction of power turned his unconditional love to a marriage deal.  It’s quite understandable from Napoleon’s side to give up an “old, ambitious, spendthrift, cheating slut” (I am that jerk who quotes myself) who couldn’t bare him a child (his mistresses surely could) to keep his power steadily. From my perspective, even if Josephine weren’t an old, ambitious, spendthrift, cheating slut, Napoleon would have divorced her to have a successor anyways. It’s the only way someone like him could handle this situation. His ambition couldn’t let her drag him down.

There is a story that Napoleon locked himself in his room for 2 days after knowing about Josephine’s death. God knew how hard he curded up and cried on his pillow in this 2 days. Or maybe he was just numb and dead inside. Or maybe he just stared of the wall in regret and relived all the sex he ever had with her. And his last words, “France, the Army, the Head of the Army, Josephine”, maybe Napoleon was counting his loves, maybe he was counting the things that failed him, maybe they were the thing that he failed them, or maybe, they were just gibberish thoughts of a sick, dying man who saw the white, great light in the end of the tunnel.

We all know that the only person Napoleon ever loved is Josephine, which is rare for a type of person like him, they usually only love themselves. But had she ever loved him back? I always wonder that she never actually loved him in the way he wanted. Love is tricky sometime. When Napoleon gave Josephine all his heart, his jealousy and his self-esteem, she found him annoying and had an affair. But when he was a king with some mistresses, suddenly his affections warmed up, she gave him her respect. Josephine did cry a lot because she couldn’t be able to give Napoleon an heir. I don’t know, maybe she cried because she felt she disappointed her king, maybe she cried because her ambition didn’t match her ability, maybe she really wanted a prince to keep her throne or maybe, she just wanted to stay with him because she did love him. We don’t know, both Napoleon and Josephine seemed so lonely even when they were married or not.

Since all I read by now is in history and history is far from the truth, I think my point of view is just as unfair and prejudice as any historian in the world. I think they should never be married in the first place. Any marriage has up and down, especially when this is not a royal arrange marriage. With them, I only saw their downfall. Both Josephine and Napoleon made their own choice of love and they were miserable. I don’t see they had a happy moment that they were genuinely sharing a same feeling for each other.

Anyways, I’m glad to read about Josephine again. It was like I was reading about the same old story with a little twist and everything turns the table. Josephine wasn’t just an old, ambitious, spendthrift, cheating slut anymore, she was just a human being with flaws and mistakes, just like her ex-husband. And Napoleon wasn’t just blindly fool with no self-respect, he was just a madly-in-love man who always acted wrong. And it’s quite irritating to read so many pieces saying Josephine had a complicated personality and not shallow at all but I couldn’t find any evidence to believe in it. I’m sure she must be a “woman” woman to make someone like Napoleon kneel on her feet (the power of orgasm and Madonna – whore complex) and had an unforgettable charm and quite a character to keep him in love her until his last breath. But I don’t know for sure what makes her so special and that mystery makes Josephine even more interesting.

For all the mature value I’ve had on me, it’s nice that I enjoy Josephine and Napoleon’s incomplete love story as it was. There were sadness and sorrows and it was drowning in regret, lust and ambition but I am no longer blame Josephine for cheating and ruined the happiness for both of them anymore. And the “What if” song, there is no need of it. Hadn’t they both sang it enough?