Details
DUSE, Eleonora (1858-1924). Three autograph letters signed and one unsigned, compiling two to [Sarah Bernhardt], Paris and n.p., 29 January 1905 and n.d., and two to Aurélien Lugné-Poe, n.p. and Dresden, n.d. and 18 [March 1906], together 14 pages, various sizes; with a related item.
A characteristically dramatic expression of her feelings towards Bernhardt headed 'Pas d'oubli dans mon coeur'. Duse writes on her arrival in Paris to express her gratitude for Bernhardt's unforgettable hospitality in the past, before plunging in a somewhat accusatory style into an analysis of the present gulf between them: 'Je ne peux pas ignorer, à l'heure qu'il est, l'opinion formulée par vous sur mon art, je ne peux ni l'ignorer, ni l'admettre, ni l'oublier, car on n'aime pas à oublier ce qui fait vibrer en nous la plus féconde de nos forces ... chaque heure a sa valeur dans la vie'; in her second letter she is too unwell, 'si stupidement malade', to see her correspondent. To Lugné-Poe (who managed her Paris performances from 1904-1909) Duse refuses a request, and quotes extensively (in French) from De Profundis.
Duse broke off her affair with Gabriele d'Annunzio when he gave the leading role in his play La Citta Morta to Bernhardt; their jealousy deepened when in 1897 Duse boldly appeared in Paris as Violette in La Dame aux Camélias, the role regarded as Bernhardt's. She visited Paris twice in 1905 and 1906, but her efforts, including the present letter, to disarm her failed. (2)
A characteristically dramatic expression of her feelings towards Bernhardt headed 'Pas d'oubli dans mon coeur'. Duse writes on her arrival in Paris to express her gratitude for Bernhardt's unforgettable hospitality in the past, before plunging in a somewhat accusatory style into an analysis of the present gulf between them: 'Je ne peux pas ignorer, à l'heure qu'il est, l'opinion formulée par vous sur mon art, je ne peux ni l'ignorer, ni l'admettre, ni l'oublier, car on n'aime pas à oublier ce qui fait vibrer en nous la plus féconde de nos forces ... chaque heure a sa valeur dans la vie'; in her second letter she is too unwell, 'si stupidement malade', to see her correspondent. To Lugné-Poe (who managed her Paris performances from 1904-1909) Duse refuses a request, and quotes extensively (in French) from De Profundis.
Duse broke off her affair with Gabriele d'Annunzio when he gave the leading role in his play La Citta Morta to Bernhardt; their jealousy deepened when in 1897 Duse boldly appeared in Paris as Violette in La Dame aux Camélias, the role regarded as Bernhardt's. She visited Paris twice in 1905 and 1906, but her efforts, including the present letter, to disarm her failed. (2)
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