Sablé, Madeleine de Souvré, Marquise de (c. 1599–1678)
Sablé, Madeleine de Souvré, Marquise de (c. 1599–1678)
French writer of letters and maxims. Name variations: Magdeleine, Marquise de Sable, Sablé, or Sabele; Madame de Sablé. Born around 1599; died on January 16, 1678; daughter of Gilles de Souvré, marquis de Courtenvaux (tutor of Louis XIII and marshal of France); married Philippe Emmanuel de Laval, marquis de Sablé, in 1614 (died 1640); children: four.
Following the death of her husband in 1640 which left her in somewhat straitened circumstances, Madame de Sablé took rooms in the Place Royale, Paris, with her friend the Countess of St. Maur . There she established a literary salon almost rivaling that of the Marquise de Rambouillet in importance. Sablé's salon was frequented by Marie-Madeleine de La Fayette and Antoine Arnauld, and contributed to the production of the maxims of La Rochefoucauld. In fact, the Maximes et Pensées diverse of the Marquise de Sablé were composed before those of La Rochefoucauld, though not published until after her death.
In 1655, she retired, with the Countess of St. Maur, to the Convent of Port Royal des Champs, near Marly. (See also Port Royal des Champs, Abbesses of.) When that establishment was closed, the two moved to Auteuil in 1661. In 1669, Madame de Sablé took up her residence in the Port Royal convent in Paris, where she died on January 16, 1678.