The reunion of '72 after Chev's two years exile is of course very much a staple date in the story of monchevy. Not only did Monsieur warmly welcome the Chevalier back home, he also immediately took back his place as "number three" in the house of Orleans (and number one in Monsieur's heart as per his own words) and kept it until Monsieur died.
What particularly inspired me for this piece was a discussion with @saintzenni about the way Liselotte described Chev upon his arrival: she could tell he was a beautiful man, but he didn't look so good and bore the marks of smallpox. Indeed, he pretty much became a petri dish during his escapade in Italy, coming back not only with chlamydia (which he transmitted to Philippe, and Philippe to Liselotte), but also with chronic malaria and, as stated, pockmarks.
Given that Chev's face was pretty much all he had, it's therefore easy to imagine how dreadful it must have been to see his most precious and successful asset be harmed in this way. And yet, Monsieur seemed to pay it no mind, and his love for him only grew from there, as their biographer attest it did.
I guess the feelings of being together again combined with the bittersweetness of change, of aging, of meeting again after so long, the anxiety easing out yet still lingering, are what I wanted to represent here.
Additional note below!
There are two anecdotes I feel like bringing up related to their relationship. First of all, a both cute and rather awful anecdote related by Henriette in a letter to Madame de Saint-Chaumont, the governess of their daughters:
In her letter, Henriette tells her that Philippe told him about how much he suffered from Chev only being "the third one" in their house, when he was the first in his heart. Because of that, he found her to be a nuisance.
It's pretty terrible to say that to his own wife, but for context, this discussion seemingly took place after Chev was sent in exile, thus when their relationship was at their absolute worst.
What I think this highlights is the intensity of Philippe's feelings and attachement for Chev. Everyone attested that Philippe wasn't himself anymore after Chev was taken away, and once allowed to correspond again when Chev was released from Château d'If, they did so for the two entire years. Chev was even consulted for the remarriage, and asked his opinion about the choice of a new wife.
It is thus rather easy to imagine how high the stakes were, once Chev was told he was going to come back (which, mind you, was announced to him by Philippe himself). Once again, while it's very apparent when reading the more modern findings, and especially Joan Pieragnoli's biography of Chev and François Pollet's work on Philippe's life and relationships, that the two were good friends, even before their romantic/physical relationship started. Nevertheless, Philippe was known for his appreciation of beautiful men, and Chev's life pretty much depended on Philippe's protection at this point. Sure, he could have survived being discarded, one way or another, but the risk of Philippe having moved on or being taken aback by his physical changes wasn't null, even moreso after the long separation. Chev's extreme reactions to potential rivals later on attest of how anxious he was about losing his position (not of course considering the possible emotional jealousy).
Added to that very probable disfigurement-related anxiety was the reality of age. I've always been really fascinated by something that Primi Visconti noted, which is that "What surprised everyone wasn't so much that the chevalier himself chose Monsieur's new mignons, but that he was still the first among them despite being thirty." Some other historians nuance the fact that mignons were necessarily sexual partners--but what this statement could mean is that in general, people aged faster back then, and that past the twenties, they were past their prime. Chev was going to turn 29 a few months after he came back from exile, which means his prime was also about to end. I can't help but wonder if that, on top of the aforementioned fears.
So yeah! Those are still rather raw musings, but I thought it was interesting to share.
romaincrisis
