Map of Tendre (Carte de Tendre or Carte du Tendre)
The Map of Tendre was a map of an imaginary land called Tendre . It appeared as an engraving (attributed to François Chauveau) in Madeleine de Scudéry’s 1654-61 novel Clélie. The map represents the path towards love .
One of the earliest, and most influential examples of sentimental cartography is the Carte de Tendre, an example of the highly refined imagination prevalent in 17th century French literary salons. The map of Tendre is a topographic allegory, representing the stations of love as if they were real paths and places.
The country is bisected by the Inclination , a river that runs south to north, joined by two smaller rivers, the Estime (Respect) and the Reconnaissance (Gratitude), before plunging into La mer dangereuse (the Dangerous Sea), which is separated from a reef-ridden narrows from Terres inconnues ( Unknown Lands ). To the west are the decidedly choppy waters of the Mer d’ Inimitie ( Sea of Enmity ). The smooth flow of the rivers symbolises the control over passions, the perils of the sea, the danger of unbridled emotions. Straddling the rivers are three eponymous capital cities: Tendre-sur-Estime, Tendre-sur-Reconnaissance. Places along those rivers mark the waypoints of civilised love and some of its pitfalls:
Marking the road from Nouvelle amitie (New Friendship) to Tendre-sur-Reconnaissance are the following towns, purportedly representing a gradual increase of affection:
Petits soins ( Care of Small Things )
Assiduit ( Attentiveness )
Empressement ( Eagerness )
Grands services ( Great Favours )
Sensibilite ( Sensibility )
Constante amitie ( Constant Friendship )
However, close to the forbidding rock fortress of Orgueil ( pride ) in the extreme south-west are places to be avoided, such as:
Medisance (disparagement )
Indiscretion (indiscretion )
Equally avoidable are the places leading from Nouvelle amitie (New Friendship) towards the Lac d’ Indifference ( Lake Indifference):
Leading towards Tendre-sur-Inclination and beyond to Tendre-sur-Estime are the towns of:
Grand-esprit (Gallant Spirit)
Iolis Vers (Beautiful Verse)
Billet galant (Gallant Letter)
Billet doux ( Sentimental Letter )
Grand Coeur (Magnanimity)
Generosite ( Generosity )
Exactitude ( Punctuality )