I've decided to start a new series of posts about the characters of the diary, both historical and fictitious. Having spent a pleasant day with him, I am starting with Matthieu.
Matthieu Alexandre Cordelay (aka Mattieu)
Fictitious. Mattieu is the youngest of Olympe's two half-brothers. This being prior to the acceptance of standardized spelling his name can be spelled with an 'h' or without, but is pronounced the same way; "MAT-ew". Born in 1765 in Riom in Auvergne, the last child of Marie-Madeleine de Lespinasse (de la Tour d'Auvergne) Cordelay, and Guillame Renaud Cordelay, he is fourteen years younger than Olympe, who was away at school at the time of his birth. He has always shown himself to be a poor student, perhaps as a result of having been spoiled due to his place as the baby of the family. Unlike many boys his age, he was given private tutors at home, an expense Olympe provided, feeling guilty for her absence in his life. He is exceptionally fond of music and plays several instruments reasonably well. He and Olympe are devoted to each other, though he is probably closer to his brother, Andre.
Matthieu has a mechanical mind, and enjoys taking things apart and reassembling them to see how they work, but would happily spend an afternoon at the theatre. His inquistive nature typifies the curiosity of the Enlightenment, though in his case it lacks ambition. A generally pleasant boy, on the verge of manhood, his happy disposition makes him very likeable, and foreshadows none of the dangers of the Revolution to come.
ooooh, nice...
ReplyDeletelike genealogy... was a part of my second minor at university. - curious how your diary continues...
That must have been a very interesting subject to study in a formal setting. I always think curiosity is a good thing.
ReplyDelete