Madame Du Barry

A Research

on

M A D A M E D U B A R R Y

King Louie XV 's Favourite Mistress

Introduction

Along with more than 40 ,000 lives lost , one of the considered most famous victims of the 18th century Reign of Terror in France , which the rival factions , unjust radicalization and believably one of the causes of the French Revolution , was the late Madame Jeanne Becu Du Barry , King Louie XV 's favourite mistress . She was named a royal courtesan in which it means a high-class expensive

prostitute that only elite and members of the high society could afford of her service . However , during those times , to be called a royal courtesan makes a woman proud as the term has always come along with wealth , power , fame , glamour , security and position in the palace . The colourful life of Madame Du Barry has included those elements that made her popular in the Parisian society and French history

Review of Related Literature

It has often been said that it is the mistress who truly wields the power on the throne . According to the BBC article The King 's Mistress - A Royal Tradition (2005 , .for centuries , kings across Europe have turned to mistresses for sex , advice and conversation (BBC News , n pag . In exchange for the sex and companionship that they provided to their respective paramours , these women were able to obtain great personal wealth , security and a rare chance of political power (BBC News , n . pag

But in the case of Madame du Barry (1743-1793 , a king 's mistress can also bring about the end of his regime (BBC News , n . pag

Madame Jeanne Becu Comtesse du Barry was born as Marie-Jeanne Becu at Vaucouleurs , Lorraine on August 19 , 1743 (Wikipedia , n . pag . She was the illegitimate daughter of Anne Becu , who was said to have worked either as a seamstress or a cook in Paris (Wikipedia , n . pag Marie-Jeanne 's biological father was believed to be Jean Baptiste Gormand de Vaubernier , a friar who went by the name of Brother Angel (Wikipedia , n . pag . However , it was Anne 's lover , Monsieur Billard-Dumonceaux , who paid for her education at the convent of St Aure (Wikipedia , n . pag

Marie-Jeanne left the convent at age 15 and moved to Paris , where she assumed the name Jeanne Rancon (Wikipedia , n . pag . She held various jobs during her stay in Paris , which included being an assistant to a young hairdresser named Lametz (with whom she was rumoured to have a daughter , a companion to Madame de la Garde (known to be a lonely aristocrat ) and a milliner 's assistant in A La Toilette , an enterprise of a certain Monsieur Labille (Wikipedia , n . pag . In 1763 , her beauty caught the eye of well-heeled pimp and casino owner Jean du Barry (Wikipedia , n . pag . He then proceeded to turn her into his mistress and groomed her career as a courtesan that catered only to the Parisian elite (Wikipedia , n . pag

Marie-Jeanne became a...