Delphine de Girardin (1804–55,) née Gay, was a French author. A minor literary figure, she wrote a weekly column in La Presse 1836–48.
Born in Aix-Ia-Chapelle, Girardin’s mother, the novelist Sophie Gay, brought her up in a brilliant literary society. She published two volumes of miscellaneous pieces, Essais poétiques (1824) and Nouveaux Essais poétiques (1825.)
Girardin married the novelist and publisher Émile de Girardin and contributed feuilletons to her husband’s paper La Presse under the pseudonym Vicomte Charles de Launay. Her contributions 1836–39 were collected under the title of Lettres Parisiennes (1843.)
Girardin also wrote elegant sketches of society life and some poetry, plays and novels, of which Le Lorgnon (1831, ‘The Eyeglasses’) was popular. Her romances include Contes d’une vieille fille à ses neveux (1832,) La Canne de Monsieur de Balzac (1836) and Il ne faut pas jouer avec la douleur (1853.) The best known of her dramatic pieces in prose and verse are L’École des journalistes (1840,) Judith (1843,) Cléopâtre (1847,) and Lady Tartufe (1853.)
Girardin was very influential in literary society. Théophile Gautier, Honoré de Balzac, Alfred de Musset, and Victor Hugo frequented her salon. Her collected works were published in six volumes 1860–61.
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We are only vulnerable and ridiculous through our pretensions.
—Delphine de Girardin
Innocence is ignorance.
—Delphine de Girardin
Topics: Innocence
Instinct is the nose of the mind.
—Delphine de Girardin
Topics: Instincts, Intuition
To love one who loves you, to admire one who admires you, in a word, to be the idol of one’s idol, is exceeding the limit of human joy; it is stealing fire from heaven.
—Delphine de Girardin
Topics: Love
There is only one proper way to wear a beautiful dress: to forget you are wearing it.
—Delphine de Girardin
Topics: Women
Self-interest, that leprosy of the age, attacks us from infancy, and we are startled to observe little heads calculate before knowing how to reflect.
—Delphine de Girardin
Topics: Selfishness
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