Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (1767 – 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant. Swiss-French political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion.
Besides his numerous essays on political and religious themes, Constant also wrote on romantic love. His autobiographical Le Cahier rouge (1807) gives an account of his love for Madame de Staël, whose protégé and collaborator he became, especially in the Coppet circle, and a successful novella, Adolphe (1816).
He was a fervent classical liberal of the early 19th century. He refined the concept of liberty, defining it as a condition of existence that allowed the individual to turn away interference from the state or society. His ideas influenced the Trienio Liberal movement in Spain, the Liberal Revolution of 1820 in Portugal, the Greek War of Independence, the November uprising in Poland, the Belgian Revolution, and liberalism in Brazil and Mexico.
He may have been the father of Albertine, daughter of Madame de Staël.
- "He also had shocking red hair …[and] was also endowed with a caustic tongue, freckled face, blue-grey eyes, a nervous tic and poor posture." https://www.geriwalton.com/madame-de-stael-and-madame-recamier-a-true-friendship/
- "From her, he inherited his red hair and pallid complexion." https://books.google.it
- "Among the visitors were such men as the red-haired Benjamin Constant..." https://www.enotes.com/.../augu.../critical-essays/criticism
No comments:
Post a Comment