Queer Places:
92190 Meudon, France
Marie-Thérèse Blanc (September 21, 1840 – February 5, 1907), widely known by her pen name Thérèse Bentzon (or occasionally Théodore Bentzon), was a prominent French
novelist, journalist, and literary critic. She was a pivotal figure in 19th-century French letters, particularly as a cultural mediator between the English-speaking world
and France.
Born in Seine-Port, France, to an aristocratic family of mixed German and Danish heritage, her maternal grandparents were the Marquis and Marquise de Vitry. She received a comprehensive, multilingual education from tutors at home.
At 16, she was married to a man named Louis Blanc, a union that proved unhappy and ended in divorce after three years. Left with a young son and limited financial resources, she turned to writing to support herself.
She secured a long-term position at the prestigious Revue des Deux Mondes, where she became a highly influential critic. She was instrumental in introducing French audiences to American literature, translating and writing about authors such as Mark Twain, Henry James, and Sarah Orne Jewett.
She was a prolific travel writer, particularly focusing on the lives of women in North America. Her work often explored the intersection of gender, social progress, and the "future of women" in society. She was also a protégé and friend of the famous French author George Sand. After a family connection introduced her to Sand, Blanc-Bentzon spent significant time at Nohant. This period was transformative, as Sand helped launch her career by introducing her to the editor of the Revue des Deux Mondes.
She maintained a deep, lifelong friendship with the British writer Vernon Lee (Violet Paget). Bentzon frequently visited Lee at her home, Il Palmerino, in Florence, and they shared a professional and personal bond.
Academic studies, such as those analyzing "literary representations of female homosociality," often group Bentzon alongside other independent women writers of her era. These women operated within female-dominated literary circles and support systems, which provided them the independence to live outside traditional domestic roles.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, intense, lifelong female friendships (often termed "romantic friendships") were a common social structure. While modern scholars may analyze these relationships through the lens of queer theory, there is no specific evidence to suggest that Bentzon’s own personal life was defined by same-sex romantic or sexual attraction.
In summary, while Bentzon moved in circles that included queer figures like Vernon Lee and championed the independence of women, she is historically categorized as a professional, prolific female intellectual of the late 19th century who navigated the gender constraints of her time through her work, international travels, and professional associations.
Marie-Thérèse Blanc passed away in 1907 in Meudon. In her book The Sentimental Traveller: Notes on Places, Vernon Lee reflects on visiting her friend, noting that she lived among her books and souvenirs in a "boarding-house at Meudon." Lee describes these later living arrangements—characterized by moving from one modest apartment to another—as emblematic of the financial and personal struggles Blanc-Bentzon faced later in life, despite her high standing in French literary circles.
References:
 Women, Peace and Welfare: A Suppressed History of Social Reform, 1880-1920 by Ann Oakley |
Other references:
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