The Map of Tendre was a French map of an imaginary land called Tendre produced by several hands (including Catherine de Rambouillet). It appeared as an engraving (attributed to François Chauveau

François Chauveau

François Chauveau was a French painter and engraver.-Life:The second son of the impoverished noble Lubin Chauveau and of Marguerite de Fleurs, he studied in the studio of Laurent de La Hyre and specialised in etching...

) in the first part of Madeleine de Scudéry

Madeleine de Scudéry

Madeleine de Scudéry , often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. She was the younger sister of author Georges de Scudéry.-Biography:...

's 1654-61 novel Clélie. The map represents the path towards love according to the précieuses

Précieuses

The French literary style called préciosité arose in the 17th century from the lively conversations and playful word games of les précieuses , the witty and educated intellectual ladies who frequented the salon of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet; her Chambre bleue offered a...

 of the time period.

Allegorical Geography

The map shows a geography entirely based around the theme of love

Love

Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...

 according to the Précieuses

Précieuses

The French literary style called préciosité arose in the 17th century from the lively conversations and playful word games of les précieuses , the witty and educated intellectual ladies who frequented the salon of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet; her Chambre bleue offered a...

 of that era: the river of Inclination flows past the villages of "Billet Doux" (Love Letter

Love letter

A love letter is a romantic way to express feelings of love in written form. Delivered by hand, by mail or romantically left in a secret location, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation of feelings...

), "Petits Soins" (Little Trinkets) and so forth.

'The way through this pastoral country of the affections begins at Nouvelle Amitié and leads (ignoring dead-ends such as the Lake of Indifference) by three alternative routes to either Tendre-sur-Reconnaissance, Tendre-sur-Inclination, or Tendre-sur-Estime.

Passion

Passion

-Emotion:* Passion * Passions , emotional states as used in philosophical discussions* Stoic Passions, various forms of emotional suffering in Stoicism-Crucifixion of Jesus Christ:...

 by contrast was left on the fringes, where 'lies La Mer Dangereuse, rocky but otherwise uncharted, and beyond that again are Terres Inconnues '

Influences

'The enormously popular and much imitated Carte de Tendre...became a symbol for the politically and culturally independent, aristocratic salonnières '.

From a later, feminist perspective, 'in this geography of sentiment the personal is indeed political...placing the female prerogative at the center of civilization' by privileging 'the private amorous contract contingent on woman's inclination'.

External Links

• The story that the Carte de Tendre is based on (in French)