A stunning beauty who has been sacrificed for love during 50 years of humiliation.

That was until Victor Hugo appeared in his life. They met during a reading of one of her works, in which Juliette played a small role, saying only a few replies. Speaking to the playwright, the actress wisely said that “there are no minor roles in Mr. Hugo’s plays” and enslaved her heart. He was 26 at the time and 32 years old. And a love story expected in the future that would bring both endless happiness and betrayal of bitterness and disappointment.

Victor Juliette had to give up the past, which was not very bright. The girl was orphaned early, grew up in a pension near the monastery, and almost became a nun. Still, the archbishop, who was deciding the fate of the girls, thought that she was not fit for it. After the retirement of the convent, a young woman found herself in the studio of the sculptor Jean Jacques Pradier. Soon the model became her lover and gave birth to a daughter, Claire. The sculptor had no intention of marrying her or acknowledging her paternity. He was just giving the girl advice on how to turn his head towards the men and get the attention of the fans.

Juliette quickly became an actress, although not a very good one. Later, she became a famous courtesan, maintained by rich and famous men. The last of them was Russian Prince Anatoly Demidov.
Mrs. Hugo admired Juliette, only to be bothered by the fact that she was a woman of ill repute. Money from wealthy fans was her only source of livelihood: she earned pennies in the theater and had to support not only her but also her daughter. Even so, for love, Juliette had to leave the theater, have a luxurious life, give up the role of dependent and live in poverty.

From a rich life to poverty.

V. Hugo did not support his beloved, although he was influential and wealthy. He believed it would be disrespectful to stay with her, after all, he despised women who gave up. He prohibited Juliette from communicating with anyone and going home without his knowledge. The writer himself was already married at the time and had no plans to leave the family. He also did not want to give up the mistress, so he suggested that she become his secretary to rewrite his manuscripts. They paid a small amount for it.

In love, V. Hugo often became a tyrant landlord. She did not resist, she was ready to give herself completely. At the time, the whole of Paris was discussing the relationship between the writer and the courtesan. “No one but me has the right to throw a stone at you,” Hugo wrote to his muse.

At the time, Juliette was trying to survive, mortgaging things in a pawn shop to pay off debts. Her lover, a loved one, paid her about 800 francs each month. She wrote all the expenses carefully and Mrs. Hugo reviewed them. A solid part of this money was used to pay debts, the rest, for the tax on the apartment and the pension where the daughter studied.

Due to lack of money, he often did not build a fireplace, and when it was very cold, he would not get out of bed all day. V. Hugo did not allow Juliette to buy new dresses, so he had to sew the old ones. She argued that dresses do nothing to the innate beauty of a beautiful woman. He asked with meticulous obsession who had bought a box of toothpaste and where he got a new apron with which he had sewn from the old country. He did not give him any gifts. It is true that he once made a gift: a notebook to write wise sayings.

Gray hair 30 m. and worn dresses

V. Hugo yielded to his beloved, but neither did he forget his wife. In the heat of his own adventure with Juliette, he wrote her: “Goodbye, dear Adele. I love you … You are the joy and honor of my life. I kiss your beautiful forehead and your wonderful eyes … “

The writer did not give up on luxury public life, but Juliette was not allowed to enter. Sometimes when he woke up waiting for a loved one, he would walk under the windows of his house, looking at the lighted chandeliers and listening to the laughter of the guests. And when he was able to accompany the great writer during the visits, he waited patiently for him, like a faithful dog, sitting in a convertible. Once she couldn’t get through, she sculpted herself with her goddess, “The stream, the road, and the chain, that’s my life! But after all, there are dogs that the owners keep together! I didn’t smile like that … “

During 10 years of opt-out, Juliette’s beauty vanished. 30 m. she was an unappealing woman with almost all her gray hair. Nothing surprising: after all, she saved for food, wore worn dresses she didn’t wear, and jealousy and longing drained her. Also, the writer had nothing to talk to her about: she knew no one, saw nothing. Although Mrs. Hugo valued her unconditional devotion, as a woman she was no longer moved.

1851 was hit hard by a letter from one of her patron lovers, Hugo. Juliette read and realized with horror that she loved another woman and wrote passionate letters to him. It painfully reminded him of his letters, which had been his only happiness for 18 years.

The role of the hostess in me for 200 lovers

Hugo soon immersed himself in relationships with attractive women of free behavior. It is estimated that in two years he had around 200 lovers. But every time he went back to Juliette and swore he only loved her. And she believed and was ready for any tests because of him.

When Hugo’s legal wife Adele died, Juliette became the hostess of his home, it was not easy for a young woman in poor health. Endless calls, visitors, gala dinners, mail sorting … V. Hugo brought many women into the house through a secret entrance. He could spend the morning with a cheerful girl, meet a popular dancer for lunch, and spend the night with a noble and familiar lady. Exhausted, Juliette’s face did not drop the previous beauty that shone in her youth. He had cancer, he realized that he would die soon, but he tried to talk about it as little as possible, because Hugo demanded that everyone, to talk to him, “wash the melancholy off their faces and shake off the sadness.”

Juliette lived long enough, but not very happy. She died at the age of 77. The writer was so surprised that no one came to the funeral. Hugo himself died two years later at the age of 84. The farewell ceremony with the writer lasted 10 days and nearly a million people attended.