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Written by Dorikri
Written by Dorikri
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| Shanghai 1929: Grand'mère e mia madre - Grandma with my mother |
Oggi, 6 settembre 2016, parlando al telefono con mia madre sono venuta a conoscenza di una versione dei fatti ....
-" A che punto sei col libro?"
-" Sto raccontando Grand'mère a Rio de Janeiro per Natale..."
-" Quale versione dei fatti hai raccontato?"
Con stupore e senza capire, o sapere di cosa stesse parlando, mi ammutolii...
-" Non capisco di cosa tu stia parlando. Quale versione... ero presente, l'ho vissuta con voi..."
-" Aspetta..." Mi interrompe, "Sto parlando di 'mia' Nonna"
-" Come???, che vuoi dire???"
Devo far presente che mia madre, pur mostrando di essere ancora completamente in sé, sta per compiere novanta anni... un po’ di confusione?
-" La tua bisnonna..."
Meno male che ero al telefono e nessuno poteva vedermi...
Man mano che mia madre andava avanti con il suo racconto, mi resi conto che il mento crollava, gli occhi mi si spalancavano e il respiro si era fatto corto...
Quando mi ripresi (un pò!) dalla sorpresa le chiesi come mai io conoscessi tutta un' altra storia, tra l’altro raccontatami da Grand’mère stessa, in quei tempi in cui ero stata con lei, (ricordate?)
Lei mi rispose:
-" Grand’mère non ha mai voluto accettare la verità su quella storia, se ne vergognava...».
Eccovi questo racconto 'vergognoso'.
La vera verità sulla mia bis-nonna:
Non se ne sa il motivo, ma Louise Paulin abbandonò, in Spagna, un marito francese e due figlie... Questo si chiamava (si chiama?) abbandono del tetto coniugale; si era alla fine dell '800 e... non fu ripresa in famiglia; dovette arrangiarsi da sola.
Fu assunta come responsabile delle hostess alla Messageries Marittimes, società francese di navigazione.
Si imbarcò su una nave da crociera che faceva continuamente il giro del Mediterraneo.
In uno di quei viaggi Louise incontrò un francese, Edmond Grasset, che stava navigando verso Costantinopoli, la Città d’Oro – in seguito chiamata Istanbul – assunto dalla Banca Ottomana.
Si innamorarono.
Lei intanto fece domanda di divorzio, e, con Edmond, si incontrarono ogni volta che la nave faceva scalo a Costantinopoli.
Dopo pochi mesi Louise rimase incinta, ma non si poterono sposare in quanto, a quei tempi, una legge sanciva che, a una donna separata, era vietato risposarsi prima di dodici mesi dalla data dell’avvenuto divorzio.
Louise continuò a lavorare fino al settimo mese di gravidanza.
Edmond la fece sbarcare ad Hammamet (non certo a Costantinopoli!) e prese una casa in affitto, dove lei aspettò di partorire.
Tre mesi dopo il parto, scaduti i dodici mesi di attesa legale, Louise, insieme alla oro bambina, raggiunse Edmond a Costantinopoli e si sposarono.
Per concludere, mia madre aggiunse:
-"Pensa! Ero a Nizza, dopo la morte di Grand'mère, quando suonarono alla porta. Aprii e mi trovai di fronte una giovane donna di una trentina d'anni, che si presentò (nome completamente sconosciuto) e chiedeva di parlare con Edmèe Meyrier. Le dissi che non c'era più e sembrò davvero dispiaciuta. Alla mia richiesta mi disse che sua nonna era...una delle due sorellastre di Edmée!!! Che, saputo della storia, avrebbe voluto conoscerla e dopo infinite ricerche, era arrivata a questo indirizzo."
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| Louise Paulin e Edmond Grasset |
I thought I had closed my chapters about my maternal grandparents when I hear about a new fact...
Today, September 6th, 2016, talking on the phone with my mother, I learned of a version of the facts
- "How far are you with your book?"
- "I'm telling about Grand'mère arriving in Rio de Janeiro for Christmas..."
- "Which version of the facts did you tell?"
Astonished and without understanding or knowing what she was talking about
- "I don't understand what you're talking about. Which version ... I was there, I was there with you ..."
- "Wait ..." she interrupts me, "I'm talking about 'my' Grandmother"
- "What ??? What are you talking about??"
I must say that, though my mother still looks very well, she is about to turn ninety. Maybe a little bit confused?
- "Your great-grandmother ..."
Luckily I was on the phone and nobody could see me, as my mother went on with her story, I realized that my chin was collapsing, my eyes were wide open and my breathing was short ...
When I recovered (a little) from the surprise, I asked her why I knew a completely different story, by the way, told me by Grand'mère herself in those times when I was with her, (remember?)
She replied:
- "Grand’mère never wanted to accept the truth about that story, She was ashamed of it ...".
Here is this 'shameful' story.
The real truth about my great-grandmother:
At a certain time of her life, Louise Paulin, while living in Spain, abandoned her French husband and her two daughters ... (why she did it, no one knows!)
This was called ( is it still called?) abandonment of the marital bed; remember, we are at the end of the 19th century... she was surely not welcomed back into her family; she had to fend for herself.
She was hired as stewardess manager at the Messageries Maritimes, a French shipping company,. She boarded a cruise ship that continuously circled the Mediterranean Sea.
On one of those trips, Louise met a Frenchman, Edmond Grasset, who was sailing to Constantinople, the Golden City - later called Istanbul - hired by the Ottoman Bank.
They fell in love.
Meanwhile, she filed for divorce, and, with Edmond, they met each time the ship docked in that city. After a few months, Louise was pregnant, but they could not marry since, at that time, a law sanctioned that a separated woman could not re-marry before twelve months from the date of her divorce.
Louise continued working until the seventh month of pregnancy.
Edmond disembarked her in Hammamet (certainly not in Constantinople) and rented a house, where she waited to give birth.
Three months after the birth, after twelve months of legal waiting, Louise, together with their little girl, joined Edmond in Constantinople where they got married.
To conclude, my mother added:
- "Imagine my surprise... I was in Nice after Grand'mère had passed away when someone rang at the door. I opened and found myself in front of a young woman of about 30 years of age, who introduced herself (completely unknown name) and asked to speak with Edmèe Meyrier. I told her she had died and she seemed really sorry. At my request, she told me that she was the grand-daughter of ... one of Edmée two stepsisters!!! She had heard the story from her grandmother. She always wanted to meet this unknown great-aunt and after years of researches, she had arrived (too late) at this address."
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| Una delle antiche tele cinesi di Grand'père / One of Grand'père's antique cinese paintings |
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