More Sacred Whores from the history books.
Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette is perhaps best known for her novel Gigi which Broadway nerds like me know was transformed into a totally awesome musical. But what some people aren’t aware of is this woman rocked the love world for decades, and especially in her later years. Madonna, who just turned 50, might not even be able to keep up with Colette herself.
Not only did this woman successfully manage herself to respect in literary circles, she had her way with men and women back in the early 20th century. One performance of the Rêve d’Égypte at the Moulin Rouge in Paris showed her passionately kissing another woman on stage (in 1907 no less, WHOOT!). Unfortunately, not only was this performance banned, but Colette and the other woman – Mathilde “Missy” de Morny – were banned from performing together as well.
Apparently that didn’t stop them from loving each other off-stage, though. Their relationship lasted a few years afterward.
Colette also had relationships with other men and women throughout her years, but another scandal erupted when she took on her stepson from her second marriage, Bertrand de Jouvenel who was only 16 then, as her lover. She herself was in her late 40’s by then.
Still, despite the scandals, Colette created many works that earned her wads of respect throughout Europe – including collaborating with Ravel to stage L’enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties in Monte Carlo in 1927 after it originally appeared as her work for the Opera de Paris……..which, by the way, she only needed 8 days to write the text.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colette
As enormously successful as she was as a writer, I admire her courage to strut around as a strong and sexual woman and to be unashamed about her bisexuality. She passed away in 1954.
R.I.P girlfriend
