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Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne was the wife of Jules de Rohan, Prince of Guéméné. She had an extramarital affair with Charles Stuart. In the Outlander series, she befriends Claire Fraser in Paris in 1744.

Personal History[]

Louise was the first child born to Charles Godefroy de La Tour d'Auvergne and his wife Maria Karolina Sobieska. She had a younger brother Godefroy Charles Henri who succeeded their father as Duke of Bouillon. She married Jules de Rohan, Prince of Guéméné, when she was sixteen.[2]

Events of the Novels[]

Dragonfly in Amber[]

In the spring of 1744, Louise invites the Frasers to a salon at her home, having met Claire Fraser at another evening party. Louise and Claire become friends, and in April, Louise asks Claire for help with aborting her pregnancy, since the child could not possibly be her husband's; rather, it is Charles Stuart's, and Louise dreads the scandal of an extramarital affair. Claire persuades Louise, who wants to keep the baby, to have sex with her husband in order to cover up her infidelity.

Louise and her husband, Jules, are guests at the infamous dinner party that Claire and Jamie Fraser host, which ends with Jamie and several male guests being arrested and sent to the Bastille for fighting, after the entire party witnesses a hysterical Mary Hawkins apparently being attacked by the Duke of Sandringham's secretary, and the Frasers are accused of kidnapping and pandering.

Louise calls on Claire to pay her a visit on the day that Jamie challenges Jack Randall to a duel after the altercation in the brothel. Louise learns about this from Marie d'Arbanville who arrives to tell Claire.

After Claire has spent a couple of weeks at L'Hôpital des Anges recovering from her miscarriage and beset by grief and despair, Louise arrives at L'Hôpital to remove Claire and take her to Fontainebleau to recover. When they arrive at the house, Louise asks Claire if she will make an effort to go to Mass, as the servants are superstitious and have heard the rumors about Claire being La Dame Blanche.

Louise knows that Jamie has been arrested and is in the Bastille, but doesn't tell Claire as she fears upsetting her fragile mental state, and also because Claire does not ask where Jamie is. As Claire drifts into a deep depression, Louise does her best to care for her and try to bring her out of it.

Louise gives birth to a son, Henri, in the autumn.[1]

Personality[]

Louise has a spirited personality given to melodrama, though this is not extraordinary in the French aristocracy that the Frasers encounter in Paris. Still, though Louise is excitable and somewhat shallow, she cares for Claire for several months at Fontainebleau while Claire recovers from her trauma.

Physical Appearance[]

Described as "plump and rather plain" with a round face and chin, with lashless blue eyes, Claire notes that Louise is animated and lively, with a lovely mouth.

Relationships[]

Name[]

  • Marie is the French and Czech form of Maria,[3] a Latin form of Greek Μαρια, from Hebrew מִרְיָם (Mary).[4] The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", and "wished for child". However it was most likely originally an Egyptian name, perhaps derived in part from mry "beloved" or mr "love".[5]
  • Louise is the French feminine form of Louis, which derives from the Germanic name Chlodovech (Ludwig), which was composed of the elements hlud "famous" and wig "war, battle".[6][7][8]
  • Henriette is the French feminine diminutive of Henry,[9] from the Germanic name Heimirich which meant "home ruler", composed of the elements heim "home" and ric "power, ruler".[10]
  • de La Tour d'Auvergne was a noble French dynasty that owned the lordship of la Tour in the county of Auvergne.[11]

Trivia[]

  • In real life, Louise did not begin her affair with the Young Pretender Charles Stuart until 1747.
  • Louise and Charles Stuart were first cousins.
  • In the novel, has a temperamental pet monkey that dislikes (and later bites) Charles Stuart.

TV Series[]

French actress Claire Sermonne portrays Louise de La Tour in the Outlander television adaptation.

Appearances[]

Season Two

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 In the novel, Louise writes to Claire to tell her that her son by Charles is named Henri. In real life, Henri born in August 1745 was a legitimate heir of Louise's husband, and her illegitimate child by Charles, born in 1748, was named Charles and died in infancy.
  2. Marie Louise de La Tour d'Auvergne via Wikipedia.
  3. Behind the Name: Marie - accessed 09 June 2016
  4. Behind the Name: Maria - accessed 09 June 2016
  5. Behind the Name: Mayr - accessed 09 June 2016
  6. Behind the Name: Louise – accessed 30 January 2016.
  7. Behind the Name: Louis – accessed 30 January 2016.
  8. Behind the Name: Ludwig – accessed 30 January 2016.
  9. Behind the Name: Henriette - accessed 09 June 2016
  10. Behind the Name: Henry - accessed 09 June 2016
  11. House of La Tour d'Auvergne - accessed via Wikipedia 09 June 2016
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