Swetchine, Anne Sophie (1782–1857)
Swetchine, Anne Sophie (1782–1857)
Russian mystic, writer, and social leader. Pronunciation: SVYEE-chen. Name variations: Madame Swetchine. Born Anne Sophie Soymanof, Soymonoff, or Soymanov in Moscow, Russia, in 1782; died in 1857; married General Swetchine, in 1799.
Anne Sophie Swetchine was born Anne Sophie Soymanov in Moscow in 1782. At 17, she married a general, a quiet, inoffensive man who was 25 years her senior. Anne was small and plain, yet said to be possessed of such spiritual beauty and charm that she won the admiration and worship of many friends. Madame Swetchine came under the influence of Joseph de Maistre and converted to Roman Catholicism in 1815. Settling in Paris the following year, she fostered her religious leanings by maintaining a private chapel (a rare Church indulgence) and a salon famed not only for its courtesy and brilliance but for its spiritual atmosphere. The salon flourished until her death. Swetchine's Life and Works, marked by mysticism, was published posthumously by M. de Falloux in two volumes in 1860 (the best known writings of which are Old Age and Resignation), followed by two volumes of her Letters in 1861.