The focus of this edition of the program is on the woman Napoleon Bonaparte once was madly in love with. Fully returning the Emperor’s affection the Polish beauty Maria Walewska tried to use the influence she had on the French dictator to help her native Poland restore its onetime glory…

At the start of the 19th century Napoleon’s army was riding high routing the European armed forces and conquering one European monarchy after another. One day Napoleon was being expected at a royal castle in Poland, exactly ten days after the invincible French leader had entered Warsaw after crushing the Prussian armies in a series of bloody debacles.  And now the Polish aristocrats were waiting to see the victor in the hope he would restore their country’s onetime grandeur and independence.  They also hoped the French Emperor would end the shameful division of Poland  that had been divvied up by Austria, Russia and Prussia.  Entering the hall in his brisk manner, as if it were a battlefield or a parade-ground, Napoleon cast an indifferent look at those who had gathered to greet him.  The next moment his stern face was lit up by a smile. Eyeing a roster of local beauties all inclined in a submissive bow, the Emperor couldn’t hold back a gasp in admiration: “Poland really brims with beautiful women!” Everyone noted however that just as Napoleon was saying those words, his eyes were glued to a young lady who was standing nearby. That was Countess Maria Walewska, a charming blue-eyed young woman of 20 with a skin like snow, a mesmerizing smile and a naïve look in her eyes.  She was dressed in a simple white silk gown with no jewelry on, only flowers in her hair.  Maria smiled back at the Emperor and he invited her to a round of dance. Impressed by the young beauty, Napoleon instructed his aide-de-camp to give him a lowdown on who she was and where she came from. In the evening Napoleon was told that Maria Walewska was married to Chamberlain Walewski who was four times her senior but of a noble birth and a man of property. And also that they had an 18 month-old son…

Putting his military and state affairs on the back burner, Napoleon was completely infatuated with his new passion. Acting through his aide-de-camp, he sent her a love-you note and invited her to meet him in his quarters.  Unaccustomed to messages of that sort and feeling insulted, Maria said ‘no’.  The General  returned empty-handed, much to the surprise of his master who was not used to seeing women rejecting his love. The Emperor was stung but the resistance put up by a little Polish woman only fueled his burning passion. In a second missive, Napoleon said that he would feel himself more attached to Maria’s country if she had pity on his poor heart.  That last phrase tipped the scales and sealed the fate of the patriotically-minded young woman. She recalled how many times she had been asked by her compatriots not to turn down Napoleon’s entreaties and make use of the occasion to help her country. Her advisers guessed just right:  like everyone else, Maria Walewska hoped that the French Emperor would save her beloved Poland. She finally succumbed to the pleas of her all-powerful suitor. The two met and Maria had a chance to appreciate the nobility of Napoleon’s heart and the grandeur of his soul.  Never making use of her forced submissiveness he proved a kind and sensitive man. More meetings followed drawing the two ever more closer to each other.  That was the beginning of one of the greatest romances in human history… Maria Walewska fell in love with the man she now knew she was destined to be with.  Every evening she would come to his place and the lovers would spend the night together. 

Meanwhile, Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, was in Paris. The burning passion Napoleon once felt for her had long withered away, just like hers. His thoughts were all about his now love now. The idyll ended two weeks later when the Emperor left Warsaw at the start of a new campaign.  He never managed to resurrect the Poland Maria so frantically dreamed about though because that would imperil his proposed union with the Russian Emperor Alexander I. 

On May 4, 1810 Maria gave birth to a boy whom she called Alexander.  A few months later she headed to Paris to be by her loved one’s side.  Before long, Napoleon signed a patent granting the little Alexander Walewski the title of a Count of the Empire. Alexander made an excellent career rising through the ranks to eventually become Foreign Minister under Napoleon III. 

In 1814, after a series of terrible reversals, Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to abdicate. On April 20 the ex-Emperor was escorted to the Elbe Island in the Mediterranean.  Maria and her little son visited him there but a few days later Napoleon left the island at the start of what later became known as the 100 Days.  Ultimately routed at Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon was forced to abdicate again and was exiled to St. Helena, a small island lost amid the endless expanses of the South Atlantic. Ten days after the Waterloo battle Maria Walewska and her son came to Paris to say their last farewell to the deposed Emperor. They met and Maria wept in his arms and said she was ready to go with him. Those plans never happened though. Three years after their last meeting, Maria Walewska died. She was only 29… She was buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. The following year, in keeping with Maria’s last will, her remains were moved to her native Poland and interred not far from the place where Maria Walevska, nee Locinska, the Polish wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, once was born…