The Countess (courtesan)

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The Countess (born Arthur Berloget), also known as Pauline and Arthur W, was a French transgender courtesan, demimondaine, singer, artist, and writer who was prominent in Parisian society throughout the 1850s and 1860s. She was the mistress of a nobleman and later became a singer in Parisian cafés and cabarets. Berloget was an active member of an LGBT community in Paris, whose members were called filles, mignons and tribade sisters.

The Countess
1874 self-portrait of The Countess at her toilette
Born
Arthur Berloget

Other namesPauline, Arthur W
Occupation(s)courtesan, singer, writer, artist
PartnersGustave Engel

She was drafted to serve in the French Army, and was forced to temporarily de-transition. She was arrested in 1861 for robbery and for deserting her post, and was sentenced to ten years in prison.

In 1874, she authored an autobiography The Secret Confessions of a Parisian: The Countess, 1850-1871, which was published in 1895. Her autobiography describes intimate details of her life living as a woman during the Second French Empire and the beginning of La Belle Époque. She drew illustrations of herself and other members of her queer community for her autobiography.

Biography

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The Countess was born Arthur Berloget in Paris to working class parents.[1] Her father was a coachman and her mother was a dressmaker.[2] As an adolescent, she engaged in sexual relationships with older men.[3] She began presenting as a woman in her teenage years and going by the name Pauline, later becoming a mistress of a man who was a member of the French nobility and the son of a marquis.[1][2] Her lover abandoned her after a few years.[2] While living as a courtesan in Paris, she earned a living as a cabaret and café-concert singer.[1][2]

 
Berloget's drawing of La Charles

Berloget was drafted to serve in the French Army, and had to spend that time presenting as a man.[1] She wrote about the sadness that her temporary detransition caused her.[1] She later deserted from her post.[1] In 1861, Berloget was arrested for desertion and theft, and was sentenced to ten years in prison.[2] While in prison, she met a fellow prisoner named Gustave Engel, who she describes in her autobiography as the love of her life.[2] Upon her release from prison, she returned to her life in Paris, living as a woman.

 
Berloget's drawing of a Tribade Sister

Berloget was part of a LGBT community in Paris made up of filles and mignons, transgender women, and tribade sisters, lesbians and transgender men.[1] She was given the name "The Countess" by this community during a ceremony, which she wrote about in her 1874 autobiography The Secret Confessions of a Parisian: The Countess, 1850-1871, which was published in 1895.[1] The autobiography details her life in Paris living as a woman throughout the Second French Empire and the beginning of La Belle Époque. She wrote of her gender transition, "I, who had so desired to be a girl, have triumphed over natural law."[1] She documented her coming out process to her mother, who welcomed her as a daughter, and wrote about the mutual support that the filles and tribade sisters provided each other.[1] Berloget described her community as a family, and wrote about the lavish parties and soirées they hosted.[1] A dilettante artist, she illustrated her autobiography with drawings of herself and her contemporaries, including a fellow fille known as La Charles and a tribade known as B.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lester, CN (17 April 2020). "The Countess, a Parisian transgender singer in the 1850s/60s". Transgender World. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Queer Lives: Men's Autobiographies from Nineteenth-Century France". Out History. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  3. ^ Gunther, Scott E. (2013). "H-France Review Vol. 13 (May 2013), No. 46" (PDF). H-France Review. Retrieved 26 June 2023.