LEARN: The King’s Mistress Repents
by Kristen West McGuire
Louise de la Vallière lived two very different lives. She is most famous for being the mistress of King Louis XIV of France. However, she is also called, “the French Magdalene” for leaving that life behind to become a Carmelite. For a long time, historians only cared about her romance with the King. Today, people are realizing that she was also a serious thinker and writer. Her writings criticized the fake behavior of wealthy people and presented sophisticated treatments of the nature of virtue.
Louise was born in 1644 into a noble family in France. Her family had a history of serving the military and the Church. She received a good education, learning grammar, writing, and public speaking. As a teenager, she learned art, music, and manners.
In 1661, Louise went to the royal court as a courtier for Henriette d’Angleterre, the King’s sister-in-law. At first, King Louis XIV, the famous “Sun King,” pretended to date Louise to deflect attention from his interest in Henriette. But soon, the King fell in love with Louise. She became his official mistress, and they had four children together. The King bestowed titles and riches on her family.
Yet, Louise was never a typical courtier. While others plotted for jewelry and power, she was studying the works of Descartes and Aristotle. Even at her most scandalous, she was intellectually restless. When she was eventually displaced by the more ambitious Madame de Montespan, Louise didn’t just retreat into bitterness. She underwent a profound religious crisis over her adulterous relationship.
In 1670, she got very sick, possibly from smallpox, and almost died. She recovered, but the illness changed her. She decided she wanted to stop living for the court and start living for God. She began listening to a famous preacher named Bossuet and reading religious books. The Sun King was embarrassed by her zeal.
In 1671, just before entering the convent, Louise wrote a devotional work, Reflections on the Mercy of God. This wasn’t just a diary of regrets; it was a sophisticated theological treatise. She critiqued the very culture she had once ruled, arguing that the “virtues” of the court—like politeness and social prudence—were often just masks for human pride.
Notably, Louise didn’t believe in crushing our emotions. Instead, she argued that our passions (especially love) must be converted. The same intensity she once felt for the King was redirected toward the Cross. The King insisted she remain at Court until 1674.
She entered the Carmelite convent in Paris, taking the name Soeur Louise de la Miséricorde (Sister Louise of Mercy). She spent her final 36 years in rigorous penance, to atone for the sins of her youth. She also famously received her former rival, Madame de Montespan, in the convent parlor to offer spiritual counsel.
Soeur Louise reminds us that our past mistakes do not disqualify us from intellectual or spiritual greatness.
