There are many ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day. In the past, I’ve shared a list of recommended romance reads. A few years before that I did a different take on the day of love by highlighting some helpful books to show yourself some love.
This year is going to be… a little different!
Over the years I have, somewhat inadvertently, collected stories that involve writers and real hearts. I thought sharing them would be a fun twist on the holiday where hearts are a key part of the branding. Don't worry: I have kept the level of squeamish detail to a minimum while still giving you the perfect fun facts to share at dinner parties!
I have ordered them from least to most zany (although the second one is my favourite), but let me know in the comments what you think! I leave it to you to judge if you think these literary heart stories are fully, partially, or not at all true.
A Heart-felt Return to Paris
You might not know the name François-Marie Arouet, but you likely know his pen name: Voltaire. A French writer and philosopher, he was a mover and shaker of Enlightenment ideas in the 18th century, speaking and writing favourably about separating church and state, freedom of expression, and a critic of the government. As a result, he was imprisoned in the Bastille for nearly a year and was eventually exiled from France for 25 years. His triumphant return to Paris at the age of 83 sadly took its toll on his health and within three months he died on May 30, 1778.
While we don’t know why—perhaps because Voltaire was known for his Enlightened thoughts—the autopsy report explains that his brain and heart were preserved separately in alcohol. The report specified “that the brain was ‘very large’ and that the heart was ‘very small’” (Buisson 68).
Voltaire’s body was laid to rest, first in Champagne and later in the Pantheon in Paris, while his heart entered the private collection of the Marquis de Villette who created a shrine to the philosopher. Eventually Voltaire’s heart was transferred to the protection of the French government and, in the 1860s, the heart was placed inside the wooden base of a statue of Voltaire that sits in the Salon d'honneur in the National Library of France located in Paris.
Rumour has it that when the statue was moved for the Salon’s restoration in 2010, the heart “made its presence felt” (Thuras) by emitting a smell that only calmed down once the statue was returned to its place of honour.
But the question remains: what happened to his brain?
My Heart Will Go On
Perhaps the most well-known instance of a heart memento mori (reminder of mortality) has to do with one of my beloved authors: Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein.
Shelley was no stranger to heartache: her mother, the feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, died just 11 days after giving birth to young Mary; Shelley’s father disowned her when she ran away with poet Percy Shelley; all but one of her children died young; and her half-sister committed suicide.
She also lost her husband when he was just 29. In 1822, Percy was in a boat building competition with Lord Byron (Percy was always competing with the titled man) although he had no training to inform the ship he eventually built and it was quite top-heavy. While it did float, the unbalanced boat did not survive a storm that blew in on the Gulf of Spezzia in Italy, resulting in Percy and two others drowning.
Due to a number of reasons, Percy had to be cremated on the beach where his body had been found. Although the Fournier painting of Percy’s funeral pyre on the beach shows a female figure on the lefthand side, Mary Shelley didn’t actually attend. As he watched the flames, Percy’s friend Edward Trelawny wrote that “[Percy’s] corpse fell open and the heart was laid bare” and, risking severe burns, Trelawny reached out to collect the blackened heart (Gordon 450).
Immediately following Percy’s death there was an intense period where people jostled for position to be considered grieving ‘the most’ for the poet to ’prove’ they were his best friend. For example, Trelawny organized Percy’s burial plot in Rome, making sure there was a second spot next to it just for him. As an afterthought, he wrote to the widowed Shelley that the plot might squeeze her in too.
Writer Leigh Hunt thought Shelley wasn’t grieving ‘in the right way’ (she had in fact suffered a near-death miscarriage right before Percy’s death and was undoubtedly numb with grief) and he convinced Trelawny to give him Percy’s heart. Once this became known Shelley begged Hunt for the heart but he refused, only giving in when another friend interceded.
Shelley kept Percy’s heart nearby for the rest of her life: in a desk drawer wrapped in one of the last poems he had written. She would go on to shape his literary legacy with love and care from the desk that housed the last physical part of him. The heart was eventually interred with their son Florence in 1889.
Cat Got Your Tongue (or heart)?
Bedridden for most of December 1927, Thomas Hardy (Tess of the d'Urbervilles) would die early in the new year at his home, Max Gate. His funeral was set for February 16 at Westminster Abbey in London and his wishes were to be interred with his first wife whose grave was in Stinsford (also Hardy’s place of birth).
However, Hardy was given the honour of being buried in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey and his executer insisted that Hardy take up this posthumous offer. It seems that Hardy’s will had some wording issues, or even potentially shady actions on the part of one of his executors, that allowed for two burials (Lock 137-8).
A compromise was struck: Hardy’s body would be laid to rest in Westminster Abbey and his heart would be removed and buried with his wife in Stinsford. Sources agree that the heart was removed by a doctor with surgical experience, wrapped it in a tea towel and placed in a tin. Recollections are then a bit fuzzy: overnight the tin was either in the possession of Doctor Mann, who certified Hardy’s death, or Mrs. Hardy (the second wife).
But wait, here it gets weirder!
The next morning the tin was found open and the heart missing. Apparently, it was obvious who the culprit was: a cat had gotten into the tin and had ‘signs’ of having ingested the heart. Incensed, the undertaker is said to have ended the cat’s life and exclaimed:
“‘Mr ‘Ardy wanted ‘is ‘eart buried at Stinsford, and buried at Stinsford Mr ‘Ardy’s ‘eart shall be’” (source).
The burial in Stinsford went ahead with the cat, 'containing' the heart, being laid to rest with Hardy’s first wife. If you visit this tomb, you’ll find the stone inscribed with “Here lies the heart of Thomas Hardy, OM” (although no mention of the offending feline).
What do you make of these tales? Do you think there is a kernel of truth or are they simply macabre stories creating literary myths? Can you think of other examples of stories like these?