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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
[[File:Antoine et Consuelo en 1931.jpg|thumb|right| 200px |'''Consuelo''' and her husband [[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]], 1931. ]]
[[File:Antoine et Consuelo en 1931.jpg|thumb|right| 200px |'''Consuelo''' and her husband [[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]], 1931. ]]
Born '''Consuelo Suncín de Sandoval<!-- Zeceña [a reliable souce to the this name is required]-->''' as the daughter of a rich coffee grower and army reservist, she grew up in a family of wealthy landowners in a small town in the [[Departments of El Salvador|Salvadoran department]] of [[Sonsonate Department|Sonsonate]]. Due to her asthma, her father moved her to the U.S. Consuelo moved to the United States and she studied abroad in [[San Francisco]], later she studied in [[Mexico City]], and also in France. Her first marriage was to a Mexican army captain, Ricardo Cardenas, whom she met in the United States. Her marriage ended in divorce. She lied and said it ended with his death during the [[Mexican Revolution]], though she did it because at the time, a divorced woman was looked down by society, thus a widow was much preferable than a divored woman.<ref name="Guardian-Webster,Paul-2000.06.24">
Born '''Consuelo Suncín de Sandoval<!-- Zeceña [a reliable souce to the this name is required]-->''' as the daughter of a rich coffee grower and army reservist, she grew up in a family of wealthy landowners in a small town in the [[Departments of El Salvador|Salvadoran department]] of [[Sonsonate Department|Sonsonate]]. Due to her asthma, her father moved her to the U.S. Consuelo moved to the United States and she studied abroad in [[San Francisco]], later she studied in [[Mexico City]], and also in France. Her first marriage was to a Mexican army captain, Ricardo Cardenas, whom she met in the United States. Her marriage ended in divorce. She lied and said it ended with his death during the [[Mexican Revolution]], though she did it because at the time, a divorced woman was looked down by society, thus a widow was much preferable than a divorced woman.<ref name="Guardian-Webster,Paul-2000.06.24">


Webster, Paul. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2000/jun/24/biography.books Flying Into A Literary Storm: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Author Of The Little Prince, Was Born 100 Years Ago. The Celebrations, However, Have Been Marred By His Widow's Bitter Account Of Their Marriage], London: ''[[The Guardian]]'', June 24, 2000.</ref> While in France, she met and later married [[Enrique Gómez Carrillo]], a [[Guatemala]]n writer, diplomat and journalist. Following his death in 1927, she took up residence in [[Buenos Aires]].
Webster, Paul. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2000/jun/24/biography.books Flying Into A Literary Storm: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Author Of The Little Prince, Was Born 100 Years Ago. The Celebrations, However, Have Been Marred By His Widow's Bitter Account Of Their Marriage], London: ''[[The Guardian]]'', June 24, 2000.</ref> While in France, she met and later married [[Enrique Gómez Carrillo]], a [[Guatemala]]n writer, diplomat and journalist. Following his death in 1927, she took up residence in [[Buenos Aires]].

Revision as of 03:08, 28 April 2014

Consuelo de Saint Exupéry (Montreal, 1942)

Consuelo de Saint Exupéry, officially Consuelo Suncín, comtesse de Saint Exupéry, (b. Armenia, El Salvador, April 10, 1901—d. Grasse, France, May 28, 1979) was a Salvadoran-French writer and artist, and the wife of the French aristocrat, writer and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944).

Biography

File:Antoine et Consuelo en 1931.jpg
Consuelo and her husband Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1931.

Born Consuelo Suncín de Sandoval as the daughter of a rich coffee grower and army reservist, she grew up in a family of wealthy landowners in a small town in the Salvadoran department of Sonsonate. Due to her asthma, her father moved her to the U.S. Consuelo moved to the United States and she studied abroad in San Francisco, later she studied in Mexico City, and also in France. Her first marriage was to a Mexican army captain, Ricardo Cardenas, whom she met in the United States. Her marriage ended in divorce. She lied and said it ended with his death during the Mexican Revolution, though she did it because at the time, a divorced woman was looked down by society, thus a widow was much preferable than a divorced woman.[1] While in France, she met and later married Enrique Gómez Carrillo, a Guatemalan writer, diplomat and journalist. Following his death in 1927, she took up residence in Buenos Aires.

In 1931, she met and married the French aristocrat, writer and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. At the time Consuelo was a twice-widowed Salvadoran writer and artist who possessed a bohemian spirit and a "viper's tongue". Saint-Exupéry, thoroughly enchanted by the diminutive woman, would leave and then return to her many times; she was both his muse and over the long term the source of much of his angst.[1] It was a stormy union, with Saint-Exupéry travelling frequently and indulging in numerous extramarital affairs, most notably with the Frenchwoman Hélène de Vogüé (1908–2003), known as 'Nelly' and referred to as "Madame de B." in Saint-Exupéry biographies.[2][Note 1] Consuelo also had numerous extramarital affairs.[1][2][4][5]

Following the disappearance of her husband in July 1944, with her loss of Saint-Exupéry still fresh, she purportedly wrote a memoir of their life together, The Tale of the Rose, which was sealed away in a trunk in her home.[1] Two decades after her death in 1979, the manuscript came to light when José Martinez-Fructuoso, her heir and long-time employee, and his wife, Martine, discovered it in an attic trunk. Alan Vircondelet, author of a biography of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, edited it, improving her French and dividing it into chapters. Its publication in France in 2000, one century after Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's birth on June 29, 1900, became a national sensation. As of 2011 it had been translated into sixteen languages.

Consuelo died on May 28, 1979 and is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, alongside of her second husband Enrique Carrillo. The body of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was never recovered following his wartime death.

Portrayal in The Little Prince

File:Little Prince's Rose.jpg
'The Rose', as portrayed at the Museum of The Little Prince in Hakone, Japan.

Despite their tumultuous relationship, Antoine kept Consuelo close to his heart. She is the likely inspiration of the major character in The Little Prince, the prince's 'flower', identified as The Rose,[6] whom he protects under glass and with a windscreen on his tiny planet which is named Asteroid B-612.

The Prince's home asteroid also possesses three tiny volcanoes, likely inspired by Consuelo's home country El Salvador. Saint-Exupéry's infidelity and doubts about his marriage are symbolised by the field of roses The Prince encounters during his visit to Earth. In the novella, The Fox tells The Prince that his Rose is unique and special, because she is the one whom he loves.

The Rose in The Little Prince was inspired by Saint-Exupéry's Salvadoran wife, Consuelo. The Rose's cough symbolizes Consuelo's asthma .
One of the active volcanoes in The Little Prince was inspired by El Salvador's Izalco (volcano). At the time Antoine visited Consuelo's town, Izalco was active spewing ash and lava.

Many researchers believe that the prince's petulant, vain, but fragile rose was very likely inspired by his Salvadoran wife Consuelo de Saint Exupéry who suffered of asthma,[6][7] with the small home planet being inspired by her small home country El Salvador, also known as "The Land of Volcanoes" due to the area having so many of them. The three volcanoes in the rose's planet was inspired by the three volcanoes in the Cordillera de Apaneca volcanic range complex, Cerro verde, Santa Ana Volcano and Izalco (volcano), which are directly visible from Consuelos home town, towering over. The two active volcanoes were inspired by Santa Ana Volcano and the famous conical shaped Izalco (volcano), which at the time was active spewing ash and lava when Antoine visited Consuelo's small town in El Salvador, the dormant volcano is Cerro Verde.[8] Despite a raucous marriage, Antoine kept Consuelo close to heart and portrayed her as the prince's Rose whom he tenderly protects with a wind screen and under a glass dome on his tiny planet. The Rose's weakness and cough symbolizes Consuelo's asthma. Saint-Exupéry's infidelity and the doubts of his marriage are symbolized by the vast field of roses the prince encounters during his visit to Earth. The Rose under the glass dome would later be an inspiration and appear as the Enchanted Rose in Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991 film). Consuelo is remembered as the vain and petulant Salvadorian Rose that captured Antoine's heart.

Honours

File:Consuelo qui sculpte un buste.jpg
Artist Consuelo and a sculpture of her husband Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Antoine's 1939 memoir, Wind, Sand and Stars (Terre des hommes), was employed to create the central theme (Terre des hommes–Man and his world) of the 1967 International World's Fair in Montreal, Canada, Expo 67. The Countess de Saint Exupéry, Consuelo, was a guest of honour at the official opening ceremonies of the world's fair.[9]

The little Prince's Rose was an inspiration for The Enchanted Rose in Beauty and the beast.

Actress Janet Waldo was the voice for The Rose in the animated TV series "The Adventures of the Little Prince". Singer Máiréad Carlin played The Rose in The Little Prince (opera) musical. Consuelo's relationship with Antoine was portrayed by Miranda Richardson and Bruno Ganz in the 1996 biopic Saint-Ex. The film combines elements of biography, documentary, and dramatic re-creation.[10] Consuelo is also a major character in the forthcoming historical novel Studio Saint-Ex by Ania Szado. The book examines Consuelo and Antoine's time in New York City during World War II while Antoine is writing The Little Prince.

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ Hélène (Nelly) de Vogüé (1908–2003), born Hélène Jaunez to a French businessman, became a well known French business executive and also an intellect fluent in several languages. She married the equally well known French noble Jean de Vogüé in 1927 and had one child with him, Patrice. Hélène is referred to only as "Madame de B." in multiple Saint-Exupéry biographies. This occurred due to agreements she made with writers before granting them access to her troves of the author-aviator's writings, which will not be released from the French national archives until 2053 after she deposited them there. It is believed she sought her anonymity in order to protect Saint-Exupéry's reputation, as during the Second World War, the U.S. O.S.S. suspected she was a secret Vichy agent and Nazi collaborator.[3]
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d Webster, Paul. Flying Into A Literary Storm: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Author Of The Little Prince, Was Born 100 Years Ago. The Celebrations, However, Have Been Marred By His Widow's Bitter Account Of Their Marriage, London: The Guardian, June 24, 2000.
  2. ^ a b "Biography: Nelly de Vogüé (1908 – 2003)." AntoinedeSaintExupery.com. Retrieved: May 23, 2012.
  3. ^ Carrol, Tim. "Secret Love of a Renaissance Man", The Telegraph, April 30, 2007.
  4. ^ Carrol, Tim. Secret Love of a Renaissance Man, The Telegraph, April 30, 2007.
  5. ^ Schiff, Stacy. "Bookend: Par Avion." The New York Times, 25 June 2000.
  6. ^ a b Reif, Rita. "A Charming Prince Turns 50, His Luster Intact", The New York Times, September 19, 1993.
  7. ^ Webster, Paul (1993) Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: The Life And Death Of The Little Prince, London: Pan Macmillan, 1993, pp. 248–251, ISBN 333617029, ISBN 978-0333617021.
  8. ^ Saint-Exupéry, Consuelo de, 2003.
  9. ^ Krôller, Eva-Marie. Expo '67: Canada's Camelot?, Canadian Literature, Spring-Summer 1997, Iss. 152-153, pp. 36–51.
  10. ^ Allon, Yoram (2001). Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide. Wallflower Critical Guides. London: Wallflower. p. 334. ISBN 1903364221. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Bibliography

Further reading

  • Paul Webster, Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry, la rose du petit prince, 2000.
  • Alain Vircondelet, O Consuelo, 2000.
  • Abigaíl Suncín, La rosa que cautivó al principito : Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry, 2003.
  • Alain Vircondelet, Antoine et Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry : un amour de légende, 2005.
  • Alain Vircondelet, C'étaient Antoine et Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry, 2009.
  • Marie-Hélène Carbonel et Martine Fransioli Martinez, Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry, une mariée vêtue de noir, 2010.

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