François Mitterrand – Autographed letter signed. 1939.

François Mitterrand (1916.1996)

Autographed letter signed to Marie-Louise Terrasse, known as Catherine Langeais.

Four pages, small quarto.

[Fort d'Ivry]. Friday, February 17, 1939.

« We were shaping the future according to our will

"My beloved little Zou, I am worried about your health: you seemed so tired last night. If only my love could restore your balance, how gladly I would take on all the illnesses in the world. I confess I slept little last night: and I wish I could have watched over you every minute, and truly protected your sleep this time. My darling little peach, do you remember those long (and they seemed so short) October evenings when we were preparing to endure a separation of at least a month, and getting ready to begin this difficult period we are now in? What wonderful hours we spent together. And we shaped the future as we wished. We knew that life would bring its difficulties, its troubles; and we were ready to bear them, so strong and certain did our love seem. I told you that the waiting period was ending; that our life together was beginning, now marked by the sorrows and joys that would come to strike us together."

Today, all of this comes flooding back to me with a particular intensity. The prospect of those few days when you'll be truly away from me, the fear of seeing you fall ill—it all weighs heavily on my heart. But I think you're just bored. I also think that I love you and that you love me. So I think back to that now distant time of our plans and I feel a sense of certainty: we will experience our sorrow together.

What separates us? Who could possibly come between us? Far from me or near me, you are within me. You remain my fiancée. Life cannot be entirely desolate. Tomorrow, my little girl, I fully intend to see you. As agreed in my last letter, I will be waiting for you at DF (entrance on Boulevard Raspail) from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m. being the tentative meeting time. Then, if anything prevents us from meeting, I will wait for you again from 6:00 to 6:15 p.m., also at the top of Boulevard Raspail. It would be so wonderful to spend a long time together before our parting, a parting I contemplate with such sadness. And on Sunday, would it be impossible for us to go to Mass together?

You'll tell me all about it, my Marie-Louise. I can't wait to get your letter tomorrow morning, and then to see you again. I adore you, my darling Zou. François.

Please excuse this brief note, but the assembly bell is about to ring. I will bring you one or two "compositions" shortly. I would be pleased to hear your opinion, which I hope will be both partial and impartial. Until tomorrow, my dearest. Fr.

P.S. Get well soon, my Zou, how I think of you and how I love you! Too much? Tell me: no. Fr

Catherine Langeais (1923-1998), whose real name was Marie-Louise Terrasse, met François Mitterrand on January 28, 1938, at the ball of the École Normale Supérieure. Although only 15 years old, she became engaged to him. Mitterrand wrote more than 300 letters to the young woman he nicknamed Zou.