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THE WEDDING NIGHT AND WHAT WAS LEFT OUT OF THE FILM SISSI
Káli-Rozmis Barbara 2015.04.19. 23:25
 The Wedding Night and What was Left out of the Film SISSi
It is out of question that Sisi had not been enlightened about what would happen to her in the bedroom. In the 19th century in accordance with the spirit of the Puritan, which was very typical among the nobility and the ruling class, sex education was not usual, what is more, it was regarded as a taboo as far as the girls were concerned.
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Elisabeth was only fifteen and a half years old when the emperor engaged her. She liked Franz Joseph, however, she was terrified of her future obligations. Before the engagement the couple had only known each other for a few days. Although the emperor fell in love with Elisabeth for a lifetime and he became her most enthusiastic admirer, we cannot talk about love as regards Sisi. During the first years of their marriage, perhaps she felt something like love towards Franz Joseph, however, she realized very early that they did not have a lot in common.
Pictures: Sisi in her bridal dress and a replica of it
Had anybody talked Sisi about a “wife’s duty” in the bedroom before the wedding night?
Their wedding ceremony and all about that were gorgeous and met the protocol requirements. However, even the emperor 's mother, Archduchess Sophie, did not consider that the same should be continued on the way to the master bedroom although in the European royal courts of the nineteenth century it was still in fashion - the bride and the bridegroom were accompanied to the bedroom by members of the court. The bride Sisi was accompanied only by her mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie and her mother, Ludovica then she was left alone. After that Sophie led his son to the bedroom then she wrote in her diary that Elisabeth was like a frightened bird in the nest.
It is out of question that Sisi had not been enlightened about what would happen to her in the bedroom. In the 19th century in accordance with the spirit of the Puritan, which was very typical among the nobility and the ruling class, sex education was not usual what is more it was regarded as a taboo as far as the girls were concerned. For men, things worked differently. Usually it was one of the parents who organized the son’s first sexual intercourse with a prostitute, an actress or a daughter of the lower classes. Archduchess Sophie thought that her beloved son deserved the best so a countess was sent to the teenage Franz Joseph 's room... While in the case of noble women adultery was a great sin as regards men it was not, and their wives - if they were aware of the affair - had to endure this.
The original train (of the dress) and the replica of Sisi's wedding dress
What happened to the young Sisi at the wedding night - or what not happened...?
The emperor, in the most cases, behaved generously and tactfully with his wife. However, Franz Joseph was introduced to the sexuality by countesses, and it can be questioned whether he could be enough tender and patient with the young and inexperienced Sisi. Probably not, because Elisabeth was not fond of sex either at the early stage of their marriage or later.
What happened to Sisi that night one can only speculate. About what not happened, we have more information thanks to Brigitte Hamann, one of the greatest bibliographer of Elisabeth (Brigitte Hamann: Queen Elisabeth ). One thing is sure: For the Bavarian duchess the happy childhood was over that night.
Picture: Sisi near the Lake Stranberg in Possenhofen
The imperial bedroom has no secrets
The next day, they had their first breakfast in private, which, as it can be read later, was unusual. However, the two mothers appeared suddenly, and both of them asked their own child about all the details of the first night. The fact that Francis Joseph failed to meet his duty that night was known soon by the whole court - probably thanks to the servants.
It was also known that Sisi lost her virginity only at the third night. That morning, as all the others, she had to attend the family breakfast, which was very hard to the shy empress. Later in her memoirs she often returned to this morning, and she remembered with horror that day. Several years later, she said,
"The emperor was so accustomed to obedience. For me it was terrible but I went there for his sake. "
The room which Sisi liked to avoid
The common bedroom - in Schönbrunn and in their other homes as well - was used only during the first few years of their marriage. Sophie, the first child of the couple was born in 1855 a year after the wedding (unfortunately she died at the age of two). Elisabeth gave a birth to two more children, Giselle (1856) and the Crown Prince Rudolf (1858). After that the empress regarded her marital obligations to be fulfilled, and tried to avoid all the emperor’s sexual advances. Sisi abhorred the pregnancy and birth giving because she was worried about her slender figure. However, one can find another reason for avoiding the emperor’s sexual advances in Sisi’s own poems ... (I will write about it in another article.)
The emperor and the empress common bedroom with its original equipment and the imperial couple's bed with the breakfast table at
Schönbrunn Palace
The gift of the reconciliation
It must have been in 1867 when Elisabeth let her husband come into her bedroom for the last time. It was after Francis Joseph and she was crowned in Hungary. Their daughter, Marie Valerie, was born in 1868 as a " gift of the reconciliation " since it was the event that was supported by all of Elisabeth influence. The emperor was known to adore his wife and try to fulfill almost every desire of his beloved Sisi.
Sisi was said not to be a good mother of her children. Is that true?
Left: The royal couple with their children in the Royal Palace of Gödöllő, Hungary
Elisabeth was reproached for not being a good mother. However, we must not forget that even she herself was a child when she gave birth to her first child. Archduchess Sophie took away the first three children from her. The mother-in-law, Sophie, placed the children's room next to her own suites, and Sisi had to walk a lot to visit her own children! Of course, she was not allowed to do that at any time. Later, several attempts were made by Elisabeth to get the custody of her children but it is another story. In 1868, Sisi’s fourth child, Marie Valerie, was born in Hungary. Valerie was pirated by her mother and carried everywhere by her, furthermore, Elisabeth allowed nobody, including the emperor, to interfere in her matter as regards the child or anything else - but it is also another story. These are why Valerie was derisively called “her only-child” at the Viennese court. By that time Elisabeth was stronger so she felt less hurt rather annoyed. But let us go back now to the young Sisi, who suffered quite a big distress at the first few years of her marriage at the intricate scene of the imperial Viennese court...
Barbara Káli-Rozmis
READ MORE: THE HUNGARIAN PRINCESS: MARIE VALERIE
Why was an Austrian Archduchess forced to talk in Hungarian and use this language as a mother tongue?
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