Josephine de Beauharnais’ influence on the great Napoleon
Behind every great man lies an even greater woman. The woman adds character to the man and also affects his actions and morals. The story of Napoleon Bonaparte would be incomplete without consideration of his first wife, Josephine. She contributed so much to his development and passion because of her influence. This greatly impacted his leadership, military victories, and and was an inspiration behind the Napoleonic Code. Therefore without Josephine’s influence, Napoleon would not have become who he was. To understand Napoleon one must first understand Josephine Bonaparte’s history.
Marie was the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.She was a popular Empress and had many defining characteristics which helped to shape her life. Josephine had a great impact on Napoleon’s emotions which affected the decisions and actions that he made directly and indirectly. (PBS; Napoleon and Josephine, http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_josephine/courtship/page_1.html) She made him feel secure, provided him with emotional support, and gave him confidence which ultimately had a bearing on his decisions and actions. (PBS; Napoleon and Josephine, http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_josephine/emperor/page_1.html)
Before being married to Napoleon, Josephine was married to Alexandre de Beauharnais. Alexandre had a reign of terror in which both him and Josephine were imprisoned, but only Alexandre got beheaded. (Alexandre Beauharnais, vicomte de http://web.ebscohost.com/hrc/detailsid=a21db49e-3466-4fb8-87e6-3fcd64eb4307%40sessionmgr115&vid=4&hid=118&bdata=JnNpdGU9aHJjLWxpdmU%3d#db=khh&AN=39046471) While Josephine was imprisoned she gained valuable friends who taught her French customs which differed from her Martinique customs. (Joséphine and Bonaparte: a romance,
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