I think I’ve said everything concerning that phase of my life as a young girl. They were the beautiful days of a life now doomed to abandonment, to cold isolation. Oh my God! What would my fate be! But You wanted it, without doubt so I shall remain silent. On returning to B… we had to busy ourselves with the proceedings relative to my appearance in society as a subject belonging to the masculine sex.
Doctor H… had already prepared an extensive report, masterpiece in the medical style, aiming to bring about before the courts a petition for rectification, which would be ordained by the court of S…, where I was born. with this document, I left for that town, also with special recommendations for the presiding judge and the imperial prosecutor. My mother accompanied me. Our first visit was to the old curate my family had known for a long time. I won’t attempt to give an idea of his naïve astonishment on reading the letter that Monseigneur de B had written him on this subject. You can easily imagine. Such cases are so rare they can’t help but excite curiosity. M. the president of L… de V… gave us the warmest welcome. After appraising himself of all the facts and asking me a few questions he said, “You will go to M. D…, my lawyer, on my behalf and take him all these papers. The rest can be done without you. If your presence is needed later, we’ll let you know.” We left the next day, without informing my family of what was on the horizon. I wanted to keep the secret right until the end which would be soon anyway. One person was included though: my maternal grandfather. He was shocked, as he mistakenly foresaw an outcome that’d be dangerous to all. I tried my best to calm him, assuring him that everything was being done legally and conveniently.
No one but him knew the reason for our journey; however, I must point out several remarks, strange to say the least, that were made about my person that were all confided to me afterwards. An intimate friend of my mother had been singularly struck by my bearing, by my experience, my manner which was rather cavalier. It was the same elsewhere, for example, at the hospital where I’d for three years until I was 10 amongst young orphans of my age. I met the chaplain again with infinite pleasure. The Mother Superior still called me her dear daughter. She took us to the door chatting. During that time a young girl of the house, who’d considered me a favourite companion, watched us from a window. She remarked that I had my umbrella under my left arm and that I held my right hand behind my back. That didn’t seem very gracious to her for a . My movements matched my physiognomy, hard and severely accentuated.
I’d been back at B… for about a fortnight when the lawyer in charge of the petition informed me that the court had, at a first hearing, appointed doctor G… to carry out a new examination before a definitive sentence was reached and that my presence was required at the doctor’s surgery.
I resigned myself to it. I’d been expecting it.
Needless to say, this second examination gave the same result as the first, and that, after his report, the civil court of S… ordered that the civil status registers be rectified to show that I belonged to the masculine sex and at the same time a new name was substituted for the feminine one I’d been given at birth.
I was at B… when this decree was handed down. I was sent the details of the judgement that were later consigned in the Annals of legal medicine.
On consulting this work I discovered that a similar case happened in 1813 in the Midi region of France, if not in the same circumstances, then with the same outcome.
So it was done. My civil status called me to belong to that half of the human race called the strong sex from now on. Brought in religious houses until the age of 21, among timid companions, I would, like Achilles, leave far behind me a delicious past and enter into the lists, with my only weakness and with my profound inexperience of men and things!