A frank biographical narrative traces the subject’s upbringing and character, recounting family dynamics marked by parental partiality and harsh discipline, childhood hardships, and the gradual emergence of intellectual independence and moral sensibility. The volume combines personal reminiscence with collected correspondence and posthumous essays on subjects such as the French nation and the management of infants, and it draws on conversations, notes, and testimonies from acquaintances to reconstruct the formative experiences and habits that shaped her thought and later writings.