Robespierre never seemed happy in his life.

Thanks for the downer, citizen. D: 

But I disagree! For one, we need to understand what made Robespierre happy. No, he didn’t roll in the hay with legions of women like a Danton or Mirabeau. He didn’t line his nest with gold like a Barras or Cambon. He didn’t race alongside the army like Saint Just. 

But, well, I don’t think he wanted to. So while he didn’t do things that we find conventionally “fun,” it’s not as though there is a gold-standard of happiness that Robespierre didn’t meet. What made Robespierre happy and what might make you or I happy are different things. We shouldn’t judge Robespierre by our arbitrary measurements of happiness. 

No, he seemed to just enjoy different things. Like writing - which he did. A lot. Either essays for contests or speeches for the Convention, Robespierre put pen to paper all the time. Why would he be doing it unless he liked it? I don’t think his parchments are stained with his tears.

What else made Robespierre happy? Well, he seemed to desire a comfortable home life. Charlotte reported that all he really wanted was someone to take care of him, and even implied that the Incorruptible could perhaps be corrupted by a few caresses. Hyperbole aside, I think it is safe to say that Robespierre desired a family atmosphere. 

Did he get one?

Well what we need to remember that Robespierre spent his recreational hours - that is, the hours when he was at his leisure and was probably at his happiest - with people whose recollections have been lost to use due to their premature death or neglect to record their memories. We don’t have too many contemporary accounts of a “relaxed, contented” Robespierre because of this fact. But a lack of record in regards to a contented life doesn’t mean that it wasn’t contented. It just means that it was private. 

After all, we know of Le Bas’ adulation for his wife because he was writing her letters from the front. Not to take anything away from Le Bas, but if Robespierre wanted to show affection to his loved ones he could walk over and tell them. His feelings aren’t recorded because he had no need to record them. 

But the record that we do have shows that Robespierre, if nothing else, found contentment in his intimate circle. Elisabeth Le Bas wrote in her memoirs of the fond evenings she spent with the Incorruptible, whom she said she loved like a brother and whom her parents loved as a son. Apparently Robespierre, alongside this family circle and a few intimates, would listen to music, go to the theater, go for walks in the park, read plays —- these are things that you do with your loved ones. 

Now, spending time with your loved ones isn’t necessarily tantamount to being happy for everyone. But for Robespierre, who seemed to be a very sentimental individual, was probably at his happiest with the Duplay family. 

Robespierre was never happy with the political situation in his country, true. But his personal life was usually populated with loved ones and if he did not find happiness there then I don’t know where he could have found happiness given his preferences.