Intimacy meaning: “Intimacy with a man should take place only when there is love” – Mata Hari
Monday, 15 October 1917 in Paris nobody could forget that day, on that day the world’s one of the beautiful, famous ladies shot dead. On that day, she was in Saint Lazare prison cell. Margaretha had taken to the firing crew. At midnight, she was out of the prison wearing her expensive hat on her head tied with silk ribbon, a pair of black leather gloves and her fur jacket. When Sister Leaonide, Father Arbause and Captain Bouchrdon with her lawyer had entered into her cell no 12.
However, the first lady who saw Margaretha sleeping in the cell was the sister Leaonide. What she had seen was that the prisoner was in peaceful sleep. She had hoped that one day she would come out of Saint Lazare happily. But, it did not happen as expected by her and many of her friends. As well as, on the firing squad, one of the officers had asked to blindfold her during firing, she had answered without blinking her eyes,“Must I wear that?” clearly showing no regrets.
During the encounter, she was neither bound nor blindfolded. The sun was coming to the horizon when firing was done and the smokes wafting up in the air from the mouth of rifles. One of the officers was not sure about her death, even after she was laying motionless. He went near the dead body and pulled his revolvers, shot in the head and said,“Mata Hari is dead,” loud and clear. Who is Mata Hari? A woman with many desires, money, fame and power, it was her stage name. She was the soul liked and loved by men. The sparkling woman who was raped by her principal when she was sixteen. The dancer could do anything for her dream—Dining in cities most expensive hotels, wearing rich clothes, ornaments, and friendship with rich people and passing their gossip from country to country.
However, the intimacy meaning as one of the best lines by her mother had taught her that “Intimacy” with a man should take place only when there is love. And when that is for a lifetime. Her husband, Rudolf MacLeod, was an officer in the Dutch army of Scottish descent. She got married on July 11, 1895, on responding to Rudolf’s ad in the newspaper.
Later, her husband turned violent, biting her, assaulting her every next day, treating her like a slut. Margaretha had a daughter and the second child was a boy, her son who later poisoned by one of his nannies. Further, she had never thought that friendship with presidents, ministers would bring her to such punishment, the small piece of gossip turned her spy and cost her to death. When Mata Hari was arrested, there were 3 trunks, few things were found as below,
Things collected from Mata Hari when she was arrested
- GOLD WATCH BOUGHT IN SWITZERLAND
- 3 PINS IN PEARL AND GOLD
- LONG FEATHER’S A VEIL
- 2 FUR STOLES
- GOWNS
- RIDING BOOTS
- 5 PAIRS OF LEATHER SHOES
- A BOX WITH HAIR
- 2 BOXES OF FACE POWDER
- 3 COMBS
- BLOUSES
- 2 CIGARETTE CASES, 1 IN SILVER AND 1 IN GOLD
- FANS
- LIPSTICKS
- Wallets with photos of her and many other things…