Background
Francine was the daughter of Helena Jans van der Strom, a domestic servant of Thomas Sergeant — a bookshop owner and associate of Descartes at whose house in Amsterdam Descartes lodged on 15 October 1634.
Francine was the daughter of Helena Jans van der Strom, a domestic servant of Thomas Sergeant — a bookshop owner and associate of Descartes at whose house in Amsterdam Descartes lodged on 15 October 1634.
When Descartes moved back from Amsterdam to Deventer the following winter, Helena went with him. Russell Shorto postulated that the experience of fatherhood and losing a child formed a turning point in Descartes" work, changing its focus from medicine to a quest for universal answers. Helena was the only woman with whom Descartes is known to have been intimate and she and Descartes appear to have remained close after Francine"s death.
Notary acts discovered by Jeroen van de Ven show that Descartes provided the 1000-guilder dowry for this wedding.
Descartes himself would remain in Egmond-Binnen until 1649, the longest period he ever stayed at any residence.