Much has been written about love, most literary works, songs, films are dedicated to this feeling. It is called beautiful, inspiring, but Anna Akhmatova sincerely believed that love is hell. The fates of some people confirm the relevance of this expression. Adele Hugo, the daughter of the great writer, was beautiful, young, educated, but all her life she chased some ghost of love, and, as a result, ended her life in a psychiatric clinic. Moreover, a mental disorder due to unrequited love began to be called "Adele syndrome", although in this case we are most likely talking about obsession, not love.

Family tragedy
Adele Fouché became the wife of the famous French writer Victor Hugo, they had 5 children, but the eldest of them, Leopold, died in infancy. Two daughters and two sons remained, but Victor especially loved his eldest daughter, Leopoldina, who was affectionately called "Didin" in the family. She received a good education, she was painted by the best artists of that time. Victor himself considered the girl the embodiment of innocence and beauty and, going on trips, always wrote her letters.

Hugo's children communicated with famous creative people: composers, poets, writers. The second daughter, Adele, was the 5th child in the family, was born on August 24, 1830, was considered a recognized beauty, as well as a talented pianist. In the family, she was called Dedé, considered an intelligent and capable girl. The girl had many admirers, but she dreamed of that one, the only person and, although she was proposed to more than once, she refused everyone, because she was waiting for her love.
Leopoldina fell in love with Charles Vacry, the feelings were mutual, but when the young man asked for her hand, her father decided that a 14-year-old girl could not get married. The lovers waited 5 years, and on February 15, 1843, their wedding took place. However, the happiness was short-lived. On September 4 of the same year, Charles Vacry, his uncle Pierre and his son, 11-year-old Arthur, decided to go sailing, and Leopoldine joined them. Suddenly a strong wind arose, and the boat capsized. Charles was an excellent swimmer, but he did not want to leave his wife. The peasants standing on the shore saw him surface and disappear under the water about 6 times, but he was unable to help Leopoldine and drowned with her (she was only 19 years old). His uncle and son also died. The lovers were buried in the same coffin on September 6. The girl's father found out about this by chance, from a newspaper. He could hardly survive her death, and after that he could not write anything for 7 years. Leopoldine's mother tried to cope with her grief in her own way. She began to organize spiritualistic sessions to communicate with her deceased daughter. Adele (13 years old) had a hard time coming to terms with the loss of her beloved sister, and she wholeheartedly believed that she could communicate with the other world, soon convinced herself that Leopoldine's spirit was next to her, guiding her through life and helping her make decisions. As her future showed, he turned out to be a bad adviser, since it is probably hard to imagine a worse scenario.
Adele, who was already suffering from depression, was soon forced to leave her native Paris. Victor Hugo was expelled from France for criticizing Napoleon III, he moved to the island of Guernsey in the English Channel, moved his wife and Adele there, and his sons served prison terms on political charges.

Fatal love
In 1854, Adele, who lived on the island of Jersey, met Lieutenant Albert Pinson. He was much older than her, but was distinguished by his special courtesy, and was considered an interesting conversationalist. The beauty of the girl did not leave him indifferent either. He often came to Hugo's house, took part in spiritualistic sessions. Adele herself did not notice how she fell in love, was willing to marry him, and he seemed not to mind linking his fate with hers. They said that he proposed to her, and Adele refused him, which she later regretted very much. And the second never followed. Everything could have ended well, but the young man soon realized that Mademoiselle Hugo was no longer interesting to him. He told her about this in 1861, before leaving to serve in Canada. The parents knew nothing about their explanation, they believed that Pinson would soon return to marry their daughter. Adele decided that she should follow her beloved. She told her father and mother that she wanted to go on a trip to Europe, and she herself left for Canada. Arriving in Halifax, she registered under the name "Miss Lewley" and went to look for Pinson. He was not very happy about her arrival, since his feelings had completely cooled, but he did not refuse Adele's money. They said that she sold her mother's jewelry to provide for herself and her beloved. The girl lived in Canada for 3 years and all this time dreamed of getting her fiancé back. She paid off all his gambling debts, paid for the services of women of easy virtue herself so that he would not become interested in another. Adele even tried to hire a hypnotist to force him to marry her, but this did not help either. Adele told everyone that she was engaged to Albert, but the groom's family did not want this wedding. She claimed that she was pregnant by Pinson, but the child was stillborn (most likely, this was her invention). Her passion turned into an obsession. Her former admirer did not want to see her, and she wrote to her relatives that she had married him. Her parents believed her and even published a message about the wedding in one of the newspapers. But then Hugo wrote a letter to her brother, where she confessed that they were still not married, but she would marry when she returned to Europe.

Pinson had his own plans, he decided to marry, but not Adele, who was in love with him, but the daughter of a local judge. Having learned about this, the girl ordered her lawyers to write to the judge that he was married to her, they would soon have a child. It is not known whether they believed her or not, but Pinson's reputation was ruined, the engagement was broken. When in 1866 Albert Pinson was transferred to Barbados, Adele went after him again.

Adele Hugo changed beyond recognition. In this unkempt woman, constantly muttering something under her breath, it was difficult to recognize one of the most beautiful girls in Paris. She, unkempt, in dark clothes unsuitable for the local climate, wandered around the island, did not talk to anyone, but only constantly wrote something in her diary. Adele called herself "Madame Pinson", said that she had been married for a long time. Boys, seeing her, threw stones at Adele, so she went out into the street at night. Albert Pinson, who avoided her when she was young and pretty, even more did not want to get involved with her after her mind became clouded. He moved to London, where he soon married, leaving Adele alone in Barbados. Thanks to one of her friends, the woman was able to return to France. This happened in 1872, Adele was 42 years old. Of her relatives, only her father, Victor Hugo, survived. Her mother and brother Charles died before her arrival, and her second brother, François-Victor, died a year later. Adèle did not comb her hair, did not take care of herself, refused to eat. She stopped sleeping at night, wandered around the house in the dark and talked in an empty room with Albert. Hugo took care of his daughter as best he could: first he showed her to the family doctor, then he put her in a psychiatric clinic near Paris. There she spent the rest of her life, more than 40 years, still writing letters to her beloved Albert and waiting for an answer. She hoped that he would come for her, and called herself only "Madame Pinson". Despite all these oddities, the staff of the clinic loved her, she often played the piano for them, sometimes she was allowed to go to the opera or the zoo. Hugo visited her until his death and once wrote about her:

"My unfortunate Adèle! She is more dead than the dead!"

The daughter outlived her father by 30 years, and lived these years in the world of her illusions. She died in 1915, almost reaching her 85th birthday. And before her death, she called Albert, confessed her love to him.
Her tragic story formed the basis of the film "The Story of Adele H.", filmed in 1975. This film made the leading actress Isabelle Adjani famous. And Adele's name will forever remain in the history of psychiatry as "Adele syndrome." And, although here we are talking more about illness than about love,
perhaps the fate of this woman could have turned out differently if she had not followed her feelings, but tried to return to the real world. Psychiatrists distinguish 3 stages of development of this disease, which received her name, and in the early stages it can be cured, but, unfortunately, Adele Hugo sought help too late.