Although Napoleon was a hardened military man, he was also something of a romantic. As we see in the film, from very early on in their relationship, Napoleon was absolutely besotted with Josephine, writing to her often while he was fighting in Italy and Egypt. Not only did he write flowery prose to her on a regular basis, but he often chastised her for not writing to him daily. Especially when they were first married, it was clear to anyone with eyes that Napoleon had much stronger feelings of love for Josephine than she had for him.
One of these amorous — and to be honest, incredibly needy — letters to Josephine reads as follows: “I write you, my beloved one, very often, and you write very little. You are wicked and naughty, very naughty, as much as you are fickle. It is unfaithful so to deceive a poor husband, a tender lover! Ought he to lose all his enjoyments because he is so far away, borne down with toil, fatigue, and hardship? Without his Josephine, without the assurance of her love, what is left him upon earth?”
