Héger-Parent, Zoë (1804-1890)

Héger-Parent, Zoë

SCHOOL DIRECTOR (BELGIUM)

BORN 13 Jul 1804, Bruxelles - DIED 9 Jan 1890, Bruxelles: Rue Ducale 13
BIRTH NAME Parent, Claire Zoë
CAUSE OF DEATH pneumonia
GRAVE LOCATION Watermael-Boitsfort, Brussel: Cimetière de Watermael-Boitsfort, Rue du buis 57

Claire Zoë Parent was the daughter of a French father, the merchant Pierre Parent (1764-1840), and a Belgian mother, Marie Charlotte Le Grand (1779-1856). In Brussels she was educated together with four nieces by an aunt who was a former nun and had a school for girls, the Pensionnat de Demoiselles at the Rue d'Isabelle. She inherited the school around 1830 and became its directress. The young widower Constantin Héger became a teacher at the school. She married him in 1836 and they had six children.

In 1842 Charlotte and Emily Brontë attended the school. They returned to England after the death of their aunt Eliza. Charlotte came back to Brussels in January 1843 but left again in 1844 after an unhappy infatuation with Constantin Héger. After a lonely time, she returned to England. Charlotte continued to write letters to Héger from England. He tore them up and threw them away, but Zoë rescued the scraps and put the letters back together. They were donated to the British Museum by their son Paul in 1913.

After Constantin and Zoë retired, they moved to Rue Ducale 13. There she died in 1890. Constantin died in 1896 and was buried with her at the Cemetery in Watermael-Boitsfort.

Family
• Daughter: Héger, Louise
• Son: Héger, Paul
• Husband: Héger, Constantin (1836-1890)

Images
Plaque for Charlotte Brontë and Emily Brontë at the Museum of Fine Arts (BOZAR) in Brussels. Picture by Androom (26 May 2022)	The grave of Constantin Héger and Zoë Parent at the Cimetière de Watermael-Boitsfort, Brussels. Picture by Androom (27 May 2022)