Marriage to Jean Dubernat

On 28 March 1774, Jeanne Baret married Jean Dubernat (also recorded as Antoine Du Bernat), a French soldier, in the town of Saint-Aulaye. This marriage marked a significant turning point in Baret's life, occurring after the death of Philibert Commerson in 1773 on Mauritius and during the final leg of her long journey back to France.

The union provided Baret with social and legal stability following years of extraordinary and unconventional experience, including her disguised participation in a global naval expedition and her subsequent years navigating life as a widow-like figure in a French colonial outpost far from home. Marriage in this era was often essential for a woman's economic security and social respectability, particularly for someone attempting to reintegrate into French society after such an unusual chapter.

Historically, this event is significant as it represents Baret's transition from the world of clandestine scientific exploration back into conventional domestic and social structures. It also set the stage for her eventual return to mainland France, formalizing her attachment to Saint-Aulaye, the town where she would eventually settle and later die. The marriage additionally provides one of the few well-documented personal milestones bridging the end of her expedition years and her quieter later life in France.