Varvara Ivanovna Dubenskaya left a controversial mark in Russian history. She was born in 1812 into a wealthy noble family and graduated from the Smolny Institute, receiving a cipher and a gold brooch with diamonds depicting the empress. Varvara was appointed a lady-in-waiting to Maria Nikolaevna due to her wit and vivacity, which ensured her popularity in society and at court. Many metropolitan writers also took notice of her, but she was in no hurry to choose a life partner until she met the French diplomat Théodore de Lagrené at a ball. However, high society did not approve of him. Poet Vasily Zhukovsky wrote that in his presence, 'you somehow become dull and cold.'

Despite this, Varvara graciously accepted de Lagrené's attentions, who considered her his fiancée. One evening, when Pushkin approached them, the Frenchman ordered Varvara to turn away and not speak to the poet. Pushkin, noticing this, left but intended to challenge de Lagrené to a duel the next morning. The diplomat, surprised by this turn of events, quickly apologized to Pushkin.

Varvara herself was not embarrassed by this quarrel and later married the Frenchman, moving to Paris. There, she met Prosper Mérimée and helped him learn Russian, which enabled him to translate 'The Queen of Spades' in 1849. However, her flirtations and provocations did not go unnoticed, and the Parisian elite did not favor her. Count Horace de Viel-Castel recalled that she was considered arrogant and unpleasant. Varvara lived a long life and died in 1901. Two of her sons became knights of the Legion of Honor, the highest award in France.