The marriage was unhappy, often violent, stressed by lack of money and with several separations, but it was during the marriage that Comte wrote his masterwork, the six volume Cours de Philosophie Positive (Course in Positive Philosophy).

The couple had little money and Comte could not find work he liked, but at the end of July they managed to make a visit to Comte's parents in Montpellier.

Caroline and Comte's parents did not get on.

Comte suspected that Caroline was being unfaithful, possibly with Cerclet and others.

They separated in March 1826, and soon after Comte had a mental breakdown.

Comte took refuge in a hotel in Saint Denis, from where he wrote to Caroline, then disappeared.

She guessed that he had gone to Montmorency, one of his favorite places, and found him there trying to set fire to his room.

With the help of a local doctor she calmed him down.

She returned to Paris to get help from Cerclet, and he was able to find a place at the asylum run by the psychiatrist Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol.

Cerclet, Caroline and Comte's friend the celebrated biologist Henri Blainville managed to move Comte there through a ruse.

Louis Massin, Caroline's father, had showed up just before Comte's breakdown to ask her for money.

She refused, and in revenge he slandered her to Comte's very respectable parents, telling them her infidelities had driven their son mad.

Comte's mother Rosalie came to Paris to help her son.

The family tried to obtain an "interdiction", which would remove Comte's legal rights and place him under the care of his father.

They appeared before a judge on 2 June 1826 and declared to the judge that they were the only people in Paris close to Comte, making no mention of his wife but saying he had a mistress whose depravity was the cause of his madness.

The interdiction was granted.

When Caroline heard of this she asked Blainville for help and he arranged to have the interdiction cancelled.

Rosalie Comte stayed in Paris for six months, spending much time with Caroline, and began to feel her daughter-in-law had been maligned.

She checked the register of prostitutes and found no trace of her name.

She showed Caroline the letter her father Louis Massin had written, and Caroline was profoundly shocked.

On 2 December Esquirol declared that he could not cure Comte, and returned him to Caroline.

He was forced to submit to a Catholic wedding that Rosalie had arranged.

At first Comte was violent and unpredictable, but Caroline began to nurse him back to sanity.

He was still unstable and depressive.

In March 1827 Comte tried to kill himself by jumping into the Seine from a bridge, but was prevented by a passing royal guard.

After his second attempt at suicide he decided he had been saved so he could undertake his life's work, the description of a positivist philosophy.

Caroline supported him throughout this time.

She acted as Comte's full-time secretary while he was writing his book.

Caroline fell ill with smallpox in late 1832.

Comte was not helpful during her convalescence, and they lived apart from the middle of March to the end of August 1833.

Caroline's mother died on 29 August 1833 and she suffered a strong emotional crise.

Comte did what he could to help her through this period.

The marriage continued to be strained by lack of money, particularly in 1834.

The letters exchanged between Caroline and Comte during the times they were apart show mutual affection, but also show tension.

Caroline and Comte separated for a third time on 3 May 1838.

She was given a financial settlement and moved to a new apartment.

The break did not last, and she returned later that month.

Comte was unable to get a full-time teaching appointment, and survived through low-paid jobs like teaching mathematics at a private school and being an external examiner at the École Polytechnique.

In December 1839 Caroline told Blainville she thought Comte was on the verge of another attack like that of 1826.

For the last year he had treated her with coarse reproaches, harsh words and violence out of all proportion to her offenses.

She did not
The marriage was unhappy, often violent, stressed by lack of money and with several separations, but it was during the marriage that Comte wrote his masterwork, the six volume Cours de Philosophie Positive (Course in Positive Philosophy).
The couple had little money and Comte could not find work he liked, but at the end of July they managed to make a visit to Comte's parents in Montpellier. 
Caroline and Comte's parents did not get on.
Comte suspected that Caroline was being unfaithful, possibly with Cerclet and others.
They separated in March 1826, and soon after Comte had a mental breakdown.
Comte took refuge in a hotel in Saint Denis, from where he wrote to Caroline, then disappeared.
She guessed that he had gone to Montmorency, one of his favorite places, and found him there trying to set fire to his room.
With the help of a local doctor she calmed him down.
She returned to Paris to get help from Cerclet, and he was able to find a place at the asylum run by the psychiatrist Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol.
Cerclet, Caroline and Comte's friend the celebrated biologist Henri Blainville managed to move Comte there through a ruse.
Louis Massin, Caroline's father, had showed up just before Comte's breakdown to ask her for money.
She refused, and in revenge he slandered her to Comte's very respectable parents, telling them her infidelities had driven their son mad.
Comte's mother Rosalie came to Paris to help her son.
The family tried to obtain an "interdiction", which would remove Comte's legal rights and place him under the care of his father.
They appeared before a judge on 2 June 1826 and declared to the judge that they were the only people in Paris close to Comte, making no mention of his wife but saying he had a mistress whose depravity was the cause of his madness. 
The interdiction was granted.
When Caroline heard of this she asked Blainville for help and he arranged to have the interdiction cancelled.
Rosalie Comte stayed in Paris for six months, spending much time with Caroline, and began to feel her daughter-in-law had been maligned.
She checked the register of prostitutes and found no trace of her name.
She showed Caroline the letter her father Louis Massin had written, and Caroline was profoundly shocked.
On 2 December Esquirol declared that he could not cure Comte, and returned him to Caroline.
He was forced to submit to a Catholic wedding that Rosalie had arranged.
At first Comte was violent and unpredictable, but Caroline began to nurse him back to sanity.
He was still unstable and depressive.
In March 1827 Comte tried to kill himself by jumping into the Seine from a bridge, but was prevented by a passing royal guard.
After his second attempt at suicide he decided he had been saved so he could undertake his life's work, the description of a positivist philosophy.
Caroline supported him throughout this time.
She acted as Comte's full-time secretary while he was writing his book.
Caroline fell ill with smallpox in late 1832.
Comte was not helpful during her convalescence, and they lived apart from the middle of March to the end of August 1833.
Caroline's mother died on 29 August 1833 and she suffered a strong emotional crise.
Comte did what he could to help her through this period. 
The marriage continued to be strained by lack of money, particularly in 1834.
The letters exchanged between Caroline and Comte during the times they were apart show mutual affection, but also show tension.
Caroline and Comte separated for a third time on 3 May 1838.
She was given a financial settlement and moved to a new apartment. 
The break did not last, and she returned later that month.
Comte was unable to get a full-time teaching appointment, and survived through low-paid jobs like teaching mathematics at a private school and being an external examiner at the École Polytechnique.
In December 1839 Caroline told Blainville she thought Comte was on the verge of another attack like that of 1826.
For the last year he had treated her with coarse reproaches, harsh words and violence out of all proportion to her offenses.
She did not
Caroline Massin