248a. Marie Johanne Fichte to Fichte in Berlin: Jena, 16 October 1799 [*]
Jena, 16 October 1799
Jena is terribly desolate just now compared to otherwise. But people here are saying that a love affair has developed between Madam Schlegel and Schelling. [1] After Madam Veit’s arrival, I spent half a day over there and did indeed observe how Madam Schlegel engages every possible avance toward Schelling, and that they are intimate in an inappropriate way. [2] I was told that Schelling servilely worships Madam Schlegel, which made me quite sorry for Schelling’s sake, but I did not find that to be the case. [3]
But I would like to ask Madam Schlegel just what the point of it all is. She started this bit of amusement out of vanity and her old habit of coquetting, and now she genuinely does seem to be in love. On several occasions her husband, as is quite natural, did pull some faces that showed he was not that pleased with the amusement. I simply cannot comprehend how people can be happy on such ill-chosen paths, since their conscience must reproach them at some time or other despite all their sophistry. [4]
Notes
[*] Sources: Xavier Tilliette, ed., Schelling im Spiegel seiner Zeitgenossen: Ergänzungsband (Torino 1981), 21–22; Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Gesamtausgabe, III/4:110. Johanne Fichte’s punctuation has been smoothed over here for the sake of clarity. — Fichte had been in Berlin since early July. Back.
[1] Jena was a small university town at the time, small enough, certainly, for there to be few secrets indeed especially among faculty families. Caroline and Schelling, though cautious enough as seen in coming letters, seem nonetheless not to have been overly bothered by the open secret of their relationship (illustration of a gentleman caller and his lady friend: Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, Gnädige Herren, schöne Frauen [1777]; Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum; Museums./Signatur DChodowiecki AB 3.212):
See esp. Anselm Feuerbach’s letter to his father on 18 January 1802. Back.
[2] Dorothea Veit arrived in Jena on 6 October 1799.
Johanne Fichte visited Caroline on Saturday, 12 October 1799; Caroline mentions the visit in her letter to Auguste on 14 October 1799 (letter 248) (Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, [1] Herr Less gibt Sophien einen Kuss [1777–80]; Herzog August Bibliothek; Museums./Signatur Uh 4° 47 [143]; [2] Lieber grausamer Freund! hast du deine Caroline so verlassen können! [1786]; Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum; Museums./Signatur Museumsnr. DChodowiecki AB 3.710; [3] Heyrath durch Zuneigung [1788], Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Museumsnr./SignaturDChodowiecki AB 3.765):
[3] Illustration from Goethe’s Works, vol. 4, trans. G. Barrie (New York 1885), 300:
[4] Johanne adds in a letter to Fichte on 21 October (Tilliette, Schelling im Spiegel seienr Zeitgenossen: Ergänzungsband, 22) that “good Doctor Brayer is living quite alone now that Schelling is always over at the Schlegels.” Back.
Translation © 2013 Doug Stott