335e. Dorothea Veit to Ludwig Tieck in Dresden: Jena, 17 December 1801 [*]
Jena, 17 December 1801
. . . I have mostly only sullen letters from Friedrich, that is, letters in which he himself is sullen. [1] He has a great many vexing things to attend to, and, even worse, he has not been able to take care of any of them yet because he did not have his suitcase, which was left standing at the postal station in Halle. [2] But he probably has it now, and each postal day I anxiously await word from him concerning what I should do, namely, when I should travel to Dresden. [3]
It is entirely up to Friedrich, my dear friend. I am quite ready to go and yearn so to get away from here, where things are not going well for me at all, especially since Friedrich left. [4] How I wish I were with you already in Dresden! Give my warm regards to Madam Ernst and also ask her pardon should she be getting impatient because of my delay. [5] . . .
Notes
[*] Sources: Briefe an Ludwig Tieck 3:345–47; Dorothea Schlegel und deren Söhne 1:77–80; Wieneke (1914), 347 (frag.); Lohner, 105–7; KFSA 25:316–17.
Tieck had already left Jena for good during the summer of 1801, and now Friedrich and Dorothea were similarly in the process of extracting themselves, another illustration of how short-lived was the Romantic presence in Jena under anything resembling cordial circumstances among its members. Back.
[1] Friedrich had arrived in Berlin with Friedrich Tieck on 2 December 1801, where he remained until 27 January 1802. — Unfortunately, the letters Dorothea mentions here are not extant. Back.
[2] Concerning the suitcase, see Friedrich’s letter to Rahel Levin in early December 1801 (letter 335c), note 3. Back.
[3] Friedrich left Berlin for Dresden on 27 January 1802, where Dorothea joined him in early February (Post Karte Durch ganz Deutschland, ed. J. Walch [Augsburg 1795]):
[4] Concerning Friedrich and Dorothea’s increasing isolation in Jena, see her and Friedrich’s letter to Schleiermacher on 25 September 1801 (letter 329h), note 8.
Quite apart from this isolation in Jena, Dorothea was also having to deal with Friedrich’s creditors; see her letter to the Raman brothers in Erfurt on 19 January 1802 (letter 341b). Back.
[5] Friedrich and Dorothea were to stay with the Ernsts in Dresden. Back.
Translation © 2016 Doug Stott