• 380. Caroline to Luise Wiedemann in Braunschweig: Murrhardt, 19 June 1803 [*]
Murrhard, 19 June [18]03
|365| I was quite happy indeed to receive news from you. Since you wrote, however, contemporary events have advanced so considerably that the French are already your closest neighbors.
So, Hannover was unable to escape its fate after all! [1] I am put considerably at ease by the fact that these guests cannot advance as far as where all of you live, and then also by the fact that everything involving the university has been declared neutral and that at least Mother’s two pensions are secure. [2] . . .
When I departed Jena, [3] I still did not really believe anything would come of the war. I am, by the way, glad these things were not decided beforehand, since we had already resolved to depart even were we to be unable to get to Italy. Although it has still not been resolved whether we will indeed be so fortunate, we are in any event quite comfortable here, |366| and I wish only that I could also have you and the children here with us. [4] How they would be fed and stuffed and fly about with all the outlandish chickens and geese and ducks and chicks! [5]
Before I address other details, I must first speak about Loder. All of you probably know he is going to Halle. [6] Fromman wrote and told us, but he did not say anything about whether anyone already knows who the primary candidate is for Jena. [7] I for my part believe that Goethe will do everything in his power to get Sömmering.
Apart from him, however, I know of no one besides Wiedemann. (Autenrieth is possible, but not probable.) If Wiedemann does indeed receive an offer, you both need to see to it that he accepts it only with exactly the same conditions as Loder insofar as the reputation of the university is declining so precipitately now that one absolutely cannot allow anything to be negotiated away in this regard.
Let me also reveal to you that Schelling will not be returning there and that you thus also cannot count on me, and, moreover, that Jena is now also losing that which, lacking any genuinely public institution of significance over the past 10 to 15 years, has been the only thing bestowing prominence on it, namely, its preeminence in the kingdom of philosophy. [8] Let me tell you furthermore that if the two of you would like to settle in a more southern locale for a longer or shorter period of time, there is another possibility in connection with which Schelling will do everything possible to unite both of you with us.
I am telling you all this as an inviolable secret to ensure that you reflect very carefully concerning Jena and under no circumstances make any rash decisions. For I can well imagine that, given his learning and erudition, Wiedemann would doubtless prefer to be a teacher than a practicing physician and accoucheur. [9]
I truly and sincerely share your joy in the fact that |367| the Hungarian magnate did not step out into the open and that the matter has been settled at least to a certain extent. [10] I cannot guarantee that Podmanitzky was not secretly in Braunschweig; since he departed for there, I have heard nothing about where he is now. Hufeland’s behavior and his extremely long-winded explanations and evasions concerning his wife’s absence and illness — all of which he also profusely poured out in conversation with Schelling — gave us hope that he himself was still hoping to avoid trouble.
Madam Hufeland is going to be in an irksome position in Jena — in the meantime, however, all such impressions are transient, and in Jena particularly the sun changes so often that except for those who never make much of it in any case, things will stay pretty much the same. For the time being, she will perhaps take up with Madam Paulus. The latter brought along her brother as company, who studied in Jena 5 or 6 years ago and with whom Lotte had gotten into a quarrel at the time. [11] He is an acknowledged good-for-nothing and gambler and married the daughter of a barber and piss-prophet from a village here for her money; [12] this extremely coarse, crude person also came along etc. [13]
Here in these parts, the entire Paulus family is publicly scorned. By the way, what I heard about Madam Paulus in Bamberg I would prefer to spare this sheet of paper, [14] and tell you instead about our delightful meeting with Unzeline. [15]
We arrived in Studtgard at midday; [16] the route there is most charming, the entire countryside consists of small hills and delightful scenic views. [17] That evening, Maria Stuart was performed. [18] Vohss performed the role of Mortimer. [19] The theater is quite nice, just as large but not as gloomy and more splendid than your opera house there, otherwise quite similar to the latter as far as its layout is concerned. Although the actors are abominable, [20] Madam Unzelmann |368| performed the role of Maria even more magnificently than when we saw her. [21] We were not able to speak with her before the performance.
During the performance itself, fickle fate arranged things such that I ended up with the only neighbor to whom I could not be completely indifferent: Huber sat in front of me. I did not want to speak to him, for I had actually intended not to see the Hubers at all, specifically because he had become “a man had lost his wit” [22] and I had leveled some bitter truths at him concerning his stupid review of Athenäum that I can never retract. [23] He for his part followed my lead and also did not speak. [24]
The very next morning, Madam Unzelmann immediately spoke to us about the Hubers, praising them highly and admonishing me to see them after all. She did, by the way, already know from Schlegel about our relationship, but maintained that Therese had spoken about me with considerable warmth etc. I told her I was still uncertain, especially because I had already silently declared myself against Huber — she said that I should then at the least try not to be startled if Madam Huber might perhaps enter the room at any moment — though in the meantime we left before she came — a half hour later, however, Therese sent me news through Madam Unzelmann’s manservant that she would be coming over to see me from Madam Unzelmann’s.
This did indeed happen, and not without considerable emotions on both sides. [25] She had made this decision the moment Madam Unzelmann told her that I was uncertain — Huber knew nothing about it, she was intending yet to send him to me herself, but we were about to depart.
And yet our brief meeting did have a calming effect on me. [26] As soon as I come to Studtgard again, I will now visit the Hubers, and we will probably be seeing each other often during my stay in Cannstadt, where I will be using the mineral baths; these springs are located only a short hour from Studtgard itself and are situated in a charming area of the Neckar River, |369| as Wiedemann can attest. [27]
Huber wrote to Schelling, telling him of his desire to see both him and me, and how difficult is was for him that evening not to turn and say to me, “My dear Caroline, we know too much about each other’s pain and joy for it not to be unnatural not to acknowledge each other now.” For during that first glance we really did acknowledge each other. Moreover, Schelling’s presence caused such a preliminary scene in the parterre, and so many people had gathered around him, that the public’s attention was wholly focused on him. Huber did not take his seat until afterward, presumably with the intention of prompting me thereby to acknowledge him.
It is, however, quite impossible for me not to squabble with him insofar as his principles are so bad. I will say more about Therese after I have seen more of her. But she enjoys great respect and standing in Studtgard, living solely “for her children and her hearth,” as Unzeline put it. I am certainly familiar with that myself.
Unzeline is and remains an extremely sensible, petite person. One funny thing is that she made a gift to Schelling (who wears a large, three-cornered hat all the time) of the same, large kind of hat she had just bought in Frankfurt for her role as the “little sailor.” [28] It was one of those one can fold up and thus pack quite well. It also fit him perfectly and has prompted great jubilation, especially here at the prelature, where they could not for the life of them figure out how one hat could fit both the actress and the philosopher. [29] —
Only imagine, next week Madam Unzelmann will be coming back to Studtgard from Munich and will perform Johanne von Orleans! [30] —
The only thing I hear about the Spittlers is that he is not working at all, is acknowledged by no one, and that they are living very quietly indeed.
At the beginning of next week I will be going to Cannstadt if |370| the weather improves. [31] It has been raining incessantly but is nonetheless warm, and here in the country even the worst weather seems more beautiful to me than good weather between houses and city walls.
I do not have time to write more, my dear — and must instead seal this letter. My mother makes me sad. You will probably do better not to mention the journey, [32] especially since it is still uncertain. Please write and tell me what you know about Philipp.
Stay very well; we send our greetings to all of you. [33]
Notes
[*] The last extant letter from Caroline before 8 September 1803, almost three months later.
A month after this present letter was written, however, on 21 July 1803 in Berlin, August von Kotzebue published a satirical caricature “The Most Recent Aesthetics” that seems to include Caroline as well. Caroline nowhere mentions this caricature in her extant letters, letters, nor does any other documentation suggest that she was aware of the publication, though see her remark that a “divine alliance of vileness has now emerged in the world” (including presumably Kotzebue’s periodical Der Freimüthige) in her letter to Julie Gotter on 18 February 1803 (letter 375), with note 17. Back.
[1] Concerning geopolitical developments in northern Germany and in the vicinity of Braunschweig, where Luise lived, see supplementary appendix 379.1. Back.
[2] Madam Michaelis’s widow’s pensions were drawn from funds at the university in Göttingen, where her husband, Johann David Michaelis, had taught until 1791. Göttingen and its university, however, were under Hannoverian jurisdiction and trusteeship, and the French were now in control of Hannover and its territories. Luise, by contrast, lived in the neighboring duchy of Braunschweig (Central Europe 1803 after the Peace of Lunéville 1801 and the Secularisations 1803 [Cambridge 1912]):
[3] On 22 May 1803, four days after England’s declaration of war on France. See Schelling’s letter to Wilhelm Schlegel on 22 April 1803 (letter 377b), note 1. Back.
[4] Luise’s two children were Emma and Minna Wiedemann. Back.
[5] Caroline — charmingly — imitates the Swabian dialect in this sentence. Back.
[6] Concerning Justus Christian Loder’s reasons for leaving Jena for Halle, see H. E. G. Paulus’s discussion concerning problems at the university in Jena and dissatisfaction among faculty members in 1803 (supplementary appendix 377c.1). Back.
[7] That is, the primary candidate to replace Loder. Back.
[8] It may be recalled that Fichte had left Jena in the summer of 1799. Otherwise Caroline’s remark reveals that no one in Jena was supposed to know that Schelling was in fact not planning on returning, regardless of how long he and Caroline may have stayed in Italy. Back.
[9] Fr., “obstetrician”; see the supplementary appendix on the scandal surrounding Auguste’s death concerning the distinction between a (university trained) physician and a surgeon.
In any case, although Caroline is here alluding to the possibility of Wiedemann receiving an appointment in Würzburg, he remained in Braunschweig for the time being but accepted a position in Kiel in 1805, where he spent the rest of his life. Back.
[10] Uncertain allusion; see Caroline’s letter to Luise on 5 June 1803 (letter 379), note 14. Back.
[11] Lotte Wiedemann had visited her sister, Luise Hufeland, in Jena back in 1798; see Caroline’s letter to Luise Gotter on 11 February 1798 (letter 195). Back.
[12] A “barber” at the time was originally a military field surgeon (Wundarzt, Barbier); after military service, barbers often settled in towns and began practicing the profession associated with them later of cutting hair and beards (J. E. Gailer, Neuer Orbis Pictus für die Jugend oder Schauplatz der Natur, der Kunst und des Menschenlebens, 5th ed. [Reutlingen 1842], no. 234):
Neues Hand-Wörterbuch der Englischen Sprache für die Deutschen und der Deutschen Sprache für die Engländer, ed. Johannes Ebers, vol. 1, section 2, K–Z (Halle 1800), s.v. Piss-prophet, “a doctor who assesses his patients’ illnesses according to their urine; ein Urinbeseher.”
University-trained physicians and the educated classes consistently viewed these practitioners as charlatans during the eighteenth century. See also Caroline’s letter to Lotte Michaelis on 28 September 1787 (letter 81) concerning a similar figure, Michel Schuppach; see esp. note 6 there. Back.
[13] Reichlin-Meldegg, 1:381n18, maintains that Karl Paulus found a “rich wife” in Schlechtbach. Schelling related to Goethe on 17 March 1804 (letter 382f) that
Professor Paulus, among others, had the effrontery to demand a professorship in medicine for his brother-in-law; though things did not succeed quite that far, he was accepted and appointed a private lecturer. Back.
[14] Not the first time Caroline has alluded to similarly unmentionable gossip about Karoline Paulus in Bamberg. See her letters to Julie Gotter on 17 October 1802 (letter 372), note 8, and on 2 January 1803 (letter 374); also Caroline to Wilhelm Schlegel on 27 July 1801 (letter 327), note 12. See in general the supplementary appendix on Karoline Paulus’s reputation. See also, in hindsight, Dorothea Schlegel’s letter to Wilhelm Schlegel from Vienna on 16 January 1810 (letter 453a). Back.
[15] Caroline had anticipated seeing Friederike Unzelmann perform in Stuttgart in her letter to Luise on 5 June 1803 (letter 379). Back.
[16] On 10 June 1803. Back.
[17] Stuttgart is located ca. 50 km southwest of Murrhardt (“Wurtemberg,” in William Shepherd, Historical Atlas [1911], 143; image: University of Texas at Austin; Caroline mentions Cannstadt later in the letter, and Schelling was born in Leonberg):
Concerning Caroline’s earlier reaction to the lovely landscape around Murrhardt, see Caroline’s letter to Luise on 5 June 1803 (letter 379). Back.
[18] Schiller’s Maria Stuart. Ein Trauerspiel (Tübingen 1801). The Schwäbischer Merkur (1803) 115 (Friday, 10 June 1803), 563, related under “theater news” that on Friday, 10 June 1803, Maria Stuart, a tragedy in five acts by Schiller, would be performed with Madame Unzelmann from the Royal Prussian National Theater in Berlin performing the role of Maria (see Ludwig Ferdinand Huber’s reaction to Friederike Unzelmann’s performance in Stuttgart), and that on Saturday, 11 June 1803, she would be performing the role of Natalie in August von Kotzebue’s five-act play Die Korsen (Leipzig 1799; trans. as The Corsicans [1799]). Back.
[19] The actor Heinrich Vohs, who had just arrived from Weimar, died soon after, in 1804, in Stuttgart. Back.
[20] Caroline uses the loanword abominabel here. Back.
[21] Caroline, Luise, Wilhelm Schlegel, and Julie Gotter had all seen Friederike Unzelmann perform the role of Maria Stuart in Weimar on 21 September 1801 (Luise Gotter and here daughters Cäcilie and Pauline Gotter also came over from Gotha for several performances). Concerning Friederike Unzelmann’s performance schedule in Weimar, see Caroline’s letter to Wilhelm on 11 May 1801 (letter 315), note 10. Back.
[22] A saucily irreverent and contextually deftly placed evocation of the Wife of Bath’s tale in Chaucher’s Canterbury Tales.
To save from the death penalty for having raped an innocent maiden, the ugly old woman provides the knight with the correct answer to the question concerning what women really want: “My lige lady, generally, quod he, / Wommen desiren have sovereynetee / As wel over hir housebond as hir love, / And for to been in maistrie hym above; / This is youre moost desir, thogh ye me kille.” The promised compensation she demands, however, is that he marry her.
He despairs but has no choice other than death. On their wedding night, in bed, he finds her abhorrent and cannot bring himself to consummate the marriage (text and illustration from The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer now newly imprinted, ed. F.S. Ellis; illustrated Sir Edward Burne-Jones; engraved W.H. Hooper [London 1896]):
So wo was hym, his wyf looked so foule. Greet was the wo the knyght hadde in his thoght, When he was with his wyf abedde ybroght. He walweth, and he turneth to and fro; His olde wyf lay smylynge everemo, And seyde, O deere housbonde, benedicitee! Fareth every knyght thus with his wyf as ye? Is this the lawe of kyng Arthures hous? Is every knyght of his so dangerous? I am youre owene love, and eck youre wyf; I am she which that saved hath youre lyf, And certes, yet dide I yow nevere unright. Why fare ye thus with me this firste nyght? Ye faren lyk a man had lost his wit; What is my gilt? For Goddes love tel it, And it shal been amended, if I may. Back.
[23] See Caroline’s letter to Huber on 24 November 1799 (letter 257). Back.
[24] Therese Huber mentions this awkward encounter in her letter to her daughter Therese Forster on 17–25 July 1803 (letter 380b). Back.
[25] Caroline and Therese had not seen each other since Therese (who at the time was still married to Georg Forster) left Mainz on 7 December 1792 (Genealogische Kalender auf das Jahr 1810; Inhaltsverzeichnis deutscher Almanache, Theodor Springmann Stiftung):
This meeting, as Therese Huber later relates in her letter draft to Schelling’s parents in November 1803 (letter 381d), took place in the genteel Stuttgart inn Der König von England, here in an illustration from 1890 (Max Bach and Carl Lotter, Bilder aus Alt-Stuttgart [Stuttgart 1896], 104):
The hotel was located on the esplanade (today: Schiller Square) behind the Stiftskirche, across from the Old Castle, a short distance from the Residence Palace, and a convenient walk to the theater (Christian Friedrich Roth and Gottlieb Friedrich Abel, Grund Riss der Herzoglich Wirtembergischen Haupt und Ersten Residenz Stadt Stuttgardt [1794]):
Bach and Lotter describe the inn as follows (ibid., 103) (1905 photograph from Gustav Wais, Alt-Stuttgarts Bauten im Bild [Stuttgart 1951], 578):
Let us turn now to that particular inn that until the appearance of the Hotel Marquardt was the most distinguished and elegant in Stuttgart, namely, the König von England. It was what people today refer to as a first-class hotel, and, as a guide to Stuttgart’s attractions puts it in 1814, was arranged and furnished for visitors of status and affluence; that is, one had to be affluent to take a room in this hotel. . . .
The handsomely situated edifice, on the square in the immediate vicinity of both royal castles [and quite near the theater], the magnificent wines and excellent menu, the superbly appointed rooms and elite society made this hotel at the end of the previous and the first three decades of this present [19th] century into a gathering place of intellectually distinguished men and of the high aristocracy.
During 1800 and 1801, the French general St. Suzanne, whose headquarters were in Stuttgart, resided in this famous inn along with a considerable retinue; these gentlemen occupied the most handsome rooms, ordered the finest items on the menu, and, of course, drank only the very best wines, so much so that during their extended stay the bill ended up being not inconsiderable. Before they withdrew, and the owner presented the general with this bill, the latter stood up with a weighty air and said, “A French general, never pays.” And indeed, the bill was never paid.
General Moreau and his spouse resided in the König von England in the year 1801. It was fortunate for Schwaderer [the owner] that the period of French bellicosity had passed and that better times had come. Quite distinguished visitors took their accommodations at the hotel to the extent they did not reside in the castle itself, as well as other travelers, scholars, and artists. . . .
In 1819 the writer Jean Paul resided here, and in that same year Thorvaldsen also stayed here for a lengthier period on his journey from Rome to Copenhagen . . . Local artists frequented the coffee house in the ensemble of larger rooms on the ground floor. Back.
[26] After Friederike Unzelmann had told Therese Huber that Caroline “was yearning to see you,” Therese’s “considerable warmth” came to expression just a month later in an excoriating letter on 17–25 July 1803 (letter 380b) to her thirteen-year-old daughter, Therese, in her assertion that Caroline was “now absolutely a bluestocking, a sectarian,” utterly lacking any conscience, and that Schelling, who after sleeping with Caroline in Jena and finally moving in with her, had become insufferably arrogant.
After Caroline’s death, a copy, in the hand of Meta Liebeskind, of the epitaph Schelling had composed for Caroline’s obelisk in Maulbronn was found in Therese’s literary estate; Therese’s final judgment on 14 November 1809 in a letter to Johann Gotthard Reinhold (1771–1838), however, was as follows (Ludwig Geiger, Dichter und Frauen. Abhandlungen und Mitteilungen. Neue Sammlung [Berlin 1899], 109–10):
A certain woman recently died — compared to whom poor Madam Bürger [about whom Therese had just gone on at length] is a vestal virgin — though the latter at least maintained the appearance of a woman of status and was an impressive person even up to her death. I am referring to Schelling’s wife, who died a few months ago. One of the most peculiar of creatures — in the way of sensuousness, deceitfulness, and understanding — she had so much intelligence that I thought surely she would eventually turn out good — and indeed, I hear that during the last year of her life that was in fact the case.
Therese Huber’s status in Stuttgart and her relationship in general with Caroline had been an occasional topic of discussion in Stuttgart. Caroline von Wolzogen had written from Stuttgart to Charlotte Schiller back on 28 October 1802 (Charlotte von Schiller und ihre Freunde 2:88:
The opera here is quite good. — Johanna [Schiller’s Die Jungfrau von Orleans. Eine romantische Tragödie (Berlin 1801)] will be performed soon amid great pomp. — I recently saw the Hubers quite by chance in an art gallery; they were terribly embarrassed seeing me, and I am quite sure now that he is the one who wrote the sottises [Fr., “foolishness, nonsense”] against me in the [periodical] Genius der Zeit, otherwise I would have no idea what concern I could be to them. He is allegedly totally henpecked; she is horrifically courteous and in appearance resembles the genre of Madam Schlegel. —
The Hubers did, however, want to get together with me at the Uexkülls [a family in Stuttgart]; I am curious to see more of them. He did not inquire about Schiller. He probably wanted to reestablish closer contact with Schiller with the essay in the Almanach; they will soon be having to write their fingers to the bone just to make a living.
Gossip concerning Caroline and Therese and concerning Caroline and Schelling’s relationship in Jena continued. Henriette von Hoven wrote to Charlotte von Schiller from Ludwigsburg earlier on 14 February 1803 (Charlotte von Schiller und ihre Freunde 3:269):
Ludwigsburg, 14 February 1803
I have not seen Madam Huber since I last wrote you. Your sister can relate to you how she behaved toward me in general and especially during her last visit; that visit, if I can in any way avoid another, will also be her last.
She is an intelligent woman, she possesses considerable learning and is able to talk about things that I do not understand. As a result, however, she also allows herself many liberties that I and many others who have far less education certainly would never allow ourselves.
She has utterly fallen out with Caroline Schlegel; the description she gives does not in the least recommend the latter. I will probably be seeing this lady during the spring. Schelling intends on taking her to his parents, and the latter, relatives and valued friends of ours, have announced their son for a visit to us, during which she will probably come along as well. Considering what Frau von Wolzogen has told me about this lady and what you yourself have written, I must say I am not a little uneasy at the prospect of meeting her.
Madam von Hoven writes again on Saturday, 2 July 1803, i.e., just after Caroline writes this present letter (cited in Erich Schmidt, [1913], 2:643):
I learned last week from one of Schelling’s uncles that Schelling introduced Madam Schlegel to his parents as his fiancée. The marriage has no doubt taken place by now [it had, earlier that week, on Sunday, 26 June 1803]. His parents were allegedly not at all happy about all this and tried to dissuade him. I would, I confess, like to see this woman just out of curiosity, but at the same time I am a bit fearful of her. Schelling will almost certainly bring her here, and he himself has let us know that he plans to visit. I already know beforehand that she will not feel comfortable here at all. Back.
[27] Here Cannstatt ca. 1847 (Gustav Schwab, Romantische Wanderung durch die Sächsische Schweiz, Das malerische und romantische Deutschland: In zehn Sektionen, 1 Schwaben [Leipzig 1847], plate following p. 8)
Luise’s husband, Christian Rudolf Wilhelm Wiedemann, had traveled through Stuttgart either on his way to or back from (or both) France in 1801. Back.
[28] Concerning the play Der kleine Matrose, see Caroline’s letter to Wilhelm Schlegel on 22 June 1801 (letter 322), notes 29 and 30. Back.
[29] The three-cornered sailor’s hat about which Caroline speaks is the familiar tricorne, here illustrated in the portrait “Captain Teach, alias Black-beard” (The History and lives of all the most notorious pirates, and their crews [London 1725], 29; Library of Congress, reproduction number LC-USZ62-61886):
Here a similar hat from 1789 (Goettinger Taschen Calender vom Jahr 1789):
As related by a correspondent in the Zeitung für die elegante Welt (1803) 63 (Thursday, 26 May 1803), 501–02 (the account is dated 20 May 1803), Friederike Unzelmann (“a magnificent meteor”) had arrived in Frankfurt and given her first performance on 27 April in the same role she would perform first in Stuttgart, namely, as Countess Orsina in Lessing’s Emilia Galotti, as which she “immediately showed herself to be an ideal full of unsurpassable nature” ( Marinelli und Gräfin Orsina aus Lessings Emilia Galotti [1785]; Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum; Museums./Signatur Z WB IX 39):
She then gave ten more guest performances in Frankfurt, including as Louise in Schiller’s Kabale und Liebe and as Maria Stuart, as the protagonist in Johanne von Montfaucon, as the little sailor in the play by the same name (Der kleine Matrose), and as Nina, in which her singing “surpassed all expectations.” Indeed (illustration of Friederike Unzelmann as Nina from “Ueber die Oper: Nina, oder Wahnsinn aus Liebe,” Berlin: eine Zeitschrift für Freunde der schönen Künste, des Geschmacks und der Moden 3 (1799), 277–92):
Praising her yet again as Nina, as whom she was recently praised in the periodical Europa (1803, no. 1) as surpassing Dugazon and all the other Parisian artists in this role, would merely be to repeat oneself. She is unsurpassable in this role.
As a matter of fact, the review in the periodical Europa, edited by Friedrich Schlegel, was composed by Dorothea Veit. For several accounts of Friederike Unzelmann’s performance of the role of Nina, see the supplementary appendix on her life and career. Back.
[30] It seems Caroline is mistaken. The Schwäbischer Merkur (1803) 125 (Friday, 24 June 1803) with its accompanying Schwäbische Chronik (1803) (Friday, 24 June 1803), 310, relates under “theater news” that on Monday, 27 June 1803, Johanne von Montfaucon (rather than Schiller’s Jungfrau von Orleans) would be performed with Madame Unzelmann as Johanne. Concerning her performance in this play by Kotzebue, see Wilhelm Schlegel’s letter to Friederike Unzelmann on 7 September 1801 (letter 328g), esp. note 7.
Concerning Friederike Unzelmann’s performances in Stuttgart, see supplementary appendix 380.2. Back.
[31] Caroline is writing on Sunday, 19 June 1803. The following Sunday and Monday would be 26, 27 June. On Monday, 11 July 1803 (letter 380a), i.e., two weeks to the day after 27 June, Schelling will write to Hegel “I have been here two weeks now,” adding in the same letter, “discounting the initial weeks, the weather has since proven to be unfailingly pleasant.” Back.
[32] To Italy. Back.
[33] Two days later, on 21 June 1803, Christian Friedrich Schnurrer writes to H. E. G. Paulus from Tübingen (Schelling im Spiegel seiner Zeitgenossen. Ergänzungsband. Melchior Meyr über Schelling, ed. Xavier Tilliette [Torino 1981], 43):
Professor Schelling wrote me from Murrhard and confirmed my hopes of seeing him in Tübingen. He writes that he is now utterly unsure about his journey through Switzerland to Italy, to wit, that he may well be prevented from doing so by the war.
I was dimwitted enough to ask his brother, the seminarian here, whether Madame Schlegel would now become his sister-in-law, or perhaps already was such. I already knew that she had come along on the journey. The dear couple is presently in Cantstadt [incorrect; they would not leave for Cannstatt for another week] to take the waters there.
It goes without saying that I have read the Species facti of Herr Hofrath Schütz. It must have delivered painful stings to those against whom it is directed. Back.
Translation © 2017 Doug Stott