The Correspondence of Charlotte Schiller and Henry Heron
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Intelligent Weiblichkeit: The Correspondence of Charlotte Schiller and Henry Heron by Laura Isakov A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctorate Studies (Germanic Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2016 © Laura Isakov, 2016 Abstract This thesis is dedicated to Charlotte Schiller's (neé von Lengefeld, 1766-1826) early correspondence, exchanged with a certain Henry Heron about whom as to present not much has been known. Preliminary archival research was necessary to establish the material basis of this thesis, i.e. dealing with concepts of scholarly editing, or "Editionswissenschaft" (cf. Appendix A), providing first-time full transcriptions of the manuscripts in the holdings of the Goethe- und Schiller-Archive Weimar (cf. Appendix B), as well as tracing back records to gain intelligence of Henry Heron's identity (cf. Appendix C). In the first part, my theoretical approach to Charlotte Schiller and Henry Heron's correspondence, builds on scholarship on gender issues in epistolary culture as provided by Simon Richter, Linda Grasso, Anita Runge, Susanne Kord et al. In my second part, I propose a first-time analysis of Charlotte Schiller's Wallberg, a novel only recently published based on the Weimar manuscript holdings. My interpretation will be focused on the use of letters and documents as literary devices, as well as the intertextual allusions to her earlier aquaintance with Henry Heron regarding motifs of migration from Europe to America within the context of the War of Independence. By revealing the juxtapositions of real-life events and literary imagination in the genres of correspondence and novel, I hope to to shed new light onto Charlotte Schiller's literary strategies, and the role and status of women writers in Weimar, Germany, during the period from 1780-1810, at large. ii Preface This thesis is an original, unpublished, independent work by the author, Laura Isakov. iii Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………… ii Preface …………………….………………………………………………………….…iii Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………….... iv List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………… v Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………. vi Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………... vii I Introduction ……………………………………………………………………….....1 II Historical Persons: Charlotte Schiller and Henry Heron………………………..13 A. Charlotte Schiller..............................................................................................15 B. Henry Heron......................................................................................................19 III The Correspondence................................................................................................24 A. Archival Preservation and Collections..............................................................24 B. Literary Aesthetic..............................................................................................26 a. The Translation Project Document........................................................28 b. Humor....................................................................................................39 c. Social Construction................................................................................42 d. Aesthetic and Text ................................................................................45 C. Meaningful Relationship...................................................................................48 IV Wallberg.....................................................................................................................51 A. Weiblichkeit in Wallberg...................................................................................58 B. Possible Allusions to Henry Heron in Wallberg...............................................63 VI Conclusion...................................................................................................................66 Bibliography.....................................................................................................................68 Appendices Appendix A. On Editorial Studies.........................................................................73 Appendix B. Transcribed Correspondence............................................................79 Appendix C. Who was Henry Heron...................................................................103 iv List of Tables Table I Survey of Henry Heron as Mentioned in Published Resource Material..104 Table II Summary of Henry Heron's Military Service Record..............................116 v Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge the many people who made completion of this thesis possible. First and foremost, I would like to gratefully acknowledge my thesis supervisor, Gaby Pailer, who provided immeasurable support, training, guidance, and encouragement, the opportunities for archival work and collaboration with related projects. I am grateful to her for the motivation and confidence required to complete this task. Moreover, I would especially like to acknowledge the value of her transcriptions of the correspondence as a basis for my efforts. I would like to express my gratitude to Bernhard Fischer, Director of the Klassik-Stiftung Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv in Weimar, Germany for permitting the use of his in- progress transcription of Karl Ludwig von Knebel's letters to Charlotte Schiller. The efforts of Sabine Fischer from the Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach regarding the images of Henry Heron are much appreciated. I am grateful to Ilinca Iurascu and Katia Bowers, for being members of my thesis committee, and for their support and constructive feedback. Their empathy and encouragement throughout my program have been much appreciated. In addition, I would like to thank the entirety of the Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies department at UBC for their instruction, understanding, and support throughout my program. vi Dedication To my mother and grandmother, who, in teaching me to read, opened my eyes to a world of possibility and wonder. To Aleksander and Irina for their support. To my husband and children, whose immeasurable patience and understanding regarding the loss of the kitchen table and my time made this possible. In loving memory of my father. vii I. Introduction "Let all your actions be regulated by that regard to the dignity of the female Character which springs not from any superiority of Birth or Station, not from personal pride or acquired accomplishments but from a conscious rectitude of Conduct - For this advice forgive the presumption of a person who tho but a new Acquaintance, would fain hope not be consider'd as a common one" - Henry Heron1 This definition of Weiblichkeit is written into the Stammbuch of Charlotte von Lengefeld (later Charlotte Schiller), dated in Weimar, July 20, 1787, and undersigned by Henry Heron, a personage whose identity has been laying in the dark up until now. It accompanies an excerpt of Thomas Otway's poem "Venice Preserved"2. The common assumption in biographical depictions of Charlotte Schiller is that this visiting Scottish naval officer had been in Weimar already a year and was well accepted among her circle of friends3 in Weimar. Within their correspondence, as preserved in the holdings of the Goethe- and Schiller-archive in Weimar, there is a thread of frank debate regarding the nature of Weiblichkeit and concepts of gender. This correspondence extends into a collaboration of the minds in a translation project that demonstrates each individual's thoughts and a 1 Henry Heron to Charlotte (von Lengefeld) Schiller. Stammbuch entry, Weimar, July 20, 2 Ibid; See Appendix B. 3 Note that for this thesis I refer to Charlotte Schiller geb. von Lengefeld as Charlotte Schiller or simply Schiller as she is the person of interest; reference to Friedrich Schiller shall involve both of his names. Noting that at the time of her correspondence with Heron her unmarried name was Charlotte von Lengefeld, and later in life, after the ennoblement of her husband, she was officially Charlotte von Schiller, "Charlotte Schiller" serves best as the assumed publishing name as chosen for the recent edition of her literary works by Gaby Pailer. 1 fellowship of equals. That Weiblichkeit is so openly discussed in a male-female correspondence within the "weiblich" medium of the letter and epistolary culture is significant. This correspondence supports Simon Richter's theory of Weimar Heteroclassicism4 that is based on the correspondence of like-minded individuals, as Schiller's Weiblichkeit is expressed through "a determined, non-renouncing, triumphant feminine agency."5 As my research demonstrates, Schiller's correspondence successfully persuades Heron to renounce his previous opinion on the fairer sex. My analysis of the Schiller-Heron correspondence goes beyond Richter's theory to argue that an understanding of Weimar culture during this period is dependent upon an understanding of the strong expressions of Weiblichkeit within its intellectual circle. Schiller's later (unpublished) epistolary novel, Wallberg6, explores different expressions of Weiblichkeit and character interactions with epistolary culture. Linda M. Grasso's theory7 suggesting that correspondence can be analyzed as literature is further exemplified by the Schiller- Heron correspondence. Remarkably, Charlotte Schiller's later novel Walllberg demonstrates that this theory is bi-directional, including fictionally