BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM AND CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE Recently The New Yorker published an unsubstantiated proclamation from Dr. Sanjay Gulati of Waltham, Massachusetts that Henry David Thoreau had been sexist (Dr. Gulati neglected to mention what his proof text is). This causes me to recollect that it had been a favorite assertion of Professor Emeritus Wendell Glick, that Thoreau was an unreconstructed male chauvinist: “Every man has a wife like that” had been Professor Glick’s proof text. Well! How is it that Henry, this “sexist,” this so-called “unreconstructed male chauvinist,” had in his personal library one of the earliest classics of feminist literature, CORRESPONDENCE OF FRÄULEIN GÜNDERODE WITH BETTINA VON ARNIM? What a strange item for a sexist to find of value! HDT WHAT? INDEX CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM 1780 February 11, Friday: Caroline von Günderode was born in Karlsruhe, Germany. A British expedition landed on Seabrook Island near Charleston, South Carolina, as part of laying siege to that port community. NEVER READ AHEAD! TO APPRECIATE FEBRUARY 11TH, 1780 AT ALL ONE MUST APPRECIATE IT AS A TODAY (THE FOLLOWING DAY, TOMORROW, IS BUT A PORTION OF THE UNREALIZED FUTURE AND IFFY AT BEST). Caroline von Günderode “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE 1785 April 4, Monday: Elisabeth “Bettine” Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano was born in Frankfurt, Germany (in her mature instar she would be known as the Countess of Arnim, Bettina Brentano von Arnim). “HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE” BEING A VIEW FROM A PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME (JUST AS THE PERSPECTIVE IN A PAINTING IS A VIEW FROM A PARTICULAR POINT IN SPACE), TO “LOOK AT THE COURSE OF HISTORY MORE GENERALLY” WOULD BE TO SACRIFICE PERSPECTIVE ALTOGETHER. THIS IS FANTASY-LAND, YOU’RE FOOLING YOURSELF. THERE CANNOT BE ANY SUCH THINGIE, AS SUCH A PERSPECTIVE. Bettina Brentano von Arnim “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM 1797 Caroline von Günderode took lodgings at a residence in Frankfurt that specialized in respectable noblewomen who had fallen into reduced circumstances. HDT WHAT? INDEX BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE 1804 August: Caroline von Günderode had fallen passionately in love with a law student, Friedrich Karl von Savigny, who, it seems, had the usual preference for non-brainy women. He decided to marry Kunigunde, Caroline’s sister. At this juncture she met Friedrich Creuzer, a man married to an older woman. When his wife eventually agreed to a divorce Creuzer proceeded to get cold feet, and demanded of Caroline that she entirely discontinue her involvement in the works of Schelling. YOUR GARDEN-VARIETY ACADEMIC HISTORIAN INVITES YOU TO CLIMB ABOARD A HOVERING TIME MACHINE TO SKIM IN METATIME BACK ACROSS THE GEOLOGY OF OUR PAST TIMESLICES, WHILE OFFERING UP A GARDEN VARIETY OF COGENT ASSESSMENTS OF OUR PROGRESSION. WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP! YOU SHOULD REFUSE THIS HELICOPTERISH OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORICAL PAST, FOR IN THE REAL WORLD THINGS HAPPEN ONLY AS THEY HAPPEN. WHAT THIS SORT WRITES AMOUNTS, LIKE MERE “SCIENCE FICTION,” MERELY TO “HISTORY FICTION”: IT’SNOT WORTH YOUR ATTENTION. Caroline von Günderode “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM 1806 At the age of about 21, Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano began to help collect the folk songs that would appear in DES KNABEN WUNDERHORN, a collaborative work of her poet brother and her future husband, Ludwig Achim von Arnim. She began an intimate correspondence with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was 58. BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM THE TASK OF THE HISTORIAN IS TO CREATE HINDSIGHT WHILE INTERCEPTING ANY ILLUSION OF FORESIGHT. NOTHING A HUMAN CAN SEE CAN EVER BE SEEN AS IF THROUGH THE EYE OF GOD. July 26, Saturday: Caroline von Günderode had of course resisted the idea that in order to be married to Friedrich Creuzer, she would need to pledge to discontinue her reading in the works of Schelling. At Winkel im Rheingau, Germany, therefore, she received his “Dear John” letter. She strolled to the banks of the Rhine and did herself in with a dagger. Bettina Brentano von Arnim “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE 1808 Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano began to study voice, composition, and piano in München under Peter von Winter and Sebastian Bopp. She would publish her 1st song under the pseudonym Beans Beor. She would sing briefly in the Berliner Singakademie. BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM “NARRATIVE HISTORY” AMOUNTS TO FABULATION, THE REAL STUFF BEING MERE CHRONOLOGY Bettina Brentano von Arnim “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM 1811 March 11, Monday: Captain Paul Cuffe’s 69-ton Traveller arrived at Freeport, Sierra Leone. He would trade his goods, visit the British governor, meet native leaders, and make himself familiar with the situation in that British colony. He would establish there a “Friendly Society” of traders who dealt only in trade goods, and not at all in human beings. Near Nottingham, England, a group of workers began a wild protest against the new textile machinery (knitting frames) that was impacting their jobs. They would be termed Luddites or “Ludds” (reputedly after a Ned Ludd). By the following year Luddites would be active in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, and Leicestershire. Although the Luddites avoided violent acts against persons, government crackdowns would include mass shootings, hangings, and deportations. It would require 14,000 British soldiers to quell the rebellion. The movement would effectively die in 1813 except for a brief resurgence at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1816. The Spanish defenders of Badajoz surrendered the city to the French. Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano got married with Ludwig Achim von Arnim. The couple would produce 7 children. BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM Friend Stephen Wanton Gould wrote in his journal: 2nd day 11 of 3 Mo // My H has been engaged in assisting brother David in removing from his house (which he has sold) to one owned by John Williams in Thames Street - I have been occupied as usual— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS HISTORY’S NOT MADE OF WOULD. WHEN SOMEONE REVEALS THAT A PAIR OF NEWLYWEDS WAS TO PRODUCE 7 CHILDREN, S/HE DISCLOSES THAT WHAT IS BEING CRAFTED IS NOT REALITY BUT PREDESTINARIANISM (THE RULE OF REALITY IS THAT ANY NUMBER OF UNCONCEIVED CHILDREN AREN’T KNOWN ABOUT YET). Bettina Brentano von Arnim “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE 1831 January 21, Friday: Giacomo Meyerbeer was appointed a member of the Commission d’Enseignement du Conservatoire de Paris. Ludwig Achim von Arnim died of a stroke in Niederer Fläming, Germany. The widowed Bettina Brentano von Arnim would need to decide whether to continue in her active public life. NOBODY COULD GUESS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT Bettina Brentano von Arnim “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM 1835 Bettina Brentano von Arnim’s BRIEFWECHSEL MIT EINEM KINDE (CORRESPONDENCE WITH A CHILD). “MAGISTERIAL HISTORY” IS FANTASIZING: HISTORY IS CHRONOLOGY Bettina Brentano von Arnim “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE 1840 Bettina Brentano von Arnim’s DIE GÜNDERODE. GÜNDERODE LIFE IS LIVED FORWARD BUT UNDERSTOOD BACKWARD? — NO, THAT’S GIVING TOO MUCH TO THE HISTORIAN’S STORIES. LIFE ISN’T TO BE UNDERSTOOD EITHER FORWARD OR BACKWARD. Caroline von Günderode “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM 1842 The initial portion of Margaret Fuller’s translation of CORRESPONDENCE OF FRÄULEIN GÜNDERODE WITH BETTINA VON ARNIM was published in Boston by E.P. Peabody. A copy of this would find its way into Henry Thoreau’s personal library. GÜNDERODE Although the planned following 3 volumes of Fuller’s translation of the fictitious correspondence between Bettina Brentano von Arnim and Caroline von Günderode would not materialize, the project would eventually HDT WHAT? INDEX BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE be completed by Mrs. M. Wesselhoeft and would appear anonymously in Boston in 1861. THE FUTURE IS MOST READILY PREDICTED IN RETROSPECT Caroline von Günderode “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM 1843 Bettina Brentano von Arnim’s DIES BUCH GEHÖRT DEM KÖNIG. THE FUTURE CAN BE EASILY PREDICTED IN RETROSPECT Bettina Brentano von Arnim “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE 1844 Bettina Brentano von Arnim’s CLEMENS BRENTANOS FRÜHLINGSKRANZ. CHANGE IS ETERNITY, STASIS A FIGMENT Bettina Brentano von Arnim “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM 1847 A German settlement in Texas near where Elm Creek flows into the Llano River was named “Bettina” in honor of Bettina Brentano von Arnim (obviously they didn’t expect that the settlement would need to be disbanded in the following year). WHAT I’M WRITING IS TRUE BUT NEVER MIND YOU CAN ALWAYS LIE TO YOURSELF Bettina, Texas “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE 1848 The settlement at Bettina in Texas was dispersed. DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION? GOOD. Bettina Brentano von Arnim “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project HDT WHAT? INDEX CAROLINE VON GÜNDERODE BETTINA BRENTANO VON ARNIM 1849 Bettina Brentano von Arnim’s AN DIE AUFGELÖSTE PREUßISCHE NATIONALVERSAMMLUNG.