(1785-1859)
No picture of German life at the beginning of this century would be
complete which did not include the distinguished women who left their
mark upon the time. Among these Bettina von Arnim stands easily
foremost. There was something triumphant in her nature, which in her
youth manifested itself in her splendid enthusiasm for the two great
geniuses who dominated her life,--Goethe and Beethoven,--and which, in
the lean years when Germany was overclouded, maintained itself by an
inexhaustible optimism. Her merry willfulness and wit covered a warm
heart and a vigorous mind; and both of her great idols understood her
and took her seriously.
[Illustration: ELISABETH BRENTANO]
Elisabeth Brentano was the daughter of Goethe's friend, Maximiliane de
la Roche. She was born at Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1785, and was brought
up after the death of her mother under the somewhat peculiar influence
of the highly-strung Caroline von Günderode. Through her filial intimacy
with Goethe's mother, she came to know the poet; and out of their
friendship grew the correspondence which formed the basis of Bettina's
famous book, 'Goethe's Briefwechsel mit einem Kinde' (Goethe's
Correspondence with a Child). She attached herself with unbounded
enthusiasm to Goethe, and he responded with affectionate tact. To him
Bettina was the embodiment of the loving grace and willfulness
of 'Mignon.'
In 1811 these relations were interrupted, owing to Bettina's attitude
toward Goethe's wife. In the same year she married Achim von Arnim, one
of the most refined poets and noblest characters of that brilliant
circle. The marriage was an ideal one; each cherished and delighted in
the genius of the other, but in 1831 the death of Von Arnim brought this
happiness to an end. Goethe died in the following year, and Germany went
into mourning. Then in 1835 Bettina appeared before the world for the
first time as an authoress, in 'Goethe's Correspondence with a Child.'
The dithyrambic exaltation, the unrestrained but beautiful enthusiasm of
the book came like an electric shock. Into an atmosphere of spiritual
stagnation, these letters brought a fresh access of vitality and hope.
Bettina's old friendly relations with Goethe had been resumed later in
life, and in a letter written to her niece she gives a charming account
of the visit to the poet in 1824, which proved to be her last. This
letter first saw the light in 1896, and an extract from it has been
included below.
The inspiration which went out from Bettina's magnetic nature was
profound. She had her part in every great movement of her time, from the
liberation of Greece to the fight with cholera in Berlin. During the
latter, her devotion to the cause of the suffering poor in Berlin opened
her eyes to the miseries of the common people; and she wrote a work full
of indignant fervor, 'Dies Buch gehört dem König' (This Book belongs to
the King), in consequence of which her welcome at the court of Frederick
William IV. grew cool. A subsequent book, written in a similar vein, was
suppressed. But Bettina's love of the people, as of every cause in which
she was interested, was genuine and not to be quenched; she acted upon
the maxim once expressed by Emerson, "Every brave heart must treat
society as a child, and never allow it to dictate." Emerson greatly
admired Bettina, and Louisa M. Alcott relates that she first made
acquaintance with the famous 'Correspondence' when in her girlhood she
was left to browse in Emerson's library. Bettina's influence was most
keenly felt by the young, and she had the youth of Germany at her feet.
She died in 1859.
There is in Weimar a picture in which are represented the literary men
of the period, grouped as in Raphael's School of Athens, with Goethe and
Schiller occupying the centre. Upon the broad steps which lead to the
elevation where they are standing, is the girlish figure of Bettina
bending forward and holding a laurel wreath in her hand. This is the
position which she occupies in the history of German literature.
* * * * *