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DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE i I H F—T_ e l Ed I |L__|L_L_' : - : flfir‘ ll MSU to An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution CMMMMI 1 LOOKING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL IMAGES OF WOMEN IN THERESE HUBER'S SHORT PROSE NARRATIVES BY Vibha Bakshi Gokhale A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Linguistics and German, Slavic, Asian and African Languages 1992 A a L . ./l ’ (I) (A) ABSTRACT LOOKING BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL IMAGES OF WOMEN IN THERESE HUBER'S SHORT PROSE NARRATIVES BY Vibha Bakshi Gokhale Therese Huber was a prolific German writer who wrote during the last quarter of the eighteenth- and first quarter of the nineteenth century. Her short prose narratives depict women in the traditional roles of wives, housewives and mothers. In my dissertation, I focus on the seemingly conservative portrayal of women in Huber's short prose narratives in order to see how Therese Huber, writing in the male-dominated literary market of late eighteenth century Germany, allows her women characters to deviate from the socially prescribed path. In the first chapter I provide an introduction to Therese Huber and her literary achievements. In the second chapter, I trace the development of the institution of the family from the "whole house". I argue that the sentimental bourgeois family restricted women emotionally, more than before, to their domestic roles. The third chapter presents the contemporary feminist research which has provided insight into understanding women's writings. This research has made visible that the apparent conservatism of women's writing is a consequence of social and ideological restrictions upon their writings. The last chapter is comprised of an analysis of five short prose narratives by Therese Huber. The analysis of Huber's narratives shows that although the women characters do not chart new territories by defying social norms, they, nevertheless, manipulate power within their domestic settings. It is the depiction of this quiet and unassuming power of women characters in Huber's narratives which makes them noteworthy. To my parents TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction. ............................................ 1 CHAPTER I Introduction to Therese Heyne-Forster- Huber and her Short Prose Narratives...... ........... ....12 1. Therese Heyne-Forster-Huber's Biography.............12 2. Introduction to Therese Huber's Short Prose Narratives.......... ....... ........ ..... ... ....... ..18 3. Secondary Literature on Therese Huber...............20 CHAPTER II The Institution of Family and Therese Huber's Short Prose Narratives...... ........... ..................35 1. Overview of the Institution of Family in Eighteenth Century Germany.......... ........ ...................38 2. Geschlechtscharaktere:Confining Women Within Family..............................................44 2.1 Introduction of Geschlechtscharaktere through Philosophical Discourses ........ ....................46 3. Interaction between Family and State................52 4. Conformism and Confrontation in Therese Huber's Short Prose Narratives..............................57 5. Gender specific socialization in Therese Huber's Short Prose Narratives..............................62 5.1 The Mother's Role in the Upbringing of Children ....63 5.2 Examples of Children's Upbringing in "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels" and "Kindestreue"..............64 CHAPTER III Feminist Issues Relevant to Therese Huber's Short Prose NarrativeSOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.00.00.00.00...00.00.97 1. 2. 3. Male Resistance to Women's Fiction..................98 Means of Legitimizing Women's Fiction..............107 Patterns for Expressing Women's Subjectivity in women's FictionOOOOOO......OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO00......113 ii iii CHAPTER IV Textual analysis.. ..... . ................................. 133 1. Die Jugendfreunde (1819) ................ ............133 2. Klosterberuf (1811-1814) C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 150 3. Die ungleiche Heirat (1820) ....................... ..175 4. Die Frau von vierzig Jahren ......................... 196 5. Die frfih ver10bten. O O ......... O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 218 conCIuSiODOOOOOOOOOO0...... ........... 0.0.000000000000000236 APPENDIXOOOOOOOO ..... ... OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ...... ..... 0.0248 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHYOOOOOOO0.00.00...00.0.00000000000000272 Introduction This analysis of Therese Huber's short prose narratives investigates the various images of women from a feminist perspective. In spite of the predominance of women characters in her narratives, some of them non-traditional, one cannot say that Huber is explicitly depicting independent roles for them. The depiction of women in her narratives is influenced by the gender ideology of the eighteenth century which prescribed only domestic roles for women. I argue that Huber's narratives are more than just reflections of the socio-political situation of women of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Germany. These prose narratives are Huber's responses to the reality of her times -- they sometimes challenge the subordination of women by their portrayal of independent women characters and sometimes propagate domesticity as a woman's source of happiness. At first glance, women in these narratives do not seem to challenge the status-quo in which men wield the power. But as a feminist reader of Huber's narratives, looking at how the author constructs the text, how the reality is represented in the text, I discover the text's non conformist and feminist content. I believe that behind the apparent conservatism of Therese Huber's narratives there exists a subtext which exposes the way 2 women make use of the available options in order to assert themselves. The first chapter in the dissertation introduces Therese Huber's personal life, her works and the available research on her writings. In the second chapter I discuss the disintegration of the "whole house", the consolidation of the institution of the family, and the gradual loss of women's power within the family as one of the consequences of the disintegration of the "whole house." Women had more social responsibilities within the "whole house" than within the family which was becoming more common in the late eighteenth century in Germany. The Prussian Civil Code of 1794 legalized women's lack of power. It did so by declaring that the husband was the head of the conjugal society. In addition, the changes occurring in the domestic ~economy due to growing industrialization widened the split between the public and the private sphere. Thus, women were increasingly asssigned domestic tasks. This separation of spheres was reinforced by a gender ideology which equated femininity with passivity and emotionality and masculinity with activity and rationality. This gender ideology played a major role in characterizing women's nature as suitable for household activities and men's for work outside the home. Thus, while men used their physical and mental capacities at work, women were expected to make use of their "natural" qualities of love and warmth 3 to take care of their home and husbands. The depiction of the socio-economic situation of Huber's time provides a background for the analysis of the traditional images of women in Huber's narratives. The third chapter discusses how Therese Huber, as a woman writer, interacted with the reality of her time in her short prose narratives. I have come across patterns in her narratives which show that these narratives do not merely reflect the socio-political conditions, but also construct a different reality in which women can express themselves. For example, the strategy of not condemning the anti- heroines provides the readers with an insight into possibilities of self-expression and by extension into constructing a different environment than the one socially permitted. Secondly, by investing power with the women characters who are wives, mothers and housewives, these narratives suggest that domesticity be seen as a state of privilege which provides women the authority to shape their surroundings. This does not mean that in the fictional reality of Huber's narratives women radically oppose their subordination. Huber's narratives depict women characters expressing anger, dissent or frustration with their lot only covertly through various patterns and strategies. I argue that women writers needed to have a double-voiced discourse, 1 or a palimpsestic discourse, so as to continue writing within a male literary world. 4 This chapter also uses the theoretical arguments of Showalter, Gilbert and Gubar, Weigel, Bovenschen, Baym, Grenz, Walter, Fetterly and Stephan to investigate the reasons for the recurrence of domestic themes and women's issues in Huber's narratives. In dealing with women's writing it is imperative to look beyond the apparently conventional images and to explore what was possible for women writers to say in their times and how they said it. The detailed analysis of five representative prose narratives is undertaken by assuming the position of Fetterly's "resisting reader" - one who reads against the grain of the story. The fourth and the last chapter presents a feminist reading of five short prose narratives, namely "Die Jugendfreunde" (1819), "Klosterberuf" (1811-14), "Die ungleiche Heirath" (1820), "Die Frau von vierzig Jahren" and "Die frfih Verlobten". I chose these five narratives from a total of thirty-three narratives because they foreground the role of women. Each narrative depicts women characters both confronting traditional norms and conforming to them, a characteristic typical of Huber's narratives. They portray women characters questioning values such as passivity, submissiveness and compliance by words or actions that may not be radical but are, nevertheless, nonconformist. For example, the first narrative "Die Jugendfreunde" portrays married lives of three male friends. 5 The three wives of these male friends have completely different natures. It is interesting to see how Huber brings together women of different personalities and indirectly makes an appeal to the readers to value them for what they are, instead of lamenting the lack of domestic virtues in them. In the second narrative, "Klosterberuf", the heroine goes through stages of personal discovery. She realizes that she can contribute more to the world by giving up her ambition of joining the Cloister and by taking up the responsibility of looking after her foster children. The third narrative "Die ungleiche Heirath" thematizes the issue of marriage between an older woman and a younger man. The heroine's self-sacrificing personality becomes the basis of a utopian society in this narrative. In the fourth narrative "Die Frau von vierzig Jahren", the forty year old protagonist narrates the story of her life to her step-son and his wife. She confesses her extra-marital affairs and they forgive her - a scandalous story for times in which women's "holy profession" consisted of being a good wife and mother. The fifth narrative, "Die frfih Verlobten" is an excellent example of how Therese Huber depicts women characters' conformism and their confrontation with the traditional norms. The heroine of this narrative is an independent woman capable of managing her father's business and one who does not believe in arranged marriages. But, by the end of the narrative we find her willingly granting 6 authority and responsibility to her fiance. In these five narratives, therefore, we come across various characterizations of women which may lack a radical edge, but which question the validity of gender roles covertly. The purpose of writing a dissertation on Therese Huber's prose narratives is to make visible a woman writer's contribution to the implicit stage of feminist literature. Many readers may call into question the usage of the modern term "feminist" to describe women's writing of eighteenth century Germany. I regard Therese Huber's writing as implicitly feminist, because the texts integrate the complex factors which were influencing women's lives during this time. Rosalind Coward rightly maintains that: ... it is only if we raise questions - questions of the institutions, politics of those institutions, the representations produced and circulated within those institutions and the assessment of those representations — that we can make any claim at all to a ‘feminist reading'.2 ”‘5' feminist reading thus foregrounds these implicitly feminist issues by examining the ramifications of the institutions of family and marriage for women's lives. My fell'tinist reading will take the literary market's discriminatory practices against women's writing into aCcount. In A Literature of their Own Showalter discusses 'the three stages of women's writing. Calling stages of 7 imitation, protest and self discovery in women's writing, feminine, feminist and female respectively, she asserts that: These are obviously not rigid categories, distinctly separable in time, to which individual writers can be assigned with perfect asssurance. The phases overlap; there are feminist elements in feminine writing, and vice versa.3 Thus, in View of this categorization I chose to call Huber's narratives as implicitly feminist. Although these narratives propose that women take on traditional roles, they nevertheless portray women wielding power within the domestic setting. More importantly, these narratives also depict women characters who oppose the imposition of social roles in various ways. Therefore my analysis of Therese Huber's short prose narratives will show that they represent women's power as an act of subversion, revision and accommodation of the existing value-system. By shedding light upon relationships between women and men, by describing women's lives, friendship, love, marriage, divorce, children's upbringing during this time -- all the subjects considered too "trivial" to be part of the canon my dissertation provides a new perspective on eighteenth century German society. It is intended to assist modern readers to approach and assess women's writing of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Although Therese Huber was a prolific writer, who not only helped her husband with the translations of French dramas, but also wrote 33 short prose narratives, travelogues, essays, two novels titled Die Familie Seldorf and Die Ehelosen, approximately 3800 letters over a period of 50 years, and worked as the editor of a newspaper, she remains as unknown as many other women writers of her time. Germanistik or the study of German literature in the nineties reflects the consequences of excluding women's literary accomplishments, especially of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Germany from the canon. Even today college catalogues boast of courses such as, "The Age of Goethe"(which would most probably be silent about women writers), "Masterpieces of Goethe's Age" (which would discuss only masterpieces) or "German Classicism and Romanticism"(which would have an exhaustive list of male authors).4 One of the most recent German literary histories, i.e., Hansers Sozialgeschichte der deutschen Literatur vom 16. Jahrhundert bis zur Gegenwart, has also failed to do justice to women's literary contributions.5 Since I subscribe to the View that the literary canon has to undergo constant revision, my dissertation attempts to bring Therese Huber's prose narratives from the periphery of literature into the mainstream. In addition, my dissertation aims to reach beyond the study of one late 9 eighteenth century woman writer to provide insights into interpreting women's fiction in general, which needs to be discovered, not for the purpose of replacing but for supplementing the canon. 10 Notes 1Gilbert and Gubar define palimpsestic works as "works whose surface designs conceal or obscure deeper, less accessible (and less socially acceptable) levels of meaning". Sandra M. Gilbert, and Susan Gubar, Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination (New Haven: Yale UP, 1979) 73. 2Rosalind Coward, "Are Women's Novels Feminist Novels?" The New Feminist Criticism: Essays on Women, Literature and Theory, ed. Elaine Showalter (New York: Pantheon, 1985) 238. 3 Elaine Showalter, A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists From Bronte to Lessing (Princeton: Princeton UP, 1977) 13. 4Goodman and Waldstein introduce students of Germanistik to several women writers who wrote "in the shadow of Olympus", or during Goethe's time. They claim that, "while recognizing the gravitational attraction of this dominant culture, the scholars writing for this volume have usually sought to find individual moments of orbital pull against ‘Goethe' and the dominant culture". Katherine R. Goodman, and Edith Waldstein, eds., In the Shadow of Olympus: German Women Writers Around 1800 (New York: SU of NY, 1992) 26. 11 5Goodman and Waldstein discuss how literary histories have neglected women writers contributions and when mentioned, then it has been simply in connection with Goethe. In the Shadow of 01 us, 24-7. CHAPTER I Introduction to Therese Heyne-Forster—Huher and her Short Prose Narratives 1. Therese Heyne-Forster—Huher's Biography Therese Heyne-Forster-Huber was born in Gettingen in 1764. Therese's father D. C. G. Heyne, a famous professor of ancient philology at the university of G6ttingen, exerted a major influence on Therese as long as he lived. He not only allowed Therese access to his library, but he also encouraged her to discuss her readings with him.1 Although Therese did not receive any formal education, she benefitted from her father's mentoring efforts and the intellectually 2 It was not seldom stimulating atmosphere of his home. that she listened to the discussions and readings led by Johann Gottfried Herder, Gottfried August Burger, Friedrich Leopold Stolberg, Christian Stolberg and the famous prussian civil servant Wilhelm Dohm in her father's house.3 Beyond her father's influence and circle of acquaintances, Therese also developed a close group of friends, including her stepmother Georgine Brandes. While Therese's letters discredit her mother Therese WeiB for neglecting her household and her children's education‘, 12 13 Therese found a friend in her stepmother Georgine Brandes. Therese also kept up her friendship with her Gettingen childhood friend, the famous Caroline Michaelis-Schlegel- Schelling.5 Eighteen years Therese's senior, Luise Mejer- Boie, Countess Christian Stolberg's companion, continued a friendship with Therese which lasted well beyond their Hannover years. Here Therese studied in a pension for two years after her father married Georgine Brandes in 1775.6 Therese was twenty years old when she met the famous world traveller and natural scientist Georg Forster who had accompanied Thomas Cook on his second world tour (1772-75). Therese Heyne and Georg Forster were soon engaged to be married in 1785. Therese and Georg Forster's marital relationship has been a topic of discussion in almost all the literary histories which include Therese Forster-Huber's literary achievements. Therese has been accused of deserting Georg Forster during the attack of the Prussian troops in Mainz in 1792 and going away to Switzerland with L.F. Huber. The literary historian Carl Wilh. Otto August von Schindel, who wrote the most comprehensive biography of literary women of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, takes the middle path by not blaming Therese alone for her unhappy marriage with Georg Forster. He points out that their marital relationship could not be a happy one, because they were of different natures: Verschiedenheiten in dem Wesen beider Ehegatten, welche 14 keinem gew6hnlichen Gesetz unterworfen waren, trfibten ihr eheliches VerhaltniB; Freunde blieben sie unverbrfichlich bis zum Tode.7 Christine Touillon, who wrote an assessment of women's novels in the eighteenth century, strongly condemns Therese's decision to leave Georg Forster and Mainz in 1792.8 As an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution and an active member of the Jacobin club of Mainz which was demanding the establishment of a republic in Mainz, Georg Forster had become a potential target for the Prussian troops reclaiming Mainz. At this time Therese was left with no choice but to leave Mainz via StraBburg for Neuchatel, Switzerland along with her two children. Touaillon's portrayal of Therese Forster as a selfish and calculating woman is undoubtedly a biased one. Completely overwhelmed by Georg Forster's personality, Touaillon fails to see his shortcomings. She disregards the fact that Georg Forster had failed in his role as a husband. Apart from his large debts, of which Therese had no knowledge for a very long time,9 the fact that he was sexually incompatible with her must have contributed to Therese and Georg Forster's unhappy marital life. In a letter written to Johann Jakob Hottinger's wife in 1793 Therese justifies her decision to leave Georg Forster. She explains that although she loved and respected Georg Forster, his passionate nature and her romantic ideas of love created only discord in their marital 15 life: Ich bin die gewissenshafteste Mutter, Hausfrau und Freundin dieses edlen Mannes gewesen, aber eine unglfickliche Gattin, denn mein Herz, von Einbildungskraft und Lebhaftigkeit verffihrt, suchte Liebe - als Leidenschaft - Forster kannte alles, was in mir vorging, hatte er Philosophie genug gehabt, um mit meiner zartlichen Freundschaft zufrieden zu sein, so were ich nie von ihm entfernt worden; aber er steifte sich auf eine in seinem Charakter sehr naturliche Art, leidenschaftliche sinnliche Liebe von mir zu erzwingen- und so setzte er mich in Gefahr. Wir waren vier Jahre, jahrlich unglficklicher,... .10 In such circumstances, the Prussian troops reclaiming Mainz expedited Therese's decision to leave Georg Forster. His ardent support of the French Revolution and his desire to see Mainz become a republic had by now threatened his family's safety. Georg Forster's support of the French is lauded by many as an expression of his progressive ideas, but the neglect it caused for his family is seldom mentioned. Barbara Becker-Cantarino believes that it was not only Christine Touallion who was influenced by Georg Forster's overpowering personality, but Forster's biographers too have conveniently condoned his extra-marital affairs, his 16 extravagance, his excessive sexual demands and his neglect of his family for the sake of his political convictions. She condemns the double standard used by the literary critic Paul Zincke who accused Therese of infidelity while condoning the same behavior by Georg Forster: Forsters Hintansetzung seiner Familie gegenfiber seinen politischen Planen, seine undurchsichtigen Schulden, fiberspannten Ansprfiche und "Seitensprfinge"-vermutlich auch mit Caroline Michaelis-Béhmer, die in Mainz bei Forsters wohnte-werden dagegen in den Forster-Biographien nie als "Treulosigkeit" abgehandelt.11 Georg Forster made Ludwig Ferdinand Huber in charge of Therese and his two children when Therese decided to leave Germany for Neuchatel in December 1792. Ludwig Ferdinand Huber was the Saxon diplomatic attache at the Mainz court since 1788. A regular visitor at Forsters' home, he came to know Georg and Therese Forster well. Therese's decision to leave Georg Forster and Mainz accompanied by L. F. Huber generated much gossip during that time. It confirmed rumors of a relationship between Therese and L.F. Huber and soured L. F. Huber and Schiller's friendship.12 Four months after Georg Forster's death in Paris in January 1794 Therese married L.F. Huber.13 From 1794 until Huber's death in 1804 Therese Huber worked as a writer, translator and critic.14 Despite her 17 literary accomplishments in the years of her marriage with Huber (1794-1804) and her financial contribution to the household through her writings, Therese Forster-Huber, like many other women writers of her time, failed to gain a niche in the literary history of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Even a relatively modern book on women's writing Frauen Literatur Geschichte; Schreiberge Frauen vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart (1985) mentions Therese Huber only cursorily, despite her considerable 15 Not only did Therese translate works from oeuvre. French to German during this time, but she also published novels, short stories and essays, albeit under Ludwig Ferdinand Huber's name. Therese became known as a writer only after her name appeared in an advertisement of her Lerters about Holland in the Morgenblatt in 1811.16 She also successfully edited the Morgenblatt ffir gebildete Stfinde, a newspaper owned by Johann Friedrich Cotta for 6 years from 1817-1823.17 Therese Huber remained anonymous in her position as the editor of Cotta's newspaper as well.18 After a dispute with Cotta she moved to Augsburg and lived with her daughter and son-in-law. She continued to write and translate until her death in 1829. Therese Forster-Huber's collection of short stories was published posthumously by her son A. V. Huber in 1830-1833.19 18 2. Introduction to Therese Huber's Short Prose Narratives A striking characteristic of Therese Huber's short prose narratives is their continuous focus upon familial themes. Written over a period of thirty years, these narratives show few thematic variations. It is not difficult to comprehend the reasons for the recurrence of familial themes in all six volumes of Therese Huber's short prose narratives when the historical specificity of these narratives as well as women writers' limited access to themes of "high" literature is taken into consideration. Therese Huber was writing during a time when the new German bourgeoisie was increasing in number and consolidating its socio-political status. Since German eighteenth century society was still estatist, the new bourgeoisie had to attain political and social power while the nobility persisted. Unable to divest authority from the aristocracy by any direct means, the new bourgeoisie challenged old aristrocratic traditions, for example, by placing ideological emphasis on the institution of family. The bourgeois value system set the new bourgeoisie apart from the nobility on the one hand, and from the lower strata on the other. The new Burger derived a sense of self- importance by adhering to the familial morals such as, conjugal love, parental affection and duty towards children, and discipline and respect of children for their 19 parents.20 At the same time the literary and philosophical discourses of late eighteenth century Germany were reflecting upon and participating in the construction of the bourgeois family ideology.21 The importance of the issue of family is explored in chapter II. This chapter is necessary for an understanding of Therese Huber's short prose narratives, because these narratives seem to provide ideological support to the bourgeoisie by way of celebrating the bourgeois value system and assuming an overt moral tone.22 The first volume, for example, contains four short prose narratives portraying conjugal relations, motherhood and sibling interaction. Short prose narratives such as "Fragments eines Briefwechsels" (1798-99) and "Verstand kommt nicht vor Jahren" in Volume I describe those characteristics of a wife which sustain a "happy" marriage. It is not difficult to surmise the content of short prose narratives titled "Noch war es Zeit: Die goldene Hochzeit" (1807) and "Der Ehewagen" (1818) in Volume II. These short prose narratives seem to be recipes for a "good" marriage. Common to these narratives is the character of a wife who suppresses either her desire for another man or her anger against her own husband for the sake of saving her marriage.23 Volume IV contains an array of short prose narratives dealing with the theme of children's upbringing and the role of the mother as an educator; it includes 20 narratives "Kindestreue" (1823), "Drei Abschnitte aus dem Leben eines guten Weibes", "Alte und neue Zeit" (1823) and "Theorrytes, eine Priestergeschichte". Volume V maps the changing socio-political situation in Germany during the last half of eighteenth century. Short prose narratives such as "Familienzwist" and "Der Wille bestimmt die Bedeutung der That" trace the consequences upon the family of the ever increasing separation of the private from the public sphere upon the family. These themes continue, with slight variations, to dominate the last volume of Huber's short prose narratives. The theme of emigration to America and reference to America as a place of opportunities surfaces often in Huber's narratives. Narratives such as "Alte Zeit und neue Zeit", "Familienzwist", "Die ungleiche Heirat" and "Ehestandsleben vom Landmann" allude to America as the new world, where men and women live in a self-sufficient bucolic setting. These narratives implicitly draw a comparison between the transforming German society of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth century and the idyllic patriarchal colonies of German immigrants in America. 3. Secondary Literature on Therese Huber The scarcity of secondary literature on the 33 short prose narratives found in the five volumes of this 21 collection exposes yet another case of marginalization of a woman writer's work. Therese Huber's novels Die Familie Seldorf and Die Ehelosen have been discussed slightly more than her short prose narratives. 24 Erzahlende Prosa der Goethezeit Marion Beaujean has included Therese Huber's prose narrative "Die Ehestandsgeschichte". In the anthology She credits Huber for the portrayal of her women characters from a psychological viewpoint. She believes that Therese Huber was the first woman writer to depict the inner emotions of her heroines, and she thus regards her as the forerunner of psychological realism.25 Barbara Becker- Cantarino in her article "Therese Forster Huber und Polen" discusses the depiction of Poland in Therese Huber's two short prose narratives "Die Fragmente fiber einen Theil von Polen" and "Klosterberuf".26 A more comprehensive study of Therese Huber's short prose narratives can be found in Wulf K6pke's article "Immer noch im Schatten der Manner? Therese Huber als Schriftstellerin".27 With respect to negligible research on Therese Huber's works, Wulf Kopke asserts that: Sicherlich ist das bei dem Interesse an feministischen Studien eine Frage der Zeit; doch ist es typisch insofern, als die kfihle, in vielen Punkten konservative Therese weit weniger Enthusiasmus hervorzurufen vermag als faszinierende Gestalten wie Karoline oder etwa die 22 Giinderrode.28 Magdalene Heuser, who wrote the afterword for Huber's Die Familie Seldorf, also believes that Therese Huber has been unjustly overshadowed by other famous women writers of her generation like Dorothea Schlézer, Caroline Schelling- Schlegel, Dorothea Schlegel, Sophie Mereau, Rahel Varnhagen and the younger Karoline von Gfinderrode and Bettina von Arnim. Unlike Wulf Kapke Magdalena Heuser does not make value judgements regarding Therese Huber's writings, but she agrees with him that Therese Huber has been neglected by the feminists. Auch die von feministischer Seite eingeleitete Suche nach den Spuren verborgener Frauen und ihrer literarischen Werke in der Geschichte hat bisher noch nicht zu der Wiederentdeckung Therese Huber's geffihrt, die zu erwarten gewesen ware. 29 The recent book In the Shadow of Olympus: German Women Writers Around 1800 contains an article "Marriage by the Book: Matrimony, Divorce, and Single Life in Therese Huber's Life and Works" by Jeannine Blackwell,3o which makes a valuable contribution in introducing Huber's literary accomplishments to the public. Blackwell discusses the portrayal of love matches in one novel and two narratives of Therese Huber and concludes that the depictions of the love- match in these works do not portray them as a liberating phenomenon for women. 23 "Widersprfichlich-widersténdig: Therese Huber" is the title of Martha Marty's article, which attempts an explanation for Therese Huber's absence in the literary histories. Marty attributes Huber's absence on her conflicting personality which cannot be reconciled with the formal demands of a biography: "M6glicherweise ist es die Form, die Identifikation heischt und Widerstreitendes nicht '31 claims M. Marty. However, I would want aufnehmen kann,' to distance myself from such an orchestrated View of biography, which should not be the only criterion to judge a writer's work. Lydia Schieth's study on the women novelists of the late eighteenth century was the first to draw attention to the inadequate secondary literature on Therese Huber. Citing limited amount of research available on Therese Huber, she showed how scientific research on Therese Huber was inadequate. In her overview of the secondary literature on Huber, she comes to the conclusion that: Das wissenschaftliche Material sowohl zu Ludwig Ferdinand als auch zu Therese Huber ist ihrer beider Bedeutung innerhalb der Literaturgeschichte des spaten 18. Jahrhunderts nicht angemessen.32 What Schieth, K6pke and Heuser forget to mention while expressing concern regarding the inappropriate research on Therese Huber is the unavailability of primary literature of Therese Huber.- It was only in 1989 that Georg Olms 24 publishing house republished Therese Huber's collected works. In View of the difficulties in obtaining primary sources, it is not surprising that feminists are not researching Therese Huber's work as fast as they may want to. In order to make the students of Germanistik aware of the significance of Huber's writings, it is necessary to resist the clouding of the judgement of her writings by accounts of her personal life. An understanding of Therese Huber's work from a feminist perspective can highlight the significance of Huber's writing in the implicit stage of women's writing. Such a perspective can show how women's dissent could be expressed at a time when their subordination was legally and ideologically justified. 25 Notes 1 Magdalene Heuser, Afterword, Die Familie Seldorf (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1989) 358. 2 Therese Huber did not publish her works under her name until the death of her father in 1812. Since it was assumed that women writers could write only at the cost of their household duties, Huber was wary of announcing her authorship and provoking criticism from the reading public and her father. 3Carl Wilh. Otto August von Schindel, Die deutschen Sch iftstellerinnen des 19. Jahrhunderts, part 1 (1823; Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1978) 172. 4"Ich war meiner Mutter Liebling gar nicht, ich war haBlich... Bis in mein dreizehntes Jahr erinnere ich mich gar nicht, daB mir jemals wer gesagt hat, ich habe Verstand oder sei drollig... gegen meine Mutter hatte ich nie zartlichkeit, bald beleidigt sie meine Sinne, meinen Verstand, mein Geffihl." Qtd. in Ludwig Geiger, Therese Huber 1764-1829: Leben und Briefe einer deutschen Frau. Nebst einem Bildris von Therese Huber (Stuttgart: Cotta, 1901) 2-3. 5Magdalene Heuser, Afterward, Die Familie Seldorf, 359. 26 6Heuser, afterward, 357. 7Schindel, Die deutschen Schriftstellerinnen des 19.Jahrhunderts, 174. 8"...; sie wfinschte den Einzug franzbsischer Freiheit in Deutschland. Als aber die Lage in Mainz unsicher wurde, verlieB sie den Gatten und ging mit ihren Kindern nach StraBbourg, wo Huber die Sorge ffir sie fibernahm. Sie empfand schon an Forsters Seite warmere Geffihle ffir andere Manner, blieb aber doch in seinem Schutz, solange er berfihmt und geachtet war; als es mit ihm abwarts zu gehen begann, rettete sie sich in Huber's Arme." Christine Touaillon, Der deutsche Frauenroman des 18. Jahrhunderts (Bern: Peter Lang, 1919) 328. 9Geiger, Therese Huber, 69. loAndreas Hahn, ed., Die reinste Freiheitsliebe, die reirste Mangerliebe: Ein Lebensbild in Briefen end Ergahlergen gwischen Aufklarung und Romantik (Berlin: Henssel, 1989) 64. 11Barbara Becker-Cantarino, "Revolution im Patriarchat: Therese Forster-Huber (1764-1829)", Amsterdamer Beitrage zur neueren Germanistik 28 (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1989) 240-1. 12"DaB dies [der Umzug] zugleich das Ende ihrer Ehe und die offizielle Bestatigung der Gerfichte um ein Verhaltnis 27 mit Ludwig Ferdinand Huber bedeutete, machte die Sache auch in den Augen aller derjenigen, die republikanisch gesinnt, Georg Forster nahestanden, doppelt verwerflich. Therese Forster setzte sich damit "zwischen alle Stfihle". Ludwig Ferdinand Huber seinerseits, zwischen 1784 und 1790 guter Freund Schillers und seit 1784 mit der Schwagerin Christian Kfirners verlobt, lud durch sein Verhaltnis mit Therese Huber und seinen Treuebruch gegenfiber dem Haus K6rner Schande auf sein Haupt. Zwar entscharfte sich die Kontroverse nach der Verheiratung und der Briefwechsel Schiller an K6rner (23.2.1795) erwahnt den ehemaligen Freund wieder, doch die Freundschaft laBt sich nicht mehr wiederherstellen." Lydia Schieth, Die Entwicklung des deutschen Frauenromans im ausgehenden 18. Jahrhundert (Frankfurt a.M.: Peter Lang, 1987) 103. 13Schindel, 229 14 Therese Huber's work was published under Ludwig Ferdinand Huber's name during this time. The following list of works illuminates her prolific literary activity during 1794-1804. "Appeared under L.F. Huber's name. Ed. Therese Huber. 1. Kleine Schriften. Ein Beitrag zur Lander- und Vfilkerkunde, 6 parts; published by L. F. Huber, 1789-1796 Co-egitor Therese Huber 2. Neueres Franzdsisches Theater, 3 Volumes. 1795-1797 28 (Contents: 1 Eitelkeit und Liebe, Lustspiel.; Tartfiffe der zweite, Schauspiel.; zwei Poststationen, Posse.; Du und Du, Lustspiel.; 2. Du und Sie, Lustspiel.; MiBtrauen und Liebe, Lustspiel.; Der Friedensstifter, Lustspiel.; Selbstsucht, Schauspiel.; 3. Die Weiber, Lustspiel.; Der verliebte Briefwechsel, Lustspiel.; Der alte Junggeselle, Lustspiel.; Die ungeladene Gaste, Lustspiel.; Die Verdachtigen, Lustspiel); Die Familie Seldorf. Eine Erzahlung aus der Franzésischen Revolution, 2 Volumes 1795-1796; Adele von Senange. From French by F. L. Huber, 1795; Louise. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Convenienz, 1796; Under L. F. Huber's name. Ed. Therese Huber Georg Forster, Ansichten vom Niederrhein, von Brabant, Flandern, Holland, England und Frankreich, im April, Mai und Juni 1790, 3 parts. 1800 and 1804; Erzahlungen, 3 Slg. 1801-1802 (Contents: 1. Unglfick versohnt; Ergebung ist besser denn Opfer; Abenteuer auf einer Reise nach Neuholland; Nonchalante und Papillon; Der gefahrliche Nebenbuhler 2. Der Steckbrief; Der Mann aus Kairo; Geschichte einer Reise auf der Freite; Kritisches Gesprach; fiber Weiblichkeit in Kunst, Natur und Gesellschaft; 3. Geschichte einer Verirrung; Sophie; Kontraste aus der franzfisischen Revolutionszeit; Rosette)" Gisela Brinker-Gabler, Karola Ludwig, and Angela W6ffen, eds., Lexikon deutsch-sprachiger Schriftstellerinnen 1800- 29 1945 (Munich: DTV, 1986) 139. 15Therese Huber is mentioned very briefly as a writer of letters in Frauen Literatur Geschichte: Schreibende Frauen vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart published in 1985. Hiltrud Gnfig, and Renate M6hrmann, Frauenliteraturgeschichte : Schreibende Frauen vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart (Stuttgart: Metzler, 1985). Marion Beaujean on the other hand illustrates in her article "Frauen-, Familien-, Abenteuer- und Schauerromane" Therese Huber's literary activity by discussing her two works Qie Eheleeen, a short narrative prose, and Die Familie Seldorf, a novel by her. Marion Beaujean, "Frauen-, Familien-, Abenteuer- und Schauerromane," Deutsche Literatur: Eine Sozial eschichte, vol.5, ed. Horst Albert Glaser (Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1980) 216-28. 16Schindel, part 1, 231. 17Therese researched well before accepting her job as the editor of the Morgenblatt ffir gebildete Stande. Ludwig Geiger quotes a letter, in which Therese says, "Ich habe mir die Grundsatze der Zusammenstellung aus den vielfachen Zirkeln der Leser, unter denen ich lebe, abstrahiert: der Gelehrte, die Dame, der faule eingeschlafene Beamte, der Geck, das wiBbegierige Fraulein, die nach einer Erholung 30 lechzende Hausfrau. Den Gelehrten nenne ich nicht, der nimmt das Blatt nicht in die Hand, oder nimmt als hechst gebildeter Mensch an allem Besserem teil. Da machte ich nun in jedem Blatt Wissenschaft und Geffihl aufwecken, Neugier erregen, Nachfrage befriedigen." Geiger, Therese Huber, 283. 18Therese wanted to remain anonymous as the editor of the newspaper. In a letter to Usteri she says: "Sagen Sie dem Publikum, daB ich lieber und besser Strfimpfe stricke, als redigiere." Geiger, 286. Lydia Schieth sees Therese Huber's insistence on her anonymity as a survival strategy of a woman writer in the literary market of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Lydia Schieth, Die Entwicklung des deutschen Frauenromans im ausgehenden 18. Jahrhundert (Frankfurt.a.M.: Peter Lang, 1987) 102-5. 19The six volumes of short stories also contains the novel Die Femilie Seldorf in Volume III. Therese Therese, Erzahlungen in XI Teilen, ed. A. V. Huber (Leipzig: Brockhaus, 1830-33) 2°Heidi Rosenbaum contends that the bourgeoisie found compensation for its lack of integration in other social relations in the institution of family: "Die mangelnde Integration des Bfirgertums in umfassenden Sozialbeziehungen legte die Konzentration auf den sozialen Ort der "Familie" 31 nahe. Aus der Pflege dieser privaten Beziehungen wurde Verhaltenssicherheit gewonnen". Heidi Rosenbaum, Formen der Familie: Untersuchungen zum Zusammenhang von Familienverhaltnissen, Sozialstruktur und sozialem Wandel in der deutschen Gesellschaft des 19. Jahrhunderts (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1982) 260. 21Heidi Rosenbaum contends that the idea of a bourgeois family was conceived initially in weeklies and novels. She mentions the major role played by the Moralische Wochenschriften in propagating the idea of a bourgeois family. Formen der Familie, 261-2. 22 In the foreword to Therese Huber's six volumes of short prose narratives, her son A.V. Huber states that his mother never claimed to produce "Art" without any moral purpose: "Die Verfasserin hat ffir ihre Arbeiten nie das Vorrecht der Kunst, der Poesie in Anspruch genommen: keinen unmittelbaren moralischen Zweck zu haben." (vii) In the preface to some of the prose narratives Therese Huber has a distinctly didactic tone. For example, in the preface to the narrative "Theorytes: eine Priestergeschichte" she claims that her narrative shows how in order to be a better priest, he should also be a better person: "Meine Erzahlung soll zeigen, wie der veredeltere Mensch auch der edlere Priester wird, und eben so auch das glaubigere Kind der Kirche der bessere Mensch sein muB." 32 (Vol. IV, 269-70) In another short prose narrative "Geschichte eines armen Juden" the narrator apologizes for narrating a sad story, but explains that a lesson should be learned from the story. The narrator does not desire to depress the readers, but if they do feel sad, then "so kauft damit das billige Nachdenken fiber das unaufhaltsame Rollen des Schicksals, wenn sein ehernes Rad einmal den abhangigen Boden des Irrthums berfihrt; kauft damit den milden EntschluB, auch in dem unscheinbarsten Unglficklichen den ffihlenden Menschen zu ehren und nie den Zorn der strafenden Gottheit da zu erblicken, wo die leidende Menschheit erseufzt."(Vol. II, 137) 23Volume III contains Huber's novel Die Familie Selderr. 24Magdalene Heuser discusses the function of forewords in Therese Huber's novels in her article "Ich wollte dies und das von meinem Buchen sagen, und gerieth in ein Vernfinfteln: Poetologische Reflextionen in den Romanvorreden". Untersuchun en zum Roman von Frauen um 1800, eds. Helga Gallas and Magdalena Heuser (Tfibingen: Max Niemeyer, 1990) 52-65. The article by Brigitte Leuschner "Therese Huber als Briefschreiberin" sheds light on Therese Huber's prolific letter writing. Leuschner regards Therese's letters as 33 significant as her other works because according to her they fulfill the function of educating their readers. Untersuchungen zum Roman von Frauen um 1800, 203-12. Elfriede Mfiller's dissertation "Therese Huber in ihrer Stellung zu Staat und Gesellschaft, untersucht auf Grund ihrer nachgelassenen Briefe aus den Jahren 1804-1829" sheds light on Therese Huber's political views expressed in the letters she wrote to her friends and family. Mfiller neither mentions Therese Huber's novels nor her short prose narratives. Mfiller completely overlooks Huber's fiction perhaps because her dissertation aims just to defend Huber's political views. Elfriede Muller, "Therese Huber in ihrer Stellung zu Staat und Gesellschaft, untersucht auf Grund ihrer nachgelassenen Briefe aus den Jahren 1804-1829" Diss. U. of Jena, 1932, printed in Weimar, 1937: 1-41. Eva Walter's interesting study describing the social context of the German women writers around the eighteenth century titled Schrieb oft. von Magde Arbeit mfide: also merely mentions Therese Huber as a short story writer. In contrast to a brief description of her novel Die Familie Seldorf Eva Walter leaves the reader guessing the content of these short stories. Eva Walter, Schrieb oft, von Magde Arbeir mfide: Lebenszusammenhange deutscher Schriftstellerinnen um 1800 - Schritte zur bfirgerlichen Weiblichkeit, ed. Annette Kuhn (Dusseldorf: Schwann, 1985) 34 25Marion Beaujean, Erzahlende Prose der Goethezeit. Vol, 2. (Hildesheim: Gerstenberg, 1979) 600-1. 26Barbara Becker-Cantarino, "Therese Forster-Huber und Polen," Chloe, Beihefte zum Daphnis, 7 (1988). 27Wulf K6pke, "Immer noch im Schatten der Manner? Therese Huber als Schriftstellerin", ed. Detlev Rasmussen, Georg Forster als gesellschaftlicher Schriftsteller der Goethezeit, (Tubingen: Gfinther Narr, 1988) 116-32. 28K6pke, "Immer noch im Schatten der Manner? Therese Huber als Schriftstellerin", 116. 29Magdalena Heuser, Afterword, Die Familie Seldorf, 355. 30Jeannine Blackwell, "Matrimony, Divorce, and Single Life in Therese Huber's Life and Works", In the Shadow of glympee: Women Writers Around 1800, eds. Katherine R. Goodman and Edith Waldstein (New York: SU of NY, 1992) 137- 56. 31 Martha Marty, "Widersprfichlich-Widerstandig: Therese Huber", Alterrative 25 (Berlin: Alternativ 1985) 107. 32Schieth, Die Entwickleng des deutschen Frauenromans im eesgehenden 18. Jahrhundert, 309. CHAPTER I I The Institution of Family and Therese Huber's Short Prose Narratives The following chapter traces the development of the institution of the bourgeois sentimental family from the "whole house"1 in order to comprehend the position of women within the sentimental family. The term "whole house" describes the agrarian household of the housefather and housemother with their children and servants in which production and consumption functions were integrated. I discuss in this chapter three major factors which transformed the "whole house" into the institution of the bourgeois sentimental family and determined the position of women within it. The change in the domestic economy, which created the split between the private and the public sphere was being reinforced by the gender ideology during the last quarter of the eighteenth century in Germany. While gender ideology was justifying women's confinement within the family on psychological grounds, the Prussian Civil Code of 1794 legalized women's subordination within the family. Since Huber's narratives situate women in sentimental families which boast of personalized relations between husband and wife as opposed to impersonal conjugal relations 35 36 existing within the "whole house", it is interesting to study how Huber deals with the issue of women's diminishing power within the sentimental family. In some of Huber's narratives women characters question the "innate" and "natural" inclination of men for activities occuring outside the realm of the household when they assume the traditionally male designated responsibilities such as working outside the home in order to sustain their families. Therese Huber's narratives are characterized by women characters' constant oscillation between affirmation and rejection of social norms. The narratives illustrate two patterns of women's ambivalent relationship with society. The first pattern becomes visible when women characters rebel against traditional practices in the beginning of the narrative, but at the end accept them willingly. The second pattern emerges when Therese Huber brings together two women characters embodying radical and conservative responses respectively to their situation within the family and by extension within society. The fictional characters' contradictory position in these narratives illustrates how a professional woman writer in late eighteenth century Germany responded to a society which regarded domesticity as women's destiny. The fact that women in bourgeois sentimental families were far less powerful than they were in the "whole house" becomes evident in Huber's narratives when the women 37 characters who assert themselves sooner or later succumb to the social pressures of being good wives, housewives and mothers. After all, the increasing "affective ties" between married partners in a sentimental family, which were initially lacking in the "whole house", simply encouraged those emotional categories for women by which they internalized the conditions of their subordination. Being part of this social structure, Therese Huber indulges in apparent moralizing in her narratives and thus seems to affirm the status-qua. It is imperative for us, as twentieth century readers of Huber's narratives, to acquaint ourselves with the social reality with which Therese Huber was interacting as a writer. As a foundation for the analysis of her works we must understand the roles prescribed to women and men during late eighteenth century in Germany, the gender construction taking place within the family and within society, and Therese Huber's response to the social reality of eighteenth century Germany. The following chapter undertakes the study of the development of the institution of the bourgeois sentimental family from the "whole house" in order to contextualize Therese Huber's short prose narratives. 38 1. Overview of the Institution of Family in Eighteenth Century Germany Therese Huber's writing career (1793-1829) coincides with a period in Germany when legal discourses were redefining the function of the family. Dieter Schwab regards the period between 1780-1810 as a transitional phase for the institution of the family. A process of decomposition of the social unit of family had begun during this time.2 With the household losing its productive function and slowly undergoing transformation into a consumption unit, it also lost its original social relevance. Before the separation of the work place from the household, the family was both a production and a consumption unit - responsible for carrying out tasks of procreation and upbringing of its members, and closely linked to the state through its productive functions. As more and more civil servants were needed to work outside the home, the family became a private sphere which was supposed to take care of all the emotional needs of an individual. In their book The European Family: Patriarchy to Partnership fro the Midd e A es to the Present, Mitterauer and Sieder point out the consequences of the vanishing domestic economy upon familial relations. They attribute the emotionalization of familial relations to the dissappearance 39 of the domestic economy and the onset of bureaucratization and urbanization: For the first time a private, domestic sphere developed on a large scale in the families of lawyers, civil servants, doctors, scientists, teachers and clerics.... It was here that family life ceased to be dominated by the dictates of the domestic economy. A new sentimentality between spouses and a new relationship towards the child took their place.3 In the same vein Lawrence Stone comments on the English society of eighteenth century and asserts that the nuclear family "was a product of rise of Affective Individualism. It was a family organized around the principle of personal autonomy, and bound together by strong affective ties."4 B. A. Sorensen too states in his book Herrschaft und Zértlichkeit that the middle orders of eighteenth century Germany attached humane and emotional values to the patriarchal family; the pedagogical and moral theorists of the family propagated the image of an affectionate father in an intimate family circle, which stood in contrast to the paternal authority in a traditional patriarchal family.5 It is important to note that this increased sentimentality, however, did nothing to bring about a positive change in women's position within the family. The new bourgeois sentimental values merely altered the form of "It! '* , I -0- r ' ... 0- o .. .. — m co .. ,0 '- .1 a 4' {o .. p .LIH. ."1 4O patriarchy by making it more compassionate. Sentimentality between spouses entrapped women with emotional values which guaranteed the "personal autonomy" of men in the public sphere. Set free from the traditional feudalistic and estatist restrictions, the male Bfirgers exercised their personal autonomy in the transformed socio-political environment. Susan Moller Okin rightly maintains in her article "Women and the Making of the Sentimental Family" that: While some women may have benefited in their personal lives from the increased emphasis on affect within marriage, the claims of the female sex to equal recognition as persons, to freedom, and to political representation, can only be seen as having suffered from the newly idealized family type.6 Legally guaranteeing the personal autonomy of men was the Prussian Civil Code of 1794. In his article "Die Auflfisung des Hauses als standischer Herrschaftseinheit", Reinhart Koselleck maintains that the new preuBisches Allgemeines Landrecht (ALR or Prussian General Code of 1794) aimed to set the individual members of a household free from the authority of pater familias,7 for the purpose of making them useful citizens of the state. Although Koselleck's discussion is specific to Prussia, it nevertheless provides a perspective into how the state intervened to expediate the 41 process of transformation of the "whole house" or das ganze Hans into a nuclear family in other parts of Germany too. Many laws were being passed during the turn of the eighteenth century which transformed the old family structure by granting more rights to the servants of the house, by changing the laws regarding marriage and by giving youth a right to choose their own careers and religion.8 The ALR aimed not only at providing an all-encompassing judicial system for the members of all estates, but also at gaining more tax-payers at a time when it needed to recover from the burdens of the Napoleonic wars: Es handelt sich weiterhin um eine Rechtspolitik, die den alten Hausstand soweit durchléchern sollte, daB die Individuen als potentielle Staatsbfirger und als individuelle Adressaten der staatlichen Gesetzgebung freigesetzt werden konnten.9 One reaction to this individualism in late eighteenth century German society was seen in the demands for women's rights. Proponents of women's rights demanded more rights for women. Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel's book fiber die bergerliche Verbesserung der Weiber (1792) advocated an improvement in the social and legal status of women. At the same time there were other literary and philosophical discourses which intended to confine women to the house.10 A whole new concept of marriage contributed towards securing 42 the subordinaton of women which was being challenged by the growing individualism. Marriage came to be no longer regarded as a holy contract between a man and a woman for the purposes of procreation, upbringing of children and the management of the household. Marriage was supposed to achieve the union of souls.11 The new concept of marriage, introduced among other sources of influence via English literature,12 was personalizing the impersonal marital ties of the Hausmutter and the Hausvater of a "whole house" and consequently binding women emotionally to the needs of men now working outside the home. While earlier marital love meant a conscientious fulfillment of the social functions required to run a household, it now translated into the woman's complete surrender of her "self" for the sake of her husband, who wished to escape the alienation at his work place in his wife's loving and comforting company.13 Since marriage based on mutual liking or love expressed the inclination of one person for another, it also brought into focus different gender characteristics. For women this new concept of marriage thus resulted in a complete sacrifice of their physical as well as mental capacities. It is more likely that women exerted greater influence in the production process of the "whole house" than in the role of housewives and mothers in a "family". Before the predominance of "family" structure, the "whole house" was 43 run jointly by the "housemother" and the "housefather", though each had different spheres of authority. The structure of the house, whether it consisted of parents, children, domestic servants or exclusively of parents and children, has been subject to change according to the social conditions of its times.14 Existence of the "whole house" was synchronous with feudalism, whereas the "nuclear family"15 structure became more and more prevalent as a result of growing industrialization and urbanization. The largely agrarian economy which is so characteristic of a feudal society and which sustained the "whole house" gave way to urbanization and with it to the "nuclear family".16 The process of change from the "whole house" to "family" explains that while the changes in the domestic economy gave men access to the world outside the home, these changes bound women more tightly to the household. One could assert that the sentimental, nevertheless, patriarchal family could not exist without the wives' surrender of their "productive" capabilities which they had used to support the "whole house" along with their husbands. Women's confinement within the family, in an age of growing individualism, could only be reinforced by the various philosophical discourses which characterized them as passive and sentimental creatures. 44 2.Gesch1echtscharaktere: Confining Women Within The Family The theory of Geschlechtscharaktere or gender characterisitics was conceived in the literary and philosophical discourses in order to give a new interpretation to the ideals of the Enlightenment and to keep the traditional subjugation of women intact. A reconciliation of Enlightenment ideas, which proclaimed women to be as rational or vernfinftig as men, with the desire to keep women tied to the household could be achieved only through the introduction of gender roles.17 Since increased individualism was threatening patriarchal rule by holding a promise of more rights than before for women, the ideology of gender characterisitics, that was claiming that women were "by nature" passive and emotional and men active and rational, impeded women's progress towards political and social independence. Women were supposed to assume the subordinated role of dedicated, loving, tender and patient housewives, and men the authoritative and active role of women's representatives and guardians outside of the home. Theoretically, women and men were now assigned complementary spheres of activities in a family with the belief that women and men were created differently, and only by complementing each other could they realize an ideal state of humanity.18 Karin Hausen asserts that the different characteristics of women and men were supposed to 45 be the basis of their harmonious co-existence.19 In reality though, this model supported men's claims to authority over women. The fact that women could not step out of their prescribed sphere, because it was thought to be "natural" and therefore unalterable, rendered this model of complementary spheres repressive. Ute Frevert rightly states that, "attempts to legitimate it [women's repression] on social and religious grounds were replaced by principles which ascribed the difference between the sexes to being intrinsic, innate and natural".20 The propagation of such gender roles of women is revealed by Dagmar Grenz in her discussion of Madchenliteratur. This literature participated in the internalization of gender differences by subjugating women mentally to values such as passivity, modesty, patience, complaisance, sentimentality, friendliness, thoughtfulness and capacity to love.21 The emphasis on emotional support, that women as wives and mothers were expected to give their husbands and children, increased with the introduction of Geschlechtscharaktere.22 The wife's caring role for her husband and children was given paramount importance. For the man "family" became a refuge from the mundane work place, and for a woman her sole destiny. Under such conditions of "natural" dominance, exercised by men and suffered by women, the possibilities for women to step out of the house and practice professions were 46 negligible. The participation of legal discourses such as ALR in the restructuring of German society fulfilled an ambivalent role in improving the status of women. While they granted women more property rights and less stringent divorce laws than before, the ALR basically regarded married women as procreators. In Part II, it specifically mentioned marital and maternal duties, which were to guarantee women's occlusion from the public sphere.23 The proliferation of legal, literary and philosophical discourses on gender roles during the turn of the eighteenth century, clearly distinguishing between women's and men's roles within the family and in the society, precipitated the establishment of an increasing split between the private and the public sphere. 2.1 Introduction of Geschlechtscharaktere through Philosophical Discourses. The bourgeois literature of eighteenth century Germany was implicitly and sometimes explicitly taking part in propagating Geschlechtscharaktere and thereby strengthening the foundations for bourgeois marriage and family. This literature provided ideological support to the middle orders wanting to set themselves apart from the nobility as well as the lower classes. The middle orders encompassing civil servants, university professors, school teachers, doctors, 47 lawyers, industrialists and merchants constituted the new bourgeoisie of eighteenth century German society. The new bourgeoisie distanced itself more and more from the old urban middle class craftsmen, retailers and innkeepers. Although the new bourgeoisie did not consolidate as a collective or a group until the end of nineteenth century,24 the educated Bfirgers or Bildungsbfirger and officials or Beamte constituted an increasingly influential group of the middle orders25 in Germany.26 It is interesting to note that the educated Bfirgers and officials called themselves Bfirgers not for possessing financial power, but for being citizens within the state or the civis within the societas civilis.27 The new bourgeoisie's emphasis upon differentiating itself from the other classes was visible not only in its insistence upon its political status, but also in the proclamation of its moral superiority through various writings. These writings discussed the principles of enlightened bourgeois morality, education and upbringing, and provided the basis for a detailed rule-book of male and female duties and responsibilities.28 The separation of duties and responsibilities for men and women was ideologically supported by the writings of philosophers such as Rousseau (1712-1778), Kant (1724-1804), Herder (1744-1803) and Fichte (1762-1814). The popular philosophy too took it upon itself to educate women for their future roles of wives and 48 mothers. Campe's vaterlicher Rath ffir meine Tochter (1789) and Sophie La Roche's Briefe an Lina (1785), among others, explicitly discuss the domestic duties of women.29 Rousseau attributes mutually exclusive characteristics to men and women. Particularly in part V of his book Emile (1764) Rousseau developed a treatise on the upbringing of girls which proclaimed mildness and obedience as highest virtues of women. Women's existence had meaning only as long as it was spent in the service of men, for Rousseau claims: The first education of men depends on the care of women. Men's morals, their passions, their tastes, their pleasures, their very happiness also depend on women. Thus the whole education of women ought to relate to men. To please men, to be useful to them, to make herself loved and honored by them, to raise them when young, to care for them when grown, to counsel them, to console them, to make their lives agreeable and sweet - these are the duties of women at all times.30 Rousseau based his arguments concerning gender roles on the sexual act in which women were supposed to be passive and weak, and men active and strong.31 Immanuel Kant also delineates male and female roles in his work Anthropologie in pragmatischer Hinsicht or Aprhropelegy from a Pragmatic Point of View (1798). 49 According to him, nature has entrusted woman with the task of procreation and made man her protector: All machines, designed to accomplish with little power as much as those with great power, must be designed with art. Consequently, one can assume beforehand that Nature's foresight has put more art into the design of the female than the male, because Nature has equipped the male with greater strength than the female in order to bring both, who are also rational beings, together in intimate physical union for the most innate purpose, the preservation of the species.32 Although Kant concedes women to be rational beings, he regards them prone to be impulsive and thus less rational than men, for he states that, "the woman should reign and the man should rule; because inclination reigns and reason rules."33 Fichte was another philosopher who, like Rousseau, justified the exclusion of women from the public sphere on the basis of their position in the sexual act. In his work Grundlage des Naturrechts (1796) or The Science of Righrs, Fichte argued that since women were passive and men active in the sexual act, women would have absolutely no interest in any activity demanding their active participation.34 A woman's destiny lay in loving and offering herself for the satisfaction of man, whereas man would be her guardian: 50 Her own dignity requires that she should give herself up entirely as she is, and lives to her choice [sic] and should utterly lose herself in him. The least consequence is, that she should renounce to him all her property and all her rights. Henceforth she has life and activity only under his eyes and in his business. She has ceased to lead the life of an individual; her life has become a part of the life of her lover.35 Thus, according to the philosophical discourses of these men, it was "natural", it was women's destiny to submit to men; women could find fulfillment only as wives and mothers - in fulfilling their domestic roles. Whereas in the early Enlightenment Gottsched had applied the category of vernfinftig to both men and women,36 philosophers such as Rousseau, Kant and Fichte took, in a sense, a step back by describing women as physiologically and psychologically different from men. Silvia Bovenschen's discussion regarding the emphasis of early Enlightenment upon women's learning repeatedly mentions Gottsched as one of the proponents of women's education.37 But as the eighteenth century proceeded it also brought forth philosophers whose writings attempted to argue that men's superiority over women was something "natural". In her article "So ist die Tugend ein Gespenst", Inge Stephan following Silvia Bovenschen, discusses how the early ideals 51 of the Enlightenment were rendered obsolete by the late eighteenth century philosophical discourses which propagated a docile and domestic image of women.38 Rousseau's highly conservative reaction to women writers, whom he considered the scourge of their family and friends, became contagious in Germany as well. Rousseau believed that all highly talented women gave a very silly impression and that is why, "...[he] [would] like a simple and coarsely raised girl a hundered times better than a learned and brilliant one who would come to establish in ... [his] house a tribunal of literature over which she would preside."39 Rousseau goes on to disparage women writers' contributions by rejecting any evidence of their literary talent. He contends that women do not possess the necessary genius to produce works of Art: "It is always known who the artist or the friend is who holds the pen or the brush when they work. It is known who the discreet man of letters is who secretly dictates their oracles to them."40 These conventional ideas about women's place in the family and society seem to be affirmed on the surface in several of Huber's short prose narratives. On the other hand, there are some narratives which do not hold gender characteristics of men and women to be absolute values. The women characters in these narratives step out of their traditionally prescribed roles when the need arises.41 While it cannot be denied that certain traditional images 52 are present in Therese Huber's narratives, one has to, at the same time, look beyond these apparently conventional images in order to explore what was possible for women writers to say in their narratives and how they said it. This act of looking beyond the apparent images of women can also reveal how these narratives, far from being reflections of the socio-political situation, become instigators of change when their subversive content is uncovered. In the following pages, I argue that just as the institution of the family has the potential to transform other institutions, in the same manner Therese Huber's depictions of the family possess the potential to question the value system which legitimized women's oppression. 3. Interaction between Family and State My description of the influence of the material, legal and ideological factors on the institution of the family was not meant to portray the family simply as an effect of these factors. I believe that the family too possesses the power to interact with other social institutions and transform them. By attributing to family the power to influence other domains, I indirectly ascribe women's activities within the household an importance which is missing in the theories of those family historians which see it either as a "natural" institution or simply as an effect of socio-political 53 changes. While the family was reacting to the socio-political changes, the bourgeois theorists of late eighteenth century saw the family as capable of influencing the state. The bourgeois public campaigned to improve the political sphere by depicting the family as its model.42 Habermas argues that the bourgeois public sphere or bfirgerliche Offentlichkeit took it upon itself to control the state for the purpose of making it more humanitarian. He contends that the bourgeois public had the backing of its intimate family structure and thus could confront the state.43 Concerned with the molding of the political machinery, but incapable of achieving political power, the new Burger looked towards the institution of the family to provide him with a humanitarian model of government.44 Emotionalization of paternal authority was a novelty in the bourgeois family of eighteenth century Germany. Bourgeois political theorists were aiming to restructure political authority, by propagation of an authoritative, but benevolent father figure.45 0n the other hand, the historians Mitterauer and Sieder's assertion regarding the transformation in the family completely undermines the importance of family in initiating social changes. All theories underscoring the importance of other social structures in changing the family, indirectly undermine women's contribution to social changes. Mitterauer and 54 Sieder argue in their book The European Family that: When one considers the interaction in the course of history between the family and the social structures of which families are part, then it may be established that in general the dynamic of development originates with the latter. Changes in family constitution respond to processes of social change more readily than they initiate and stimulate them.46 In portraying the primacy of other social structures over family, Mitterauer and Sieder dismiss the family as an active institution. They overlook the capacity of the family to stimulate other social domains. The bourgeois public sphere, elucidated by Habermas, viewed the family as "Hort humaner und geffihlsmafliger Werte",47 capable of exerting influence upon political machinery. The projections of a sentimental family in philosophical and literary discourses aimed to provide a model for a humanitarian state. Bourgeois intellectual concepts on the family surfaced frequently in various writings during the end of the eighteenth century. The new elite of Bfirgers in Germany questioned the legitimacy of absolutist government. Unlike France, Germany did not witness the culmination of bourgeois demands in a revolution as significant as the French Revolution of 1789, but it saw the consolidation of the literary public literarische 55 Offentlichkeit (Habermas, 43).48 The literary public was the proponent of a new political order without absolute monarchy. Koselleck asserts that the members of the literary public carried on their struggle against absolutism indirectly in literary and philosophical discourses: Die anwachsende Bedeutung der neuen Elite erheischt eine neue politische Form. Auf beiden Ebenen, in Regne de la Critique und in Logen kampfen die Bfirger mit indirekt politischen Methoden, um einen neuen Zustand herbeizuffihren.49 One is forced to ask now whether the sentimental family was primarily a cause or effect of social changes? However valid such a query may be, it nevertheless tends to hold one in a quagmire of opposing positions of true and false, black and white, right and left and private and public. Instead of placing the family in a dualistic opposition to other social domains, it must be seen as a social unit which co- exists with other social units in a reciprocal relationship; it transforms according to the demands of the society and reciprocally exerts influence on other social spheres. A kind of cyclic development should be seen taking place in the society, without necessarily taking into consideration the power of superstructure over base or vice-versa. Rayna Rapp correctly points out that: Unless we develop a more critical awareness of 56 the family as a social, not a natural unit, we run the risk of mechanically assigning it to either "cause" or "effect" in the study of social change. As a social (and not a natural) construction, the family's boundaries are always decomposing and recomposing in continuous interaction with larger domains. Without a more self-consciously social perspective on family history, we also run the risk of succumbing to a piece of dominant, post capitalist ideology: we replicate the splits between public and private, work place and household, economy and family. In short, we reproduce the notion of "the home as a haven in a heartless world." 50 That the family has not only been conforming to the socio- political changes, but has also possessed the capability for initiating changes in the political sphere cannot be refuted. It is imperative that we see the family as a model for the humanitarian state and as a locus for the initiation of social change. Belief in the power of the social institution of family to influence other social domains is reflected in the attempts made by the new bourgeoisie to propagate domestic virtues or "hausliche Tugenden"51, through the medium of pedagogical and literary discourses. Popular literature, such as Therese Huber's narratives also participated in 57 moralizing to their readers. They lack a direct radical statement when viewed from our contemporary point of view, and thus seem to make a plea for sustaining familial values, which bind family members together in "strong affective ties". Huber's depictions of family, at the surface, may not intend to change the political machinery of eighteenth century Germany, since they seem to present their readers with a value system which ensures the persistance of a bourgeois collective or a group amidst the nobility as well as lower strata. Her narratives, by focusing upon women's contribution as wives, mothers and housewives, draw attention to the fact that the male bourgeois public sphere, which attempted to transform the absolute state, was sustained by women's activities within the family. More importantly, however, the deviations from the accepted norms in these narratives introduce to the women readers ways in which they can assert themselves. The narratives thus fulfill a significant function of raising the readers' consciousness regarding their situation, and provide an impetus for social change. 4. Conformism and Confrontation in Therese Huber's Short Prose Narratives. It is probably the narratives' concentration upon domestic themes and their seemingly conservative tone which 58 prompts Wulf Kapke to conclude in his article "Immer noch im Schatten der Manner", that Therese Huber is conventional in her narratives, because she does not attack the institution of marriage.52 It is true that Huber's narratives appear to propagate marriage and family to the readers, but despite their tendency towards traditional norms, these prose narratives also frequently display confrontation with these same norms. It is this contradictory characteristic of Huber's narratives which renders them their discursive quality. Therese Huber's short prose narratives fulfill an important function of "putting into discourse" issues concerning women. Several of these narratives have an happy ending with the heroine conforming to the traditional norms, even after having had the opportunity to do otherwise. Such a capitulation by the heroine may be seen as a strategy on the author's behalf to instigate readers to think about reasons for the heroine's choices; the author indirectly "puts into discourse" women's issues by exposing readers to various choices, but finally allowing her characters no deviations from the norms. It is this inherent ambivalence of Huber's narratives which gives them their "discursive" edge.53 Foucault rightly maintains that discourses cannot be regarded as serving solely one purpose. It is incumbent upon readers to recognize their multi-dimensionality: Discourses are not once and for all subservient to 59 power or raised against it, any more than silences are. We must make allowance for the complex and unstable process whereby discourse can be both an instrument and an effect of power, but also a hindrance, a stumbling-block, a point of resistance and a starting point for an opposing strategy.54 Similarly, Therese Huber's short prose narratives should be regarded as a starting point for an opposing strategy, and not simply as affirmations of the status-qua. Because these narratives do not overtly oppose the traditional forms of marriage and family, it does not mean that they lack a "discursive" edge. Although these narratives moralize to women to be good daughters, housewives and mothers, they possess the ability to put women's issues into discourse when they also portray women characters who question their subordination. Thus, the apparent conservatism of these narratives disguises their capacity to act as instigators.55 They can force the readers to reflect upon the issues they raise. Considering the fact that Huber's short prose narratives were largely, if not exclusively read by women,56 it is difficult to imagine that they were successful in prescribing marriage to all the women readers. Therese Huber's overt moralizing in her narratives may have helped several women to be "good" housewives and mothers. At the 60 same time one can also imagine these narratives' potential to raise consciousness regarding the readers' situation when they depicted options other than domesticity for women. The narratives such as "Die ungleiche Heirat" and "Klosterberuf" show the heroines managing their own estates, whereas the heroine of the narrative "Die Frfih Verlobten" supervises her father's business by keeping books. In "Die Geschichte eines armen Juden" the female protagonist leaves her uncle's home in order to work as a governess. By diverting readers' attention from the socially sanctioned activities for women, the above mentioned narratives function as pointers for means of securing financial independence. In several narratives the women characters play a leading role within the family, whereas the male characters are either insignificant or absent.57 As mothers, the women in the narratives are responsible for the upbringing of children, as wives for the management of household and property. But as daughters, the young girls must follow parental guidance, and thus seem to be without any control of their futures. One could say that in Huber's narratives, the girls assume greater responsibility in their role of wives and mothers, once they leave the normative environment of their parents' house.58 But despite the powerful depiction of women characters as wives and mothers, one finds a constant shift between conformism and confrontation in these narratives: In some narratives, even when female 61 characters choose options within a domestic setting, the narrative contains radical elements. For example, in the narrative "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels", one of the women characters who is praised for her domestic virtues is also depicted by the narrator as an independent woman who chooses to help her husband in his work rather than breast-feed her child in the limited time available to her. On the other hand, in some narratives the initial rebelliousness of the women characters subsides as the narratives draw to a conclusion. In the narrative "Die Frfih Verlobten", the heroine who had assumed responsibility for her father's business and had rejected marriage, by the end of the narrative willingly marries her fiance and the reader does not hear of her work anymore. Thus, even though the women characters choose to deviate from the prescribed paths the narrative still ends with their return to domesticity. The ambivalence in these narratives might be explained as a consequence of the lack of power for women in a patriarchal society in which they have to assume culturally prescribed roles and as a consequence of Huber's attempt to extend the definition of femininity. By visualizing options other than those available for women's self-fulfillment in the patriarchal society, and by not rejecting the "natural" profession of women to be housewives and mothers, Huber's narratives enter into a negotiation with the ideology of late eighteenth century German society. Only by taking into 62 consideration the structures which produced and sustained women's subordination will it be possible to understand why Therese Huber's narratives lack a radical tone and are at the same time both conforming with and confronting women's situation in the society. 5. Gender specific socialization in Therese Huber's Short Prose Narratives In the following pages it will be shown that the female characters in Huber's stories confront social norms not necessarily by choosing options other than those available outside the family, but by remaining within the matrix of familial relationships. One finds projections as well as rejections of the status-quo for women in Therese Huber's narratives. In order to discuss the patterns of deviance and defiance of the female characters in Huber's narratives, it is important to look at the process of socialization which prepares an individual to integrate herself/himself in the society. This process of "rearing and training of offspring"59 is gender specific, since boys and girls have to be trained to fulfill different roles demanded in the society. Assimilation in the Sengender system 6° requires internalization of these mutually exclusive roles which individuals are able to discern in their childhood. 63 One finds that the instruction of social norms takes place via various processes, such as those of upbringing and friendship. Without an explication of the process of socialization, it is difficult to illustrate the deviations of the characters from the accepted norms in these narratives. Socialization being the most important function of the family, it is appropriate that Therese Huber's many narratives deal with the theme of gender specific socialization.61 The role of the father in the upbringing of children is seldom mentioned in Huber's narratives. A look at the bourgeois family in its historical context explains why the mother played an important role in the upbringing of the children. The absence of the father from the home naturally assigned the mother the task of educating her children, of making them aware that they lacked estatist privileges and thus of instilling values such as self- initiative in them. 5.1. The Mbther's Role in the Upbringing of Children Since mothers in the sentimental families play a major role in the gender specific socialization of children, the following analysis seeks to shed light upon Huber's depiction of motherhood. The discussion of two of Huber's 64 narratives "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels" and "Kindestreue" is framed within two questions. First, are mothers within the family as powerful as fathers working outside the home or are they mere auxilliaries of the gender ideology which creates complementary spheres of activities in order to preserve the dominant position of men? And do these narratives affirm motherhood as the "natural" and "innate" capacity of every woman or is it regarded as a socially imposed role upon her? 5.2 Examples of Children's Upbringing in "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels" and "Kindestreue" "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels" The narrative "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels" (1798-99) is a collection of letters exchanged between a mother, her daughter Emilie and the mother's young friends Adele and Charlotte who are sisters. Letters written by the old lady to her daughter Emilie and her friend Charlotte deal with the theme of the upbringing of children in such an explicit manner, that they appear to constitute a tractate on this subject. Preeminent to this discussion are three topics - the nursing of young infants by mothers, parental interference in children's upbringing and gender specific 65 education. This discussion in Huber's narrative reflects the increasing preoccupation of late eighteenth century Germany with the theme of upbringing of children.62 As noted earlier, late eighteenth century Germany witnessed a transformation of familial relations; parental affection towards their children was a novelty during this time. When viewed in the socio-political context, the changes in the family were expressing the need of the new bourgeoisie to set itself apart from the nobility as well as the lower classes. Increasing affection between parents and children in the "bourgeois family" distinguished it, for example, from a family of the higher classes in which children were left to the care of wet nurses, nannies or governesses. On the other hand since the bourgeois family lacked estatist privileges, it had to prepare its members from childhood to depend upon self-initiative. Children's education, therefore, became a widely discussed topic. "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels" illustrates the theme of the upbringing of children, mainly by focussing upon the role of the mother as an educator of her children. The letters written by women in this narrative serve a two-fold purpose: They not only serve to educate each other on the topic of the upbringing of children, but they bring the subjective, private perspectives of these women into public without raising suspicion of any non-traditional authorial views on this topic. 66 In her correspondence with her daughter Emilie, the old lady describes the married life of the young sisters and supports Charlotte's liberal outlook regarding the upbringing of children. Charlotte, who is the older of the two sisters is of a serious disposition, whereas Adele is described as the embodiment of womanly virtues- happy, loving and delicate. Charlotte strongly favors the idea of Nicht-Erziehung or non-upbringing of children, by which she means training children to be self-dependent [31]. Adele on the other hand is a zartliche Mutter or a tender mother, who is constantly reminded by her husband to take appropriate care of their new-born child. Adele's husband refers to their child as vornehmster Cast and Schatz [7], for whose sake Adele must relinquish other enjoyments. Charlotte's concept of making her children independent and preparing them for the future stands out in complete contrast to the protective attitude of her sister and her husband towards their child. A typical bourgeois sentiment of the times is echoed in Charlotte's question: MuB ich aber nicht bei meinen Kindern vor Augen haben, daB sie nicht bestimmt sind, auf Rosen zu wandeln, sondern Dornen und Disteln auf ihrem Wege auszuraumen, oder herzhaft niederzutreten? Ich verschleiere ihnen also keine der bittern Empfindungen, die ihnen bevorstehen - ... .[42] Charlotte's strictness and Adele and her husband's over 67 protection of their child - both positions reflect the new importance given to children in the family, and in a broader framework they relect the concerns of the new bourgeoisie to prepare its members for their future. More important than the descriptions of Charlotte and Adele's upbringing of their children, is the thematization of the issue of power that mothers have over their children. Might one not assume from the above description of Charlotte and Adele's role as mothers that Charlotte, the older sister wields more authority as a mother than Adele, because she is a helpmate to her husband in his work? Might one not claim that Charlotte's ability to be financially independent is the source of her power to adopt unconventional methods of upbringing for her children? Charlotte's character shows that if women have the financial power they also have power within the family. Adele's character, on the other hand, communicates that since she is completely dependent upon her husband, she must also pay heed to his instructions about children's upbringing - otherwise claimed by gender ideology as a mother's prerogative. When the narrative suggests that even the domestic sphere is under man's scrutiny, then it simply exposes the concept of complementary spheres of activities as being invalid in reality, because women's household activities then seem to be not as important as men's activities outside the home, but as subordinate to them. 68 In the event of Emilie's expecting a child, a nursing mother or saugende Mutter is often praised in the letters written to her by her mother. The old lady conveys in detail to her daughter the sisters views on breast feeding. It is easy to comprehend the significance of this theme in Huber's narrative, when one considers the value attached to it by the bourgeois moralists in eighteenth century Germany. Since parents were made more and more responsible for their children, leaving a child with a wet nurse was considered shirking responsibility. Wives in a bourgeois family were supposed to breast feed their babies themselves, unlike wives of the wealthy who employed wet nurses so that they could have more time for themselves. In Huber's narrative, while the younger sister Adele cannot imagine why any mother would want a wet nurse for her child, Charlotte refuses to nurse her child herself. Before Charlotte's decision can be misinterpreted as selfish and unmaternal, she explains the reasons for taking such a step: She must not only look after her house and her three children, but also help her husband with his business. Charlotte finds it impossible to fulfill this duty as a mother at the cost of her other duties. Touched by Charlotte's helplessness, the old lady counsels her daughter Emilie to act according to her situation: "Sollte aber Deine Lage Dich je auffodern, wie Charlotte zu handeln, so wfirdest Du entschlossen und ergeben sein, wie sie." [15] 69 It is interesting to note that Therese Huber skillfully employs the form of letters to expose the readers to various perspectives regarding one issue - and thereby escapes responsibility for having a definite stand on that issue. The sister's discussion or dialogue on breast feeding was conveyed with little interference by the letter writer in this case. As if trying to distance herself from any moralizing, the old lady leaves it upon her daughter to decide what is best for her: she does not enforce any absolute values for her daughter. Her admiration for Charlotte, on the other hand, is evident in her descriptions of Charlotte's unconventional methods of upbringing of her son and daughter. "Sie behandelt sie wie Individueen, die wissen, was sie machen." [32] Charlotte gives her children no toys, instead she lets them create their own toys so that their creativity is challenged and their intellect can develop - a reflection of the bourgeois virtue of self- dependence and self-initiative is evident in Charlotte's unusual method of upbringing. The narrator's praise for Charlotte's upbringing of her children can be seen as Huber's approval of the bourgeois norms, which favored a liberal upbringing of children. Heidi Rosenbaum asserts that this new notion of children's education was a consequence of the bourgeois social theory, which reflected upon the nature of "man". Questions such as, what is the nature of "man" or what is "man" in himself, 70 led to the conceptualization of human nature and the changes endured by it in a society. These methods of upbringing assumed children to be moldable individuals.63 Corporal punishment was replaced by increasing affection between parents and children. The aim of these reforms was to encourage "rational" behavior of children, so that they could create a place for themselves in the society which still maintained the privileged aristrocratic stratum.64 "Kindestreue" Unlike the narrative "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels", the narrative "Kindestreue" (1823) describes the upbringing of a girl in a noble family. The main character, Emma, is only five years old when her father Baron von Anberg dies. Frau von Anberg fulfills the promise given to her husband by sending Emma to a Herrnhuter institute after his death. She herself marries a wealthy man, Graf von Alpeck, and becomes actively involved in Berlin's social circles. When Emma returns to her mother's house after ten years at her institute, she finds her mother living a life of luxury and extravagance. Frau von Alpeck's social life is so demanding that it scarcely leaves her time for Emma, or for her son Theodor, from her second marriage. On her arrival at her mother's house, Emma is tersely informed by her mother that her busy 71 mornings may permit her fifteen minutes here and there to talk to her daughter. Feeling like a stranger in her mother's house, Emma is glad to make the acquaintance of Graf Herbert, who is a former pupil of her father's. Graf Herbert soon perceives Emma's disinterest and discomfort in her mother's fashionable society. Emma's education has not prepared her for a world which has so influenced her mother's life: "Emma war also mehr wie klOsterlich, sie war in Rficksicht des Weltlebens, zu dem sie bestimmt war, sehr verkehrt erzogen."[6] Graf Herbert comes to Emma's rescue in social gatherings, as well as Frau von Alpeck's, when she loses all her money in gambling. In a clause laid down by Emma's father, she could inherit his money only when she would marry Graf Herbert at the age of eighteen. At the same time an early marriage with Graf Herbert can give him authorization over her money, which could be used to pay off her mother's debt without Graf von Alpeck's knowledge. Therefore, upon Frau von Alpeck's request Graf Herbert agrees to marry Emma at the age of sixteen. At this juncture Frau v. Alpeck's creditors reach Graf v. Alpeck and demand payment. Enraged at the humiliation caused by this incident, Graf von Alpeck decides to divorce his wife on grounds of extravagance. When Emma receives the news of her mother's divorce from Graf v. Alpeck, she takes back her decision to marry Graf Herbert; she believes that Graf Herbert's 72 reputation would be at stake too if he married the daughter of a divorced woman. Emma now decides to ask her stepfather's permission to use the interest gathered on her money to pay off her mother's debt. But she is faced with a dilemma when Graf Herbert explains that her plan may cause her step-father another humiliation. Emma finally resolves to marry Graf Herbert and spends the rest of her life with him and her mother in Provence. Her money is used to pay off her mother's debts, but her mother still remains engrossed in her own social circle. The narrative ends with Emma's death caused by her disenchantment with this world and a yearning for the "other" world. It is interesting to see how the theme of estrangement between children and parents in noble families is introduced in this narrative. At the behest of the dying father, Emma is sent away from her mother to an institute - a clear indication of fathers' control over their children's upbringing. The narrator's descriptions of the surroundings of the Herrnhuter institute underscore Emma's alienation from the real world. IEmma's herrnhutermaBige Einfachheit is reflected in the narrator's emphasis on the serenity of 5 Since Emma has natural surroundings of the institute.6 not been prepared for the outside world, the social gatherings at her mother's house make Emma increasingly uncomfortable and sick. But despite the new atmosphere and her mother's indifference towards her needs, Emma decides to 73 concede to her mother's wishes: "sie betete, weinte, fiberdachte ihrer Lehrerin Ermahnungen und beschloB, sich in Allem, was nicht ihr Gewissen verbot, der Mutter Willen zuvorkommend zu ffigen."[15] Now Emma dresses up in fashionable clothes and attends balls given by her mother and her mother's friends. She is forced by her mother's sister to learn new dances and go for riding lessons, even though she does not desire to do so. Emma's efforts to seek her mother's affections aggravate her mother more and more. Right from the time of Emma's arrival at her mother's house she is given separate rooms away from her mother's rooms. She is also not permitted to spend time with her step brother, Theodor. Emma finds herself in a family where family members do not share time or emotions with each other - no "affective ties" bind members of this family together. Whereas other narratives offer positive portrayals of mothers as educators, this narrative criticizes a mother's selfishness and neglect. Since the plot of this narrative unfolds in a noble family, the narrator can easily attribute unmaternal qualities to Emma's mother. Criticism of a noble family through the depiction of an uncaring mother, indirectly props up bourgeois familial virtues of love, affection, caring and nurturing of young in the family. Another reason which may have prompted the writer to focus upon a family of a higher stratum, could have been her own position as a woman writer. Her depiction of an uncaring 74 and unloving mother in a bourgeois family, could have meant calling the readers' attention to her own profession, which in all probability did not leave her much time for children. The narrator does not portray the mother in a positive light, but at the same time motivates the mother's harshness towards her daughter. The narrator explains that Frau von Alpeck regards herself a martyr of other's unfairness - "Manche halten sich ffir Anderer Unrecht - und unter dieser gehérte die unglfickliche Grafin v. Alpeck." [74] She was forced to marry a man much older than herself and who was of a serious disposition. Feeling emotionally robbed, Emma's mother expresses her anger against her daughter as well. Another reason for her cold behavior towards her daughter is that Emma is of a completely different nature. Emma's personality has been shaped by her pietist upbringing. She is called a novice and "das kleine Kostfraulein" by her mother's friends. Whereas her mother's vanity knows no bounds, Emma is troubled to see so much money being spent on her. Emma's piety and selflessness are virtues which are not valued in her mother's superficial world. Once again the reader discovers the author's ambivalent position in depicting women characters in their traditional roles. Emma's mother is condemned for neglecting her maternal duties, but she is also excused when the narrator motivates her actions. The contradictory tone in the narrative prompts the reader to ask if it is right to 75 believe that all women are endowed with a "natural" inclination for fulfilling maternal roles. On the surface, the author reprimands the reader through Frau von Alpeck's character for neglecting maternal duties, but then Frau von Alpeck's character also conveys to the reader that not all women possess innate emotions of love and caring, and that motherhood is a socially imposed role. If a woman does not fulfill this role as prescribed, then she may cause the death of her child and thus suffer, like Frau von Alpeck did when Emma died. But then again, the ending of this narrative may be interpreted as signalling Huber's tolerance of women who do not desire to take on maternal responsibilities, for the narrative concludes by claiming that Frau von Alpeck was unhappy after her daughter's death and that her marital relationship lacked love, but this marriage, " [] sie ward, je langer je mehr, ein treuer Verein zur Bef6rderung auBeren Wohlstandes und innern Friedens."[84] Does this happy ending of Frau von Alpeck and her husband not seem to absolve her of her unmaternal behavior and thus accept her different personality as natural too? Although Huber's narratives underscore women's contributions in domestic settings, one cannot assign them to the category of radical feminist literature. The ambivalence in Therese Huber's portrayal of women arises due to the fact that the women characters as housewives or 76 mothers exercise authority, but are, nevertheless, dependent upon men. No matter how independent these women characters may seem to be at first glance, they do not possess the absolute authority in the household, and as such are not ambitious to usurp male hegemony. Such a noncommital position taken by Huber reflects the consequences of women's powerlessness in eighteenth century Germany. Her non- radical position is an indication, in general, of how women writers publicizing the private in their writings, tried to simultaneouly safeguard their personal integrity. I believe that women writers could afford to voice their discontent with the value system only fleetingly. It is in these fleetingly defiant or non-conformist moments of women's writing that they can find ways to express themselves. 77 Notes 1 The term "whole house" or das ganze Hans has been taken from Otto Brunner's article "Das ‘ganze Haus' und die alteuropaische ‘Okonomik'." Otto Brunner, Neue Wege der Verfassungs- und Sozialgeschichte (GOttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1968) 107-9. Heidi Rosenbaum also uses the term das ganze Hans to include those artisan households in which the separation of work place from home had not taken place. Heidi Rosenbaum, Fermen ger Familie (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1982) 180. Mitterauer and Sieder prefer to use the term Hausgemeinschaft instead of das ganze Haus for the older form of domestic unity. They believe that the word das ganze Hans has acquired certain meanings in its historical development and therefore should be avoided. Their arguement is against using the word Haus, which means today the building, and not the social group living in it. Michael Mitterauer, and Reinhard Sieder, The European Famiiy: Patriarchy to Partnership from the Middle Ages to the greeent (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1982) 9. My use of the term das ganze Haus signifies the older form of domestic unity. I believe that this term appropriately brings out the contrast between the new family construct and the old form of domestic unity. Since it has been used by many historians cited in this chapter too, it 78 is convenient to continue with its usage. 2In his article "Familie" Dieter Schwab contends that, between 1780 and 1810 one saw the emergence of such programs in Germany which tried to undermine the family's social role: "Gerade der Zeitraum zwischen ca. 1780 und dem ersten Jahrzehnt des 19. Jahrhunderts ist in Deutschland von Programmen erffillt, welche die soziale Rolle der Familie zurflckzudrangen suchen." Dieter Schwab, "Familie", Geschichtliche Grundbegriff : Hietorisches Lexikon zur poiitieeh-sozialen Sprache in Deutschland, vol.2 (Stuttgart: Ernst Klett, 1975) 271. 3 Mitterauer and Sieder, The Euro ean Famil , 130. 4 Lawrence Stone, The Family, Sex and Marriage in Emgland 1500-1800 (New York: Harper & Row, 1977) 7. 5B. A. Sorensen, Herrschaft und zartlichkeit: Der Betriareheiismus und das Drama in 18.Jahrhundert (Munich: C.H. Beck, 1984) 45. 6Susan Moller Okin, "Women and the Making of the Sentimental Family," Philosophy and Public Affairs 11.1 (1982):14 7It should be noted here that the term pater familias is not used to refer either to the biological father or the sentimental father, whose ubiquitous portrayal marks late 79 eighteenth and early nineteenth century German literary discourses. The term is used to denote the status of the male figure in the "whole house" who had authority over his wife, children, servants and other persons belonging to the house - all those who collectively composed the familia. 8Reinhart Koselleck, "Die Auflfisung des Hauses als standischer Herrschaftseinheit," Familie zwischen Tradition umd Moderne, eds. Neithard Bulst, Joseph Goy and Jochen Hoock (Gattingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1981) 114-5. 9 Koselleck, 114. 1° Campe's book vaterlicher Rat an meine Tochter stands out as an appropriate example of a literature explicitly participating in propagating marriage and motherhood to women. Joachim Heinrich Campe, vaterlicher Rat an meine Toehter: Eim Gegenstfick zum Theophron: Der erwachsenerp w ' ' u ew' t (Braunschweig: Schulbuchhandlung, 1789) 11In his article "Familie", Dieter Schwab states that in the course of eighteenth century, marriage increasingly signified the union of souls: "... im Verlauf des 18. Jahrhunderts macht eine die gesamte Person engagierende psychische Disposition zum Wesen der Ehe selbst."(285) The new concept of marriage also aided in establishing the moral superiority of the bourgeoisie over nobility where 80 the choice of married partners was controlled by their social status and not mutual love. 12 Dieter Schwab explains in the article "Familie", that introduction of the new concept of marriage through English literature consequently introduced friendship and love in marriage: "In Deutschland mehren sich seit der Jahrhundertmitte die Stimmen, die in der Ehe eine Gemfithsverbindung sehen und als Endzweck die Freundschaft angeben. Folgenrichtig kann die Liebe zur Voraussetzung der Ehe gemacht und mit ihr letztlich identisch werden." (285) 13According to Rolf Grimminger: "Die eheliche Liebe im ganzen Haus bestand weitgehend in der Erffillung einer Summe von hauslichen Pflichten. Dagegen hat jetzt der Mann ziemlich einseitig der neuen Pflicht zu genhgen, sich durch seine Rationalitat in der familienfernen Welt des Marktes und der Amter durchzusetzen; von der Frau erwartet er im Ausgleich dazu, daB sie zu Haus sein "Herz" zufriedenstellt." Rolf Grimminger, ed., Qeursche Apikiérepg bis zur Fremzdsischen Revolution 1680-1789 (Munich: Carl Hanser, 1980) 96. 14 The predominant use of the German word Familie instead of Hans in late eighteenth century Germany is a manifestation of changes occuring in the familial structure during that time. Dieter Schwab.believes that the numerous .15-" fl ‘ 72-. _I i: O - - 'v- u -. ,. .. .... -. “v ’ o ’ .. 'V ».. w ‘ ‘- -.-. ~ - v ‘9 - -Q . C - - 81 compound words containing the word "family" since the beginning of nineteenth century signify the growing importance of the social institution of family.(Schwab, 288) Before the use of the German word Familie, the German word Hans was used in the same sense as the French word famille and the original Latin word familia, which refers to a group of related or non-related people living under the authority of the father. (Mitterauer and Sieder, 6-7) In addition, Hans also referred to the building in which this group lived. During the period of growing industrialization and urbanization, the word Haus became inappropriate to describe people living together under paternal rule without necessarily owning a house. Therefore, the word Familie gained in significance. Though, it was only in the latter half of eighteenth century that the word Familie signified a nuclear family. 15 Mitterauer and Sieder believe that the present German word Familie came into general use only in the eighteenth century. They claim that "at that time it meant, in the first place, that small group, the nuclear family, ...." (Mitterauer and Sieder,6). Otto Brunner too, like Mitterauer and Sieder, clearly states that the German word Familie in the eighteenth century meant nuclear family. According to him: "Erst im 18. Jahrhundert dringt das Wort Familie in die deutsche 82 Umgangssprache ein und gewinnt jene eigentfimliche Geffihlsbetontheit, die wir mit ihr verbinden. Voraussetzung ist offenbar die Herausldsung der engeren stadtischen Kleinfamilie aus der Gesamtheit des Hauses." (Brunner, 111) A clearer explanation of the usage of the term nuclear family is offered by Karin A. Wurst. She asserts that the transformation of the extended family to nuclear family took place mainly in the nineteenth century. The familial structural change did not occur in all classes at the same time. She cites the example of German middle class civil servants in eighteenth century, whose work took them away from home and thus created a seperation of production and consumption in their households. This demarcation of two spheres led to the transformation of the family structure in the middle class civil servant's family. But it is possible that the other classes were still living in extended families or possessed household economies. This should warn us against using the term nuclear family for all the classes of eighteenth century Germany. Karin A. Wurst, Familie Liepe ist die "Wahre Gewalt": Reprasentation der Familie in G, E. Leseings Dramatischem Werk (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1988) 12-3. 15 It should be noted here that the discussion of tmpes of family structures does not assume linear development from "household" to "family". On the contrary, a I13ference to the predominance of one structure over the 83 other is being made. Lawrence Stone believes "there is no such thing as a characteristic family type applicable to all ranks of society at a given time." (Lawrence Stone, Family, Ser emd Marriage in England 1500-1800, 17). Although he talks about the plurality of family types existing in different social strata in different times, he agrees that "the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw the decline, both as an ideal and as a practice, of the great noble household and its replacement by a new ideal of loyalty to the state."(Stone, 29) Ute Frevert contends that: "Since the latter half of the century the bourgeois literature of the Age of Enlightenment clearly specified "the family" as a sphere of social interaction and reproduction outside of the work place, and one reserved exclusively for the marriage partners and their children." Ute Frevert, Women im German Hietory: From Bourgeois Emancipation to Sexuai Liberatiom (New York: St. Martins P NY, 1989) 14. 17Karin Hausen states in her article, "Eine Spiegelung der Dissoziation von Erwerbs- und Familienleben", that: "Es ging darum, im Falle der Frauen die postulierte Entfaltung der vernfinftigen Persdnlichkeit auszuséhnen mit den ffir wunschenswert erachteten Ehe-und Familienverhaltnissen. Das Interesse an "Geschlechtscharakteren" entwickelte sich im ZUSEImmenhang mit diesen Bestrebungen." Karin Hansen, "Eine 84 Spiegelung der Dissoziation von Erwerbs- und Familienleben", Soeieigeschichte der Familie in der Neuzeit Europas, ed., Werner Conze (Stuttgart: Ernst Klett, 1976) 372. 18Hansen, "Eine Spiegelung der Dissoziation von Erwerbs- und Familienleben", 373. 19Hausen, 377. 20Frevert, Women in German Histo , 18. 21 Dagmar Grenz, MHdchenliteratur. Von den moralisch- bekehrenden Schriften im 18. Jahrhundert bis zur Heremebiigumg der Backfischliteratur im 19. Jahrhundert (Stuttgart: Metzler, 1981) 20. 22Frevert, Women in German Histo , 17. 23The ALR's several articles in Part II, title I. regarding conjugal relations blatantly encourage the subordination of wives under husbands. The following articles explicitly legalize male domination for a "higher" purpose, i.e. of procreation. Art. 1. The principle end of marriage is the procreation and upbringing of children. Art. 184. The husband is the head of the conjugal society and his decision prevails in their joint affairs. Art., 195. She may not exercise a specific trade for herself agadLnst her husband's will. EH I I.__ 85 Art. 180 of the ALR allows nursing mothers to live separately from their husbands, for it states, "Nursing mothers are also legally authorized to refuse cohabitation." But this privilege is annulled by another article in Part II, Title II of the ALR, which deals with reciprocal rights and duties of of parents and children. Art. 67 and 68 state that a healthy mother is required to breast feed her baby and it is, however, the father's right to decide on the length of time she shall give her breast to the child. (qtd. in Susan Groag Bell, and Karen M. Offen, eds., Women, the Femiiy erg Freedom: The Debate in Documents, vol. 1 1750- 1880 (Stanford: Stanford UP, 1983) 38-9. 24Rudolph Vierhaus, Germany in the Age of Absolutism (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1988) 33. 25The term "middle orders", borrowed from Vierhaus, is meant to convey that the bourgeoisie was not one unified group during the last half of the eighteenth century, but rather consisted of various groups. Vierhaus believes that: It is not meaningful to speak of the bourgeoisie as a class or estate or to view it as a clearly definable part of the social system; nor can we assert that it rose as a collectivity and that its social significance increased. It is much more important to name those particular groups Witllin the middle orders of society whose role and SJI-gllificance increased. (German in the e of Absolut' m, 86 32) 26Vierhaus, Qermany in the Age,of Absolutism, 55. 27Vierhaus, Germany in the Age of Absolutism, 55. 28Frevert, Women in German Histo , 14-15. 29In her book Madchenliteratur, Dagmar Grenz discusses in detail the programmatic nature of these books in influencing their female readership. This discussion also takes a look at other books such as G. F. Niemeyer's yermachtniss An Helene Von Ihrem Vater (1794) and J. L. Ewald's book with the self-explanatory title Die Kunst Ein Gutee Madchen, Eine Gute Gattin, Mutter Und Hausfrau Zu Wergem (1798) which intended to moralize their readers. 3° J. J. Rousseau, Emil or On Education, ed. and trans. Allan Bloom (New York: Basic Books, 1979) 365. 31 Rousseau claims in Emile that: "In the union of the sexes each contributes equally to the common aim, but not in the same way. From this diversity arises the first assignable difference in the moral relations of the two sexes. One ought to be active and strong, the other passive and weak." (358) 32 Immanuel Kant, Anthropology from a Pragmatic Eoimr 2£_§lieyy trans. Victor Lyle Dowdell, ed. Hans H. Rudnick 87 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1978) 216. 33Kant, 224. 34In the first appendix to The Science of R1 hts, J. G. Fichte discusses the "Fundamental Principles of the Rights of Family." In the context of sexual impulse of human beings, Fichte states that: "The particular determinedness of this institution of nature is this, that in the satisfying of the impulse, or in the promotion of the end of nature, so far as the real act of generation is concerned, the one sex keeps purely active, and the other purely passive." J. G. Fichte, The Science of Ri hts, trans. A. E. Kroeger (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1970) 402. 35J. G. Fichte, The Science of Ri ht , 402. 36Dagmar Grenz maintains that Gottsched became an enthusiastic supporter of women's education. She states that: "Er ermunterte die Frauen zum Schreiben und gab ihre Werke heraus, er schlug sie ffir Ehrungen durch Universitaten oder als Mitglieder von Akademien vor, und er gab Biografien gelehrter Frauen heraus, um beim weiblichen Geschlecht den Ehrgeiz zu erwecken, es diesen Frauen auf dem Gebiete der Wissenschaften und Kfinste gleichzutun." (Grenz, lfiflishenliteratur. 7) 37See Bovenschen's discussion of "Gelehrsamkeit, 88 moralische Belehrung und die Tficke der Weiblichkeitsbilder" in order to comprehend Gottsched's programm concerning women's learning. Silvia Bovenschen, Die imaginierte Weiblichkeit: Exemplarische Untersuchungen zu kulturgeschichtlichen und literarischen Présentationsformem ges Weiblichen (Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1979) 92-110. 38Inge Stephan, "So ist die Tugend ein Gespenst: Frauenbild und Tugendbegriff bei Lessing und Schiller", Leesing end die Toleranz: Sonderband zum Lessing Yearbook, eds. Peter Freimark, Franklin Kopitzsch and Helga Slessarev (Detroit: Wayne State UP, 1986) 362. 39Rousseau, Emile, 409. 40..., 409. 41 In the narrative Fragmente eines Briefwechsels Charlotte wishes to employ a wet nurse for her baby. She does not abide by the contemporary maternal image when she announces her intention of employing a wet nurse for her baby. When her younger sister reprimands her for thinking about such a plan, she says that her situation does not allow her to nurse her baby. She is not in good health, has to look after her other three children and the household, and help her husband with his business. (Vol.1, 14) In another narrative Die Frfihverlobten Ursula helps to manage her father's business after his death, whereas her 89 sister Sophie finds an outlet for her grief in her fiance Marcus' company. Ursula refuses to marry her fiance Arist, but agrees to accept his friendship and support in bringing up Sophie and Marcus' son. (Vol. VI, 89) 42 Karin A. Wurst talks about the ambitions of bourgeois theorists, who projected their ideas of a humanitarian political system on the institution of family. They saw the "family" as capable of exerting an influence on the absolutist political system: "An der Entwicklung der Familie, ihren zugrundeliegenden ideologischen Praxen und ihrer Representation im literarischen Kunstwerk lassen sich die Probleme der bfirgerlichen Erziehungsutopie, die die gesamte Aufklarung in allen Bereichen durchziehen, in nuce ablesen. Familie wurde dabei als vorbildliches emanzipatorisches Ideal der privaten Sphare gesehen, das in utopischer Projektion zur Humanisierung der 6ffentlich- politischen Sphare ffihren sollte." (Familiale Liebe ist die "Wahre Qewait", III) 43Jiirgen Habermas projects the bourgeois public sphere to be situated between the family and the absolutistic state. He contends that the political function of the bourgeois public was to control the public opinion. With the support of its intimate private sphere or family, the bourgeois public also defied the monarchical authority. "Die politische Aufgabe bfirgerlicher Offentlichkeit ist die 90 Regelung der Zivilsoziet'at (civil society, societe civile im thrterschied zur res publica); mit den Erfahrungen einer intimisierten Privatsphare gleichsam im Rficken, bietet sie der etablierten monarchischen Autoritét die Stirn." Jfirgen Habermas, Strukturwandel der Offentlichkeit (Neuwied: Luchterhand, 1962) 66. 44In her book Familiale Liebe ist die "Wahre Gewalt", Karin A. Wurst discusses the role of sentimental family in eighteenth century Germany. She contends that: "Familie wurde dabei als vorbildliches emanzipatorisches Ideal der privaten Sphare gesehen, das in utopischer Projektion zur Humanisierung der 6ffentlich-politischen Sphare ffihren sollte." (III). 45It should be noted here that I do not intend to interpret Habermas' assertion regarding the bourgeois public sphere's borrowing of the concept of a paternal authority from within the family which is applied to the figure possessing political authority, as progressive. Habermas' concept of bourgeois public sphere does not mention women even if it depends upon the institution of family as its model for reforming the political structure of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Germany. It condones the indispensable participation of women as emotional counterparts of the caring, but strict fathers in a bourgeois family. Habermas' theory of the bourgeois 91 public sphere is important for the purpose of this dissertation in so far as it functions as an analytical tool to understand how women in the late eighteenth century Germany participated in the public life. 46 Michael Mitterauer and Reinhard Sieder, The European Eemily; Petriarchy to Partnership from the Middle Ages r0 Elle—212%, 5- 47 B. A. Sorensen, Herrschaft und zartlichkeir, 45. 48I see Habermas' category of literary public sphere implicitly including women either as salonniéres or as consumers of literary writings, although explicitly it was composed of men who met outside of home in clubs, coffee- houses and masonic lodges. 49Reinhard Koselleck, Kritik und Krise (Freiburg: Karl Alber, 1959) 80. 5° Rayna Rapp, Ellen Ross, and Renate Bridenthal, "Examining Family History", Feminist Studies ns 5.1 (1979): 175. 51Rudolph Vierhaus, "Der Aufstieg des Bfirgertums vom spéten 18. Jahrhundert bis 1848/49", Bfirger und Bfirgerliehkeit im i9. Jahrhunder , ed. Jfirgen Kocka (G6ttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1987) 66. 92 52 In discussing Therese Huber's novel Die Ehelosen, Wulf KOpke makes a general statement concerning Huber's conservative position which supports and propagates marriage for women: "Therese Huber greift natfirlich nicht die Institution der Ehe an; sie ist in deisem Punkt durchaus konventionell. Sie fordert auch keinen Platz ffir die Frau in der Offentlichkeit, in einem Beruf, so wie sie selbst ihn ausfibte." Wulf Kapke, "Immer noch im Schatten der Manner? Therese Huber als Schriftstellerin", Geor Forster als geeeiieeheftlicher Schriftsteller der Goethezeir, ed. Detlev Ramussen (Tfibingen: Gunther Narr, 1987) 125. In the same article Képke himself provides an explanation for Therese's position regarding marriage and family. He correctly states that Therese Huber belonged to a generation which seeked to escape the revolutionary chaos of its time to find security in the notion of a natural family: "Therese sucht als Mitglied einer Generation, die das Erdbeben der Revolution am innerlichsten erlebt hat, ebenso Schutz vor dem Chaos, wie sie sich gegen geistliche und politische Despotie wehrt. Sicherheit verbfirgt ihr dabei einzig und allein die Bildung des Menschen zum selbststandigen Wesen und seine Verankerung in einer primaren "natfirlichen" Gemeinschaft, wie der Familie ... ." (131) 53 Foucault considers the "discursive fact", the "putting into discourse" an important factor in 93 disseminating knowledge about sex. Michel Foucault, History of Sexuality: Vol. I: An Introduction (New York: Vintage, 1980) 11. 54 Foucault, The History of Sexuality. Vol.1: An Introduction. 100-1. 55 The prose narrative "Drei Abschnitte aus dem Leben eines guten Weibes" contains the instigating element characteristic of Huber's narratives. Molly, the main character of the narrative is waiting to marry the "right" man. She considers love a kind of servitude and thus stays away from it. At the same time Molly asks her aunt, "muB denn alles Lieben zum Heirathen ffihren"?, or must all loving culminate in marriage (157)- indicating thereby that she regards love and marriage as separate issues. Later in the narrative Molly rejects the love of a chivalrous young aristocratic man for marriage with a much older and wealthier man. Molly's query to her aunt and then her marriage instigate the reader to question whether Therese Huber through Molly's character justifies the existence of passionate love outside of marriage. 56In his article, "Weibliches Lesen: Romanleserinnen im spaten 18. Jahrhundert", Erich Schfin asserts, that in the eighteenth and nineteenth century novels were mainly read by women. According to him: "das Publikum der Belletristik 94 sind im 18. Jahrhundert - wie dann auch im 19. - fiberwiegend die Frauen." Erich Schén, "Weibliches Lesen: Romanleserinnen im spaten 18. Jahrhundert", Untersuchungen zum Roman von Frauen um 1800, eds. Helga Gallas, and Magdalene Heuser (Tubingen: Niemeyer, 1990) 21. Erich Schdn further adds that if one considers the issue of reception of novels, then hardly any novels other than women's novels existed during the latter years of eighteenth century. (23) 57In the narrative "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels" mothers are responsible for the upbringing of their children- fathers remain in the background. Similarly, in "Drei Abschnitte aus dem Leben eines guten Weibes" and "Theorrytes-eines Priestergeschichte", children's education is portrayed to be solely mothers' responsibility. 581n the narrative "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels" the mother explains the reasons for exercising strict control over her daughter's education. Her statement- "... und eine gute Tochter wird eine pflichtmaBige Frau" (Vol. I, 50)- indicates the significance of gender-specific socialization which occurs in the family. 59 Mitterauer & Sieder, The Euro ean Famil , 80. 6° According to Gayle Rubin, sex/gender system is that system which transforms biological sexuality into a product of human activity, and that which satisfies these 95 transformed sexual needs. Gayle Rubin, "The Traffic in Women: Notes on the ‘political economy' of sex", Toward an Amrhropology of Women, ed. Rayna Reiter (New York: Monthly Review P, 1975) 159. 61Huber's narratives "Alte Zeit und neue Zeit" (1823) and "Der Wille bestimmt die Bedeutung der That" focus on the theme of gender-specific upbringing for boys and girls. Both these narratives treat childhood as an anteroom to maturity in which children must be taught subjects appropriate for their roles as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. 62Rosenbaum, Formen der Famiiie, 267. 63 Rosenbaum, 268. 54 ... . 270 65The narrator uses the imagery of unspoiled natural surroundings to convey Emma's religious disposition: "Gebet und Fruende war in ihrem Herzen fast verschmolzen; denn der Anblick der langen Reihen von Schneebergen, wenn die Abendréthe sie farbte, der weite See, wenn er silberhell die hohen Ufer abspiegelte oder lichtgraue Streifen sein dunkles Blau als gahnende Abgrfinde hervorhob; der leise West, der den Duft der Weinblfite von den Vorhfigeln des Jura herabwehte, oder der Jorant, der tobend von der H6he des 96 Chasserals niederfuhr: Alles erregte in Emma den Gedanken an Gott, und ihre Empfindung ward Gebet."(Vol.IV, 6) CHAPTER III Feminist Issues Relevant to Therese Huber's Short Prose Narratives The preceding chapter discussed the transformation of the "whole house" into the institution of the family and the position of women within it. The chapter undertook a study of the development of the bourgeois sentimental family by concentrating upon the material and ideological changes in the eighteenth century Germany. It also described the changing role of women within the family. The roles assigned to men and women and Therese Huber's response, as a woman writer, to these mutually exclusive male and female roles were discussed. It was suggested that such mutually exclusive male and female roles were promoted to guarantee women's subordination in the face of growing individualism. This chapter presents the next step in analyzing her five short prose narratives. It is framed within the question of "how" a woman writer could express herself publicly in a society which strictly demarcated women's and men's spheres of activities. Late eighteenth and early nineteenth century German society saw an increase in the number of women writers and simultaneously an increase in readers and critics, who not 97 98 only judged women's writing according to certain literary criteria, but also according to the ability of these writers to balance their literary careers with familial duties: A "bad" wife or mother could not be a "good" writer. In View of such a reaction, women writers were not only limited in their choice of subject matter, but also in the way they presented it. This chapter, therefore, will point out to the levels of mediation Therese Huber's writings were subjected to before they reached their readers, i.e., it will illustrate the presence of all the male voices, such as those of her husband, a contemporary literary historian and her son which introduced Huber's writing to the readers. The discussion will have to consider how women had to employ various strategies in order to present non-traditional views to their reading public. 1. Male Resistance to Women's Fiction When Therese Huber undertook writing in 1793 in order to supplement her husband Ludwig Ferdinand Huber's income, her father had to be convinced that she was merely assisting her husband with translations or with those writing projects for which he did not have the time or the inclination. Ludwig Ferdinand Huber's letter to his father-in-law attempts to ward off the father's concern regarding his daughter's unweiblicher Drang or unfeminine drive - to 99 write. Meant to be a defense of Therese's writing, this letter, in characterizing writing as unfeminine, also exposes the prevalent prejudices against women writers in late eighteenth century Germany. L.F. Huber's portrayal of Therese's household activities amidst which she manages to write/translate is intended to convey the priority Therese grants her marital and maternal duties. L.F. Huber allay's his father-in-law's fears regarding Therese's writing when he gives him an inventory of all the household activities managed by Therese. He explains that whatever Therese jots down between the process of sewing a shirt or a jacket, or teaching her children, or in the company of her little daughter can hardly be called literature since it is written in such a non-serious manner. Thus, L. F. Huber protects Therese's writing indirectly by devaluing it on the one hand and lauding her interest in the household activities on the other. Oscillating between support for his wife's literary efforts, because they are a source of income for the household, and rejection of those same efforts, because they cannot meet established literary standards, L.F. Huber's letter sheds light upon the situation of women writers in late eighteenth century Germany: Und ihre Autorschaft! Ach, wenn ich Ihnen dieses Stfick von Theresens Leben und Herzen so anschaulich machen kannte, Ihr Vaterherz mfiBte sehr dadurch erfreut werden, anstatt einen 100 lacherlichen, unweiblichen Drang darin zu finden! Erstlich fibersetzt sie mit, weil ich nicht mit aller Arbeit fertig werden kann, und dieser Gebrauch eines Teiles ihrer Zeit der 6konomisch eintraglichste ist. Und was sie dann aus sich selbst so hinwirft, was sie ffir ein Hemd, ein Wams, eine Lektion mit den Kindern, ffir irgend ein anderes Geschaft bei der Kleinen mit tausend Freuden verlaBt, was sie nur treibt, weil es sich von mir fiberarbeitet und aufgestutzt sehr eintraglich gefunden hat, weil ich um Beitrage angegangen werde, die ich selbst ganz zu liefern weder MuBe noch Stimmung habe, was sie auf die lacherlichste Weise treibt, wenn man denkt, daB es endlich etwas Gedrucktes gibt, und ein Gevatterbrief manche Frau mehr vom Hauswesen zerstreut und abruft, was so durchaus Chaos ist, daB nie gesagt werden k6nnte, so wie es gedruckt wird, sei es von ihr, kurz, was einem Autorwesen so ahnlich sieht, wie das Feld zu pflfigen der Haltung einer akademischen Rede - ihr das zum Verbrechen oder zum literarischen Ruhm anzurechnen, ware wirklich gleich barbarisch.l Although L.F. Huber is shielding Therese from accusations of neglect of her domestic duties, his letter, nevertheless, makes evident the double standard used to measure women's 101 writing. While on the one hand women's literary efforts were decried because they implied women's disinterest in the household activities, on the other hand, when literary works produced by women failed to measure up to male literary standards because they took shape amidst household activities, they were regarded as "trivial". Similarly, L.F. Huber's letter conveys to the reader that Therese's writing is one of the several activities she does around the house: Therese coordinates writing with various chores such as sewing and looking after her children. It is funny that Therese can write in such an atmosphere, claims her husband. But he is quick to add that finally it is he who revises and enhances her work. He further maintains that what Therese does, hears about as much resemblance to being a true author as plowing a field does to writing an academic speech. His letter functions thus not only as a justification, as an apology for his wife's unconventional interests, but also as an expose of the conditions under which women writers of the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth century completed their works. The only writing activity, encouraged in women during this time, was epistolary writing.2 Women expressed themselves in letters, sometimes with the intention of seeing their letters published.3 Literary activity by women beyond that of letter-writing was still frowned upon in the last decade of eighteenth century Germany. It was not only expected that Therese Huber's writing 102 be sanctioned by her father and her husband as appropriate to her role as a wife and a mother, but it also had to conform to the requirements set up by the male literary establishment regarding the content of women's writing. C. W. O. A. von Schindel's literary history, the only literary history existing during the beginning of the nineteenth century, explicitly deals with biographies of literary women of the nineteenth century.4 This three part literary history, although sympathetic towards women writers, prescribes only religious and familial topics for them in the essay "Ueber die Schriftstellerei der Frauen und ihren Beruf dazu" (1825). By attributing to women intellectual grace, fantasy, a finer and more knowledge of other people than men, feelings for the aesthetically and morally beautiful and proper, and warm and deep feelings for religious matters, Schindel implicitly characterizes women as incapable of dealing with themes other than domesticity and religion. He suggests that women draw upon their "natural" gifts to write.5 Literary space for women thus becomes a function of their social space, which in turn is determined by their "natural" characteristics. Any venture beyond the thematic boundaries, therefore, signalled women's transgression of domestic values and their ambition to enter the public sphere. Schindel confirms this prejudice against women writers when he labels their deviations from permitted 103 themes a sacrilage or Frevel. Refering to women who write without possessing the "necessary" talent - to deal with prescribed issues - Schindel charges that, even if they escape the prying glances of the critics, they would damage the reputation of other women writers with their worthless books: Die aber sich berufen ffihlen, im Tempel der Musen zu arbeiten, ohne vom Vater Apoll einen wirklichen Aufnahmebrief vorzeigen zu kOnnen, - nun unsere scharfen Recensenten werden ihren Frevel schon zfichtigen, oder, wenn sie so glficklich sind, ihrem Spaherblick zu entgehen, - so.werden ihre noch so sch6n gedruckten Geistesproducte bald als Maculatur die ihrer rfihmlicheren Schwestern umhfillen.6 In view of such uncongenial writing conditions for women, it is not surprising that L.F. Huber protects Therese by assuring his father-in-law of her devotion to household duties. He makes a virtue of Therese's writing by portraying it as a much needed contribution to the household income and assistance to him. It is true that Therese Huber wrote in order to supplement her husband L. F. Huber's income and after his death in 1804 took up writing as a profession to support her family.7 She not only helped her husband with translations of French dramas, but also wrote several short prose 104 narratives, travelogues, essays and novels. Although Therese Huber's prolific literary activity was mainly motivated by her financial need, she also wished to be acknowledged as a writer. Therese's desire to achieve readership and recognition can be inferred from a letter written to a fellow writer, Karoline Pichler in 1821. As compared to her letter of 1794 to a friend, Johann Jakob Hottinger's wife,8 her letter to Karoline Pichler is a testimony to her literary ambition. In her correspondence with other friends and acquaintances, she had demonstrated her interest in familial matters by not only suppressing, but also vehemently denying writing from a personal interest. Her elation at being included as a writer along with Karoline Pichler in Cotta's Taschenbuch renders her previous claims as mere strategies for keeping criticism at bay. After describing her various writing projects in this letter, she states that she is thankful for the favorable acclaim for her book Hannah er er h er' mm: Meine Hannah hat sehr viele Leser und ein viel gfinstigers Urteil gefunden wie ich erwartete. Das freut mich, ich bin dankbar, hatte aber das Gegenteil ffir kein Unglfick, noch weniger Unrecht gehalten. DaB ich in Cottas Taschenbuch neben Ihnen, geehrte Frau, allein als Erzahlerin stehe, hat mir sonderbar wohlgetan.9 105 Therese Huber also worked as the editor of the newspaper Morgenblatt ffir gebildete Stands owned by the publishing house Cotta. Although she was paid for this job, Cotta did not publicly announce her editorship, on her own request. Since a woman editor was an anomaly during her time, Therese Huber feared that readers would react negatively to her editorship of the newspaper. Therese Huber's writings were presented to the public with a defensive tone, even after her death. In the introduction to her short prose narratives her son, who was the publisher of six volumes of her short prose narratives underplays her significance as a writer. Although these narratives were published in the 1830's, at a time when Germany saw more and more women expressing themselves through writingylo'Therese Huber's son is wary of flaunting his mother's work in public. He maintains that his mother never claimed a concept of art without any moral or didactic purpose for herself: Die Verfasserin hat ffir ihre Arbeiten nie das Vorrecht der Kunst, der Poesie in Anspruch genommen: keinen unmittelbaren moralischen Zweck zu haben. Sie hat den altvaterlichen Begriff nie ablegen k6nnen, daB solche Arbeiten belehren und bessern sollen, indem sie die Frucht eigner Lebenserfahrung auch Andern zu Gute kommen lassen.---. Hieraus geht schon hervor, daB auch 106 diese Sammlung sich durchaus der Gerichtsbarkeit kfinstlerischer Kritik entziehe, daB sis in das Gebiet der Moral gehdre; aber nicht einer solchen Moral, die leichtsinnig, engherzig oder heuchlerisch mit ein Paar allgemeinen Regeln fertig zu werden vermeint, sondern derjenigen, die, aus Irren, Leiden und Entsagen entsprungen, glaubt, hofft und liebt.11 He emphasizes the importance of prodesse over delectare in her narratives. He praises her for never abandoning the traditional concept of Enlightenment which valued literature for its moral content. Thus he seeks legitimation for his mother's work by insisting upon its moralising function. All three instances cited above, the defense of Therese Huber's literary activity by her husband, the apologetic and diffident foreword by her son, and the literary historian Schindel's admonition to women writers, sum up the idea that women's writing around 1800 was considered a social taboo in Germany. Women's literary efforts needed the sanction of a male mentor or critic in order to reach the reading public. Just as Wieland introduced Sophie La Roche's Die Gesehichte dee Frauieime vom Sternheim (1771), almost half a century later Therese Huber's writing activity had to be justified by her husband and her son. Thus, the tradition of depicting women's lives from women's perspectives, begun by Sophie La Roche, was still not well enough established to 107 have permitted Therese Huber to deal with topics other than domesticity and as such to gain recognition as a writer. The attack from male critics who marginalized women's writing as "trivial" for lack of aesthetic superiority did not allow the tradition of women's writing to proceed smoothly.12 It is, therefore, hardly surprising that 60 years after Wieland's introduction to Sophie La Roche's novel, Therese Huber's short prose narratives too required a moral legitimation by a male. It is important to study how, in such uncongenial writing conditions, women writers made use of the permitted content and the available formal elements such as metaphors and imagery in order to overcome the limitations imposed upon them as writers. 2. Means of Legitimizing Women's Fiction For women writers who had no choice but to balance their writing careers with domestic duties, Sigrid Weigel's assertion regarding the reception given to women writers holds absolutely true. Weigel maintains that the publication of these writers' subjectivity creates the assumption that they are neglecting their domestic duties, and hence their personal life is scrutinized: Publication of woman's subjectivity is, however, not equivalent to her liberation, for it has 108 consequences (often unpleasant ones) for her personal happiness. As far as women are concerned, no distinction is made between the writer and the person. (emphasis added) 13 No male writer, however, needs to guard against inquistions regarding his private life, because no reader ponders upon those neglected household duties of a male writer which he is supposed to fulfill as a father or husband. As regards a woman writer, it is not forgotten that she has put her "natural" calling of being a wife and a mother on hold in order to write. A woman-writer appears as an oxymoron, a phenomenon which includes two incongruous identities. No doubt then that "woman's desire for public involvement and equality in the cultural sphere is thus broken by the desire to protect her own self."14 That the need to protect oneself was even greater for the women writers of eighteenth century Germany cannot be denied. For their works to be published and read it was imperative that women writers professed that their works were written to promote moral values and denied that the works had any artistic intent. Just as Therese Huber's son assigned her short prose narratives to a category other than that of Kunst, or high literature, Therese Huber herself denies her writings the distinction of art.15 Since women lacked the necessary formal education and consequently the literary norms to produce works of art, their denial of any affiliation to art 109 was anything but a show. On the contrary, self-abnegation by women writers paved the way for a tolerant reception of their works by male literary critics. Marginalization of women writers' works either by the denial of the women writers themselves, or by their male mentors made their publication possible. It disguised women writers' ambitious intentions. Most important of all, generally women wrote out of economic necessity, therefore, as Wulf Kfipke explains their writing fulfilled their readers' expectations rather than certain aesthetic criteria: Tatsache ... ist, daB die Frauen die Dichtung, also Literatur auf hohem Niveau, als eine Domane der Manner ansahen, und daB sie nur mit groBem Widerwillen an eine VerOffentlichung ihrer Schriften gingen, und wenn, dann normalerweise nur aus 6konomischer Notwendigkeit: so richteten sich die Schriftstellerinnen durchweg mehr nach dem, was das Publikum zu erwarten schien, als nach asthetischen Werten.16 Nina Baym's assertion regarding American women writers' of early nineteenth century also highlights the same reason for women writers' disavowment of membership in an artistic fraternity. In deliberately rejecting the status of art for their works, women writers could gain a large readership: The literary women conceptualized authorship as a profession rather than a calling, as work and not art. Women authors tended not to think of 110 themselves as artists or justify themselves in the language of art until the 1870's and after. This practical approach, along with their unclassic educations, had an inevitable effect on their work. It did not make the sorts of claims on its readers that "art" does - the dimensions of formal self-consciousness, attachment to or quarrel with a grand tradition, aesthetic seriousness, are all missing.17 Since most women writers of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, like Therese Huber, entered the profession of letters in order to earn their livelihood, it was in their interest that their texts have a universal appeal. It was in their interest to write in the less rigid genre of Frauenroman or women's fiction. At the same time, the relative openness of the genre of novel made it possible for women, in the first place, to try their literary talents in this genre. The absence of strict aesthetic criteria in the case of the novel and also the low esteem attached to the content of the novel, since it dealt with familial issues and was hence shunned by "high" literature, facilitated women's approach to it as writers and readers.18 Similarly, declaration of the moral content of Therese Huber's narratives justified their existence. Woman's fiction of late eighteenth century Germany, by its very 111 existence made a political statement, hence only an overt proclamation of its philanthropic motives could ensure its survival. It had to assume the responsibility of preaching to women about their duties as housewives and mothers. Therese's son's introduction to her narratives also fulfills the function of convincing the literary critics and the readers that the narratives had been written with altruistic motives in mind. Women's participation in the propagation of morals in literary discourses was tolerated by male literary critics, because it guaranteed the separation of the private and public spheres. Dagmar Grenz sees the emphasis on moral education of women as a consequence of transformed familial relations. Women were entrusted with household activities which they had to carry out in the absence of men, she claims. Women's future as housewives and mothers necessitated the inculcation of such values which taught them to be self sacrificing and humanitarian: Die Betonung der Tugenden der Selbstverleugnung - Demut, Geduld, Nachgiebigkeit - steht [...] in engem Zusammenhang mit den neuen Verantwortlichkeiten, die der Frau aufgrund der Abwesenheit des Mannes vom Hause zufielen.19 As long as women writers professed to contribute to the fortification of the bourgeois value-system, their writings were permitted in the literary sphere. Any attempts to deal 112 with themes other than women's duties and responsibilities were met with male disapproval. Thus, the expression of women's subjectivity could not occur overtly. It had to remain within the parameters of permitted domestic content. Within the frame work of permitted themes women writers like Therese Huber managed to incorporate "subversive" ideas. Therese Huber's narratives almost unanimously celebrate the virtues of familial relations. But familial relations do not imply only marital relations in Huber's narratives. They include all those surrogate ties among individuals which make them into a family without necessarily their being husbands and wives or natural mothers and children. In the narrative "Klosterberuf", the young female protagonist takes up the responsiblilty of bringing up her lover's child from his marriage. In another narrative "Die Frfihverlobten", the heroine decides to take care of her sister's son. In the narrative "Die ungleiche Heirat", after her separation from her husband, the heroine emigrates to America with another family and becomes the matriarch in the new colony in Virginia. What Nina Baym calls the "cult of domesticity" in the American woman's fiction appearing after 1820, is also an apt characterization for Huber's narratives.20 113 3. Patterns for Expressing WOmen's Subjectivity in Women's Fiction The male anxiety over women's literary activity may also be seen as a reaction to women writers' appropriation, rejection and subversion of female images propagated in the male literary tradition. Women writers either drew upon female images created by men in literature or they rejected them in order to express themselves, albeit, only covertly. In Therese Huber's case, one finds "realistic" images of women which neither correspond to the angelic, nor to the demonic constructs of femininity, such as those found in male writers' works of classical times. Her female characters are neither like Goethe's ideal female character "Iphigenie" who has the ability to appeal to reason and humane values to procure her freedom, nor like Schiller's dignified self-sacrificing "Maria Stuart". Therese Huber's women characters, on the contrary, are situated within domestic settings and therefore have the potential to address the female readership directly. While on the one hand, an explicit form of protest against women's subordination is seen lacking in Huber's narratives, on the other hand some of these narratives do illustrate how the women characters make use of the available options in order to subvert patriarchal authority. 114 For example, in the narrative "Klosterberuf" the heroine threatens to become a nun whenever her father insists that she marry the person she dislikes. In "Drei Abschnitte im Leben eines guten Weibes", the heroine Molly, exercizes her maternal right over her daughter's future when she refuses to betroth her daughter to her ex-lover's son. She thereby makes use of her privilege as a mother to undermine her ex- lover's aristrocratic status, which had kept him from marrying her in the first place and then stopped his son from marrying her oldest daughter. She changes her mind only when her ex-lover sends her a written request for the hand of her daughter for his son. In both these narratives the women do not overtly oppose authority, but turn towards whatever few options they have to express themselves. Nina Baym's assessment of early nineteenth century American women's fiction as exhibiting a "moderate, or limited, or a pragmatic feminism", may be used to characterize Therese Huber's fiction too. Baym claims that in American women's fiction of the early nineteenth century: It was feminism constrained by certain other types of beliefs that are less operative today. For example, these authors interpreted experience within models of personal relations, rather than classes, castes, or other institutional structures. The shape of human life was perceived not as determined by various memberships, but by various private interactions. .... 115 The thrust of all this fiction has to do ultimately, and obsessively ..., with how the heroine perceives herself.21 Similarly Therese Huber's lack of the insight which would enable her to perceive women's subordination as a consequence of certain material, political and ideological factors is evident in her narratives when her characters seek solutions within the parameters of domesticity. Not an open challenge to the existing political order, but a "moderate, limited or a pragmatic feminism" by which women could nevertheless manipulate power may very well have caused male anxiety regarding women's writing. It is interesting to note that in her personal life Therese Huber entered those domains which were reserved for men, but the women characters in her short prose narratives are not explicitly portrayed as charting new territories. Sigrid Weigel sees behind this discrepancy a survival strategy of women writers which could secure them the freedom to go on writing. In order not to offend the male critics and the audience women writers denied their women characters complete independence. Bourgeois norms and the cartel of male critics hindered the non-traditional depiction of women in women's writings.22 Sigrid Weigel regards the pattern of women characters' surrender to the existing norms a necessary condition for the existence of women's fiction. She points out that: 116 Within the fictional space of the plot, escape is imagined, resistance is tested, indignation formulated. Without denying herself the pleasure of fantasising, the author can, because she is responsible for the thoughts and actions of her heroine, remain conformist either by punishing her heroine or by letting her (understandingly) renounce. And so, perhaps, the message will get through to women readers, but in a subversive way.23 Women writers of the eighteenth century needed to balance their "unfeminine" profession by creating characters who did not seem to be progressive. As if atoning for their literary activity, women writers invariably created conventional women characters. Even when the women characters were assertive and independent in the beginning, the plot usually concluded "happily". The "Happy-end" signifying marriage or motherhood in various women's texts, however, may not be misinterpreted as the women characters' defeat in the face of social pressure. The marital or maternal choices made by the heroines of women's fiction, after undergoing many trials and tribulations, usually augmented their sphere of influence. Therese Huber's narratives such as "Klosterberuf", "Drei Abschnitte aus dem Leben eines guten Weibes", "Die Frau von vierzig Jahren" and "Die Frfih Verlobten" conclude with the heroine's integration 117 in a domestic setting which is, however, far from being repressive. In their book Mad Woman in the Attic Gilbert and Gubar discuss various strategies employed by early nineteenth century British women writers in order to express themselves. Women's fiction of this period contained certain patterns of expression which conveyed unorthodox ideas without making the women writers suspect of cultivating forward and rebellious ideas. Gilbert and Guber point out that one of the strategies involved the use of an expected content in order to submerge other maybe less conventional possibilities. They refer to the "double- voiced" discourse of women writers, in which a "muted" story is hidden behind a "dominant" one.24 Such "palimpsestic" representations are also evident in Huber's short prose narratives. For example, a seemingly traditional marriage functions as a facade to hide the authority exercised by the wife. Another way of expressing the non-conventional through traditional models, explain Gilbert and Gubar, is the projection of rebellious impulses, not in the heroines, but in the anti-heroines or "monstrous" women.25 Huber creates in her narratives "mad doubles" (Gilbert and Gubar) or anti-heroines by bringing together women of different personalities. She goes even a step further by giving reasons for her anti-heroines' socially unacceptable 118 actions. In the narrative, "Kindestreue" the religiously brought-up daughter despairs over her mother's extravagance and gambling. Until the mother discloses to her daughter that her unhappy marriage forced her to seek an outlet in gambling, she appears as the anti-heroine. By motivating her actions, the author creates sympathy for the mother's character in the readers' mind. Another narrative portraying three disparate personalities of women is "Die Jugendfreunde". The good housewife with her domestic virtues of gentleness, modesty, love and thrift is contrasted with the cold-heartedness, independence, coquetterie and vanity of the other. The prose narrative "Die ungleiche Heirat" illustrates the pattern of control exercised by women writers on the rebellious impulses and unconventional life-styles of their female characters. One of the women characters, who makes her entrance in the plot with a positive depiction of her wit, charm and capacity to discuss political issues as rationally as men, is made to disappear from the plot of the narrative after her marriage. Her departure from the plot becomes indispensable, since the characterization of her unconventional role could be misinterpreted as the author's consent to deviant behavior by the literary circles and her readers. Huber avoids such an accusation by manipulating the portrayal of this female character in the narrative and presenting her as one of the main causes of divorce between the two protagonists of the 119 story. The anti-heroine's image is further tarnished when she marries a wealthy baron. Therese Huber's short prose narratives abound with women characters who do not carry their dissent against traditional roles to its culmination. They surrender to social pressures instead of confronting them. The short prose narrative "Die Frfih Verlobten" has a happy-ending, for the heroine is integrated into the familial setting by circumstances around her. In the detailed analysis of this narrative it becomes evident how the heroine, after going through rebellious phases in her life, accepts domesticity. Despite the dialectic of conformism and confrontation in Huber's narratives, the women characters utilize the potential of self-assertion to such a degree that their "subversive" message reaches the reader. The fictional characters in her short prose narratives do receive a certain degree of independence to express themselves, albeit within the prescribed norms. While analyzising Huber's narratives, one discovers in them those patterns of confrontation which somehow lurk unspoken between the lines. In the narrative "Das Leben eines guten Weibes", the heroine rejects the love of a man in order to marry an older and wealthier man of her own choice. Her rejection of one man in favor of another can be seen as an expression of her subjective will to determine her future. Although she causes a stir in the social circles for having chosen her 120 husband herself, her decision, however, soon dissipates criticism against her. The reader is made to believe that she rejected social norms prohibiting women to choose their marriage partners. Nevertheless, her choice is portrayed to be a rational choice, since it was made in favor of a respectable older man. The rejection of social authority is confronted with the valorisation of reason. Thus, criticism against the heroine's stance is controlled by the author. Despite the fact that the resistance of the heroine to certain values is disguised as a rational decision, the confrontation taking place in the plot is not lost. It is incumbent upon the reader to read between the lines in order to catch the "subversive" message. Huber's women characters do not adopt a new language, instead their confrontation and conformism takes shape in a patriarchal language; one finds that her short prose narratives do not possess a "woman's language", they are not gender marked, or as Elaine Showalter would say they do not possess any anatomical or biological imagery.26 It is, however, evident that they contain clichees and sentimental language. The subjective and emotional language used by Huber undoubtedly reflects the influence of the dominant ideology of sentimentality on the belles lettres and its unproblematic adoption by women writers. The lack of a different language of women writers reflects their lack of 7 their own identity.2 Women writers of this time were 121 making use of the borrowed language of men which created an ambivalent situation for them. Sigrid Weigel regards the attempts of eighteenth century women writers to emancipate themselves through a literary medium as ambivalent. These writers had to make use of a language regulated by men in order to escape the roles determined for them by men.28 It is difficult to find the essentially feminine elements in the language of Huber's narratives. Formulation of the feminine subjectivity and issues takes place through silence, euphemism and circumlocution in Huber's short prose narratives. Elaine Showalter regards these holes, blanks, gaps and silences in discourse as "not the spaces where female consciousness reveals itself but the blinds of a "prison-house of language."29 Thus the act of reading between the lines in Therese Huber's short prose narratives, of decoding the euphemisms or of unraveling the circumlocutions becomes an act of lifting the blinds of the "prison-house of language" or an act of exposing the repressed language of women's concerns. In the analysis of the narrative "Die frfih Verlobten" it becomes clear that the author's usage of natural imagery is in fact a disguise to express sensual subject matter. Only by reading between the lines is it possible to discern its existence in the text. Myra Jehlen regards the lack of any overt rebellion in early women novelists as something natural in their contemporary situation: 122 They do not run their society and never hope to, so short of revolution, no direct action can be taken. Even from their state of total dependence, however, these women can rise to take practical charge of their lives and acquire a significant measure of power by implementing the conservative roles to which the patriarchal society has relegated them.3O Therese Huber's women characters also rise to take charge as wives, mothers and property managers in the domestic setting. When Madame Salmon takes over her husband's business after his death in the narrative "Die frfih Verlobten", people are surprised because: Madame Salmon, welche ihres Mannes Willen stets ffir den besten und den ihren ganz mit ihm fibereinstimmend gehalten hatte, gerieth endlich auf den Wahn, daB ihr Wille auch ebenso vernfinftig und zweckmaBig sei, wie der seine, und nach Salmon's Tode waren ihre nachsten Umgebungen ganz erstaunt, wie diese Frau, welche nie einen Willen gehabt, nun plOtzlich ohne Rficksicht befahl.[1] People think that it is crazy for Madame Salmon to regard herself as capable as her husband. As the textual analysis of this narrative shows, Madame Salmon is made the scape- goat for her husband's faults. However, the author does not permit her to manage her husband's business. Her character 123 recedes to the background, while her daughter assumes responsibility of the family business. My analysis of Therese Huber's short prose narratives will map the various images of women. By highlighting these images one can determine the extent of deviations from the accepted norms of femininity. Therese Huber's prose narratives rely upon a traditional content, but the analysis of these narratives will make apparent the "submerged meanings" behind the traditional public content.31 While reading Huber's prose narratives "the orthodox plot recedes, and another plot, hitherto submerged in the anonymity of the background, stands out in bold relief like a thumbprint."32 124 Notes 1 Ludwig Geiger, Therese Huber (Stuttgart: Cotta, 1901) 100. 2Brigitte Leuschner goes so far as to conclude from L. F. Huber's letter to his father in-law that epistolary writing was considered to be one of women's responsibilities: "Der Gevatterbrief gehfirt demnach zu den Obliegenheiten einer Frau. Weibliches Briefschreiben war nicht verp6nt und bot eine M6glichkeit, sich schreibend zu betatigen." Brigitte Leuschner, "Therese Huber als Briefschreiberin," Untersuchungen zum Roman von Ereeen em ieee, eds. Helga Gallas and Magdalene Heuser (Tfibingen: Niemeyer, 1990) 204. 3 Leuschner, "Therese Huber als Briefschreiberin," 206. 4Schindel's three-part literary history is based upon literary histories written by J. G. Meusel, S. Bauer, F.C.G. Hirsching, D. G. G. Mehring, H. G. Rotermund and G. F. Otto among others. Carl Wilhelm Otto August von Schindel, Die deutechen Schriftstellerinnen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderte: prei Teile in einem Bemd (1823-25), Part 1 (Hildesheim: New York, 1978), xxix-xxxii. 5(Schindel, Part 3, xx-xxiv) 125 6Schindel, xxvii. 7In a letter to her son A.V. Huber in 1817, Therese Huber describes the beginning of her writing career in 1794, and how she brought up her three daughters and one son with the help of her income from writing. "Endlich im Jahre 94 sah ich eben, daB wir nicht ausreichen wfirden. ... . Der Vater war ganz erstaunt fiber die Leichtigkeit meines Erzahlens und Erfindens. Von da an habe ich meine Erfahrungen alle in meine kleinen Romane niedergelegt. ... . Ich verdiente die also die Halfte unseres Einkommens, ohne je ein Hausgeschaft zu versaumen. Gott hat mir damit eine unermeBliche Wohltat getan. Vater hatte Schulden machen [...], ich hatte bei seinem Tod nichts gehabt, .... Und seit seinem Tode ware Euer Schicksal ganz anders gewesen." Qtd in Andreas Hahn, ed., Die reinste Freiheitsliebe, die reimete Mannerliebe: Lebensbild in Briefen und Erzahlungen zwischen Aurklarung und Romantik (Berlin: Henssel, 1989) 168. 8See note 15. 9Andreas Hahn, Die reinste Freiheiteiiebe, die reinete Manneuiebe. 177- loChristine Touaillon contends in her book Deutsche Erepenromeme im 18. Jahrhundert (Berlin, 1983) that 230 titles were published by 40 women writers during the period 126 1770-1810. In her article "Double Focus", Sigrid Weigel illustrates the reasons for the increase in numbers of women writers. She contends that: "It is obvious why there was an increase in the number of women who took to the pen at the end of the eighteenth century, at the time when new possibilities in poetic expression were brought by the aesthetic of the Romantics. The principle of mimesis was abolished, the fragmentary was accepted, the closed text was dissolved. The harmony between the structure of reality and the narrative was broken and this opened doors through which women could enter into the sphere of high literature." Sigrid Weigel, "Double Focus", Feminist Aesthetics, ed. Gisela Ecker, trans. Harriet Anderson (Boston; Beacon, 1985) 68. 11Therese Huber, Erzahlun en: I Teil, ed. A.V. Huber (Leipzig: F.A. Brockhaus, 1830) VII. 12Barbara Becker-Cantarino, Der lange Weg zer Mfimgigkeit: Freu und Literatur (1500-1800) (Stuttgart: Metzler, 1987) 301. 13Sigrid Weigel,"Double Focus," 66. 14 Sigrid Weigel,"Double Focus" 66. Soon after Therese Huber started writing she felt the need to protect herself from being categorized along with 127 two other women writers Frau von Staél and Frau von Berlepsch. In a letter written to Johann Jakob Hottinger's wife in 1794, Therese Huber insists her devotion to household duties and denies association with intellectual activities: "... .Da ich das Wissen mag als eine groBe Nebensache ffir ein Weib behandelt, in meinem Leben auBerdem nie etwas erlernt, sondern alles nur so aufgelesen habe, und jetzt durchaus in der Lage bin, Stille, Hauslichkeit und Unbekanntheit zu wfinschen, so war mir Herrn Schweizers sicher wohlmeinendes Lob hfichst unangenehm; daB er mich aber mit einer so zweideutigen Frau als Madame Staél und einer so kapitalen Narrin wie Frau von Berlepsch gegen seine Bekanntinnen in Zfirich in eine Klasse gesetzt und es wfirklich, um mir etwas Lfibliches zu sagen, getan, tat mir so leid, daB ich denselben Tag mit Herrn Huber sehr ernsthaft von den Folgen sprach, die es ffir mich in Zfirich haben konnte, wenn man mich ffir eine gelehrt und geistreiche Frau hielt. Ich wars nie und machte nie Ansprfiche daran, denn ich war immer mehr wie das. Nachdem ich das gesagt, ists klar, daB ich diesen Ruhm nicht aus Bescheidenheit abweise. Hatte ich je meines Mannes Haushalt schlecht geffihrt, je meine Kinder versaumt, je ein Hemd auBer dem Haus nahen lassen, um derweile lesen zu kfinnen, so ware ich vielleicht, geliebts Gott, gelehrt worden. ...." Qtd in (Hahn, Die reinste Freiheitsliebe, die reinste Mfinnerliebe, 77) 128 15Eva Walter points out that Therese Huber constantly distanced herself emotionally from her works and depreciated them by calling them Schnurre or farces. Eva Walter, Schrieb oft, von Magde Arbeit mfide: Lebenszusammenhange deutscher Schrifrsrelierienen um 1800-Schritte zur bfirgerlichen Weiblicekeit (Dfisseldorf: Schwann, 1985) 51. 16Wulf Kfipke, "Die emanzipierte Frau in der Goethezeit und ihre Darstellung in der Literatur", Die Frau als Heldin end Autorin: Neue kritische Ansfitze zur deutschen Literatur, ed. Wolfgang Paulsen (Bern & Munich: Francke, 1982) 99. 17Nina Baym, Woman's Fiction: A Guide to Novels by ang epout Women in America, 1820-1870 (Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1978) 32. 18In her article "Frauenroman und Offentlichkeit", Helga Brandes states that one of the factors responsible for the popularity of Frauenroman was its relative openness of form. The flexibility of the genre Frauenroman was evident in the contemporary literary discussions which subsumed under the category of Frauenroman novels, narratives and novelle. This less strict form of the novel was helpful in gaining a wide readership for it, whereas on the other hand, novels of a high artistic value were ignored by the majority of the readers: "Die Existenz der Romane von hohem kfinstlerischen Wert wurde von der Mehrheit kaum zur Kenntnis 129 genommen." (Helga Brandes, "Frauenroman und Offentlichkeit", Untersuchungen zum Roman von Frauen um 1800 , 45) In the introduction to the book In the Shadow of 01 us, Katherine R. Goodman and Edith Waldstein, discuss women writers' access to the novel via epistolary writing and moral weeklies. They maintain that since "high" literature did not consider the content of the family novel important, women could appropriate it as their genre. Katherine R. Goodman, and Edith Waldstein, eds., In the Shadow of Olympus: German Women Writers Around 1800 (New York: S.U. of New York P, 1992) 8. 19Dagmar Grenz, Madchenliteratur: Von den moralisch- belehreneen Schriften im 18. Jahrhundert bis zur Herausbildung der Backfischliteratur im 19. Jahrhundert (Stuttgart: Metzler, 1981) 20. 20According to Nina Baym: "The "cult of domesticity" that pervades this fiction is not equivalent to a later generation's idea of such a cult, as a simple injunction for woman willingly to turn the key on her own prison. The fiction does excoriate an unhappy home as the basic source of human misery and imagines a happy home as the acme of human bliss. It assumes that men as well as women find greatest happiness and fulfillment in domestic relations, by which are meant not simply spouse and parent, but the whole network of human attachments based on love, support, and 130 mutual responsibility." (Baym, 27) Therese Huber's several narratives espouse this "cult of domesticity" without propagating marriage as the sole source of happiness for women. Women's representations as responsible care takers of their dependents in Huber's narratives distinguishes them from works of other contemporary women writers, in which women are portrayed as sexually vulnerable (For example, W. K. Wobeser's novel Elisa oder das Weib wie es seyn soll). Instead of depicting women characters' superiority through their ability to rise above sexual drives, Therese Huber's narratives present the readers with exemplary models of women who possess the ability to take rational decisions, not necessarily regarding their marriage but concerning other people's lives too. 21 . - Nina Baym, 18 19. 22 Renate Mfihrmann, "Women's work as portrayed in women's literature," German Women in the 1§rh and igth century, eds. Ruth Ellen B.Joeres and Mary Jo Maynes (Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1986) 73. 23 Sigrid Weigel, "Double Focus", 71. 24Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, The Madwoman in the heric: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century 131 Literary Imagination (New Haven: Yale UP, 1979) 72-3. 25Gilbert and Gubar, 78. 26Elaine Showalter, "Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness," The New Feminist Criticism:Essays on Women, Literature and Theory, ed. Elaine Showalter (New York: Pantheon, 1985) 251-2. 27 Lacans phallocentric theory of kinship explains the formation of the identity of a boy or a girl in terms of language appropriation. The phallus is a set of meanings conferred upon the penis. Presence or absence of phallus makes a person, man or woman. Castration is not a lack but a meaning conferred upon the genitals of the woman. The awareness of a child's sexual identity comes to it through the medium of the language which makes it conscious of the meanings of its sexual organs, which then denote an absence/lack or presence. The patriarchal language is man- made language and thus it is incapable of defining what is essentially feminine. Women writers who appropriate the language of men, express themselves without really giving the feminine element an exposure. Therefore, it is difficult for us, as readers, to say that their writings are feminist. But if regarded in their socio-historical context, these writings should be seen as initial contributions to the implicit stage of feminist writing. 132 Therese Huber's short prose narratives are important milestones in this stage of women's writing. 28Sigrid Weigel, "Double Focus", 65. 29Elaine Showalter, The New Feminist Criticism, 256. 3oMyra Jehlen, "Archimedes and the Paradox of Feminist Criticism", S'ghs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 6.4 (1981): 590. 31Gilbert and Gubar, The Madwoman in the Attic, 72. 32 Elaine Showalter, "Review Essay," Siges 1.2 (1975): 435 O CHAPTER IV Die Jugendfreunde The marital lives of three friends, Wilhelm, Heinrich and Armand, with wives Nanni, Aline and Elise respectively, are the central focus of the narrative "Die Jugendfreunde". The distinct characters of the three wives influence the movement of the plot in this narrative.1 Marriages were carefully planned by the three male friends. Wilhelm, Heinrich and Armand selected compatible partners for themselves, in the hope that their partners would complement their active and ambitious natures with gentle caring. Armand's happy marriage with Elise encouraged Wilhelm to choose Nanni as his wife. Wilhelm admired Nanni's friendly modesty and inner goodness. For Heinrich's restless soul, strong ambition and genius mind, he considered Aline's easy going nature and gracefulness appropriate. The influence of the dominant ideology of Geschlechtscharaktere or gender characteristics upon Wilhelm is obvious in his assessment of Nanni and Aline's personality: Aline, war er [Wilhelm] fiberzeugt, wfirde mit ihrem leichten Sinne, mit der Anmuth, die sie den gewfihnlichen Dingen im Leben anzubilden wuBte, dem 133 134 unruhigen Geiste, dem genialen Streben, dem gewaltigen Wollen seines Heinrichs ein wohlthatiges Gegengewicht geben, indem Nanni's freundliche Bescheidenheit und innige Gfite ihm den Muth einflfiBte, sich die schfine und bewunderte Stadterin zur Gefahrtin seines Landlebens zu erbitten.2 Wilhelm seeks a partner who can complement his nature. One finds in his choice echoes of the ideology of Geschlechtscharaktere. Dagmar Grenz' asssertion, that the notion of women as passive and emotional counterparts to active and rational men was necessary to imbue women with the capacity for compliance to men's wishes,3 seems to be sustained by Wilhelm's attention to Nanni and Aline's qualities as wives. His choice of different adjectives describing himself and Heinrich on the one hand, and Nanni and Aline on the other, indicate the distinct roles prescribed to women and men in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth century German society. Adjectives - leicht, freundlich, innig, schfine and bewunderte - describe women and contrast with other adjectives - unruhig, genial, gewaltig - used for the men. The female attributes acquire a stationary/passive tone pointing inward when juxtaposed with male attributes denoting activity and thus oriented outward. One discovers in Wilhelm's perception of distinctly m: 135 male and female qualities an echo of contemporary philosophical discourses, which regarded men as active creators, and women as passive recipients. Like other contemporary philosophers, Wilhelm von Humboldt's belief that "all that is male shows more spontaneous activity; all that is female more passive receptivity",4 had penetrated the spirit of the times, and bolstered the sexual physical differences with psychological terms. The differences between the female and male characters of the narrative are emphasized by the narrator's allusion to the fact that Nanni is from the city and Wilhelm from the village; their inherent differences become symbolized through external social factors. Later in the narrative, the motive of city and village appears once again to convey Heinrich and Aline's alienation from each other. Heinrich returns to the village, to the warmth of his friends after leaving the city and his selfish wife for good. By situating the selfish wife's character in the city as against in the village, the author succeeds in underscoring her "unnatural" and "disharmonious" personality. Nanni, the selfless and loving wife, however, is seen fulfilling her duties in the unspoiled pastoral setting away from the city. The projection of the unspoiled and harmonious nature upon women, after all, corresponded to men's image of an ideal woman who could offer herself for their emotional replenishment. Karin Hansen has pointed out that at the end 136 of eighteenth century the ideology of different gender roles propagated equality of masculine and feminine gender characteristics. Their complementary nature was supposed to build the basis for a harmonious life. Men and women were supposed to be "naturally" destined to complement each other with their contrasting characteristics.5 Wilhelm's careful consideration of his and his friend's prospective wife's qualities indicate his desire to live a harmonious married life with a woman who can balance his qualities with her opposite characteristics. Wilhelm and Nanni are married and living happily like Armand and Elisa in Werdach. Their friend Heinrich plans to meet them on New Years Eve, but finds that Armand and Elisa are not at home to receive him. Later when he arrives at Wilhelm's house he expresses surprise and anger at not being met by Armand and his wife, in spite of having informed them of his arrival in his letter. Armand's wife Elise is blamed by both the men for being inhospitable. They agree that Elise is formal and unfriendly. Thus, Elise's character is introduced in the plot with Heinrich's arrival in Werdach. The negative introduction of a female character by the two male characters and not by the narrator, fulfills a definite function in the narrative. It becomes possible to portray the transformation in Elisa's character without the narrator having to rescind his opinions. The integrity of the narrative structure is kept intact by the absence of 137 narratorial comments in this case. In addition, such an introduction to Elise enhances Nanni's warm, loving and domestic disposition. She appears to be affectionate and selfless as compared to Elise, when she greets Heinrich warmly at her door step. Nanni appears all the more generous when she defends her friend Elise by saying that her cold exterior should not be mistaken for her real nature. Nanni's psychological diagnosis of Elise protects Elise from the two male characters' as well as readers'total condemnation. Nanni explains that Elise is quick in her mental perceptions, therefore she does not behave formally with people when she meets them. She justifies Elise by claiming that Elise assumes that she knows people already, therefore she is not formal with them.6 Nanni reprimands her husband for calling Elise narrow-minded. She believes that it is wrong to see only one aspect of someone's personality. Although Nanni's observations are not given much credence by her husband,7 Elise's character still does not appear negative. While Marion Beaujean, by taking the example of Huber's narrative "Die Ehestandsgeschichte", credits her for being the first woman writer to have portrayed the psychological needs and reactions of women characters in her narratives, "Die Jugendfreunde" too is illustrative of Huber's skills in dealing with the psychology of her characters.8 138 It is interesting to find an implicit support of Elise's behavior in this narrative, for the male characters do not let themselves be deceived by Elise's personality. They see both her positive and negative traits. Like her husband, who - "[...] macht sich fiber Elisens Engherzigkeit keine Tauschung, achtet ihren klaren Verstand, ihre Tugenden als Hausfrau, ihre Annehmlichkeit als Gesellschafterin ..."[105], Nanni's husband also respects her good qualities: "... deshalb ertrage ich ihre Fehler und ehre ihr Gutes"[106], claims Wilhelm. Thus, in Nanni's protection of Elise, and her first negative and then balanced judgement by the male characters, Elise appears neither as an angel nor as a witch to the reader. It is interesting to see how the contours of her personality are established by other characters in the narrative. What makes this narrative all the more interesting is its delineations of those male virtues which make a marriage successful and happy. The narrative provides guidelines for a happy marriage, not only for women but for men too. The narrator's use of the image of a garden for marriage and a gardener as its caretaker indirectly assigns to the husband the responsibility of working out a good marriage. Armand's garden is well kept, where "auf widerspenstigem Boden weislich nur die Blumen gepflegt waren, die auf ihm gedeihen konnten, wo schfines Unkraut selbst zur Verschfinerung benutzt ist"[110] - a reference to Armand's ability to adjust to his 139 wife's less desirable qualities. Depiction of Armand and Elise's happy marital life shows Armand accepting Elise as she is rather than forcing her to live up to an ideal image of a housewife. Armand has accepted his wife's personality with a stoic attitude, instead of expecting her to conform to his ideals. In another instance, it is Heinrich who is being preached by Armand to accept his wife Aline with all her shortcomings. Armand advises him to understand Aline's inner nature. He suggests that Heinrich get to know his wife first and then demand from her what she possesses. This overtly didactic statement, "lerne die zierliche Frau erst recht kennen, dann fodre von ihr was hat, gib ihr was sie mag, und fiberlaB das fibrige den Gfittern," [126] also implies that men can be in charge if they know how to manipulate their powerful status in marriage. Armand overlooks Elise's extravagance and social activities, therefore, he is happily married to her. Aline fails to measure up to Heinrich's expectations after their marriage. She is lacking in the domestic virtues so admired by Heinrich in a woman. Unlike Nanni, she is extravagant, indulges in make-up and enjoys coquetry - all three characteristics imply Aline's preoccupation with her "self". Even motherhood does not develop in her the concept of selfless love: "Ffir sie war Mutterschaft ein neuer Bestandtheil ihrer vorigen Neigungen: Zeitvertreib, Toilettenbeschaftigung, Herrschaftsfibung, 140 Koketterie."[128] Although she idolizes her son, she does not believe in giving up her other activities. Aline refuses to conform to the socially determined guidelines of motherhood. Her rejection of Heinrich's notion of parental love and duty causes a further rift between them. Heinrich's intellectual ideas about motherhood do not appeal to her, therefore she sees him only as an intruder in her life. Heinrich continues to be a mentor to his wife, instead of accepting her as she is, like his friend Armand has accepted Aline. Heinrich's authoritative attitude causes more harm than good, for Elise does not appreciate his interference and tries to distance herself from him. Nanni, on the other hand, embodies all the virtues of a good housewife; she is gentle, loving, hardworking and mother of two children. Elise's character seems to balance these two women's character. Elise's cold exterior is deceptive, because it masks her inner goodness. When bad times fall upon Wilhelm and Nanni, Elise graciously offers financial help. This unexpected gesture from her is reciprocated by others with warm embraces and much celebration, but Elise cannot resist asking her friends: "Habt Ihr denn gezweifelt, daB ich Euch liebe? Weil ich anders bin als Ihr, meintet Ihr, ich sei schlechter?" [136] Elise's question in fact echoes Armand's advice to Heinrich to respect Aline's individuality and accept her for what she is. 141 One comes across the pattern of portraying the rebellious impulses in the "dark doubles" (Gilbert and Gubar) and not in the heroine in this prose narrative. Aline appears as the "dark double" of Nanni. Nanni is a gentle and caring woman, admired by everyone. Aline on the other hand rejects the role of a subservient wife or a selfless mother, appearing only as an egoist and a callous person. As the plot of the narrative proceeds, Aline's character acquires increasingly negative characteristics. In order to convince the reader of Aline's villainous traits, the narrator portrays her not only in her relationship with her husband and son but also with her old uncle, and his young son. Heinrich's efforts to mentor are rejected by Aline because she considers them an affront to her personality. Aline refuses to go on living in her uncle's household after her marriage too. She suggests that her uncle give up his household and let her take charge. Aline is not only cruel towards her old uncle, but she also does not care much for children. When Heinrich asks Aline to spend time in the simple household of Nanni and not in the company of childless Elise, Aline refuses by saying that a child's nursery does not attract her. Aline is shown to be not only selfish, but also avaricious. She indirectly causes the death of her uncle's illegitimate son, who appears on the scene after several years. She likes her uncle's son until she realizes that he openly prefers 142 Heinrich's friendship to her goodwill. The cousin's unfavorable response and the fact that he receives half of his father's inheritance prompts Aline to make an offending remark regarding his birth in the presence of some soldiers. One of the soldiers makes use of this opportunity and derides her cousin which leads to a duel between the two men. Aline's cousin is stabbed to death, and Aline is full of remorse but only out of fear of reproach from Heinrich. She further alienates Heinrich during the christening ceremony of Wilhelm's son. When Heinrich bequeaths half his inheritance to Wilhelm's son, Aline does not respond kindly to this generous gesture. She believes that Heinrich is squandering his wealth without knowing if his friends will reciprocate in the same manner when he needs help. Aline's egoistic, greedy, callous and cold nature as well as the death of their son force Heinrich to leave his homeland. He puts Armand in charge of his affairs and gives Aline the option of a divorce before departing for America. Heinrich realizes that Aline is different from Nanni and Elise, therefore it was wrong of him to expect the so called housewifely virtues from her. He blames himself for his misfortunes and unrealistic expectations from his wife.9 Heinrich's repentance carries a message that a woman's individuality deserves consideration as well. When Heinrich acknowledges his folly for having disregarded Aline's wishes, his character seems to solicit the readers' support, 143 whereas Aline's quiet dissappearance from the plot leaves the reader with a negative impression about her. The narrative ends with Heinrich's return to his friends Wilhelm and Nanni on the New Year's Eve after several years. The above description may be read as the dominant discourse in Therese Huber's narrative "Die Jugendfreunde". Elaine Showalter correctly points out that women's fiction is a double voiced discourse, a dominant and a muted discourse. It is in fact two alternative texts oscillating 10 Unless a conscious effort is simultaneously in view. made to hear the muted text it remains hidden under the dominant text. The reading of the muted text in "Die Jugendfreunde" would result in a completely different reception of Aline's character. But it is incumbent upon the reader to make a conscious effort to decipher this otherwise muted text. Judith Fetterly points out in her book The Resierieg geeeer, that readers can enter into a dialogue with a text instead of receiving it passively. By questioning the obvious in the text, by refusing to accept the given at face value, the readers resist such interpretations of this text, which otherwise occur as a result of our looking at it from a male's view point.11 Looking at "Die Jugendfreunde" from a female point of view would mean motivating Aline's actions, and understanding her anger. Aline cannot appear as a monster to a resisting reader, because this reader 144 would be questioning the validity of her negative portrayal. If one rationalizes Aline's behavior in this narrative, then it no longer appears in a negative light. Aline's refusal to live in her uncle's house after marriage expresses her desire to escape his authority, because "dieser geehrte Mann hatte durch seine Gegenwart Alinen's Leichtsinn immer noch einen unsichtbaren Zfigel angelegt---." [129] She does not evade the responsibility of looking after her uncle, but only desires complete authority to be able to do so. Aline also resists Heinrich's efforts to "educate" her, since "sie ffihlte die Richtung, die Heinrich ihren Gesinnungen geben wollte, als einen Eingriff in ihre Persfinlichkeit,---."[128] Aline's defiance of the authority of these two men must be seen as an evidence of her independent spirit. If Aline does not support Heinrich's decision of handing over half of his inheritance to Wilhelm's son enthusiastically, it is because she may be regarding Heinrich as an extravagant and reckless person who is capable of jeopardizing the security of his own family in order to impress his friends. Aline's snide remarks about her uncle's son's birth and inheritance are only to be seen as natural, because she suddenly finds herself a victim of unforeseen circumstances; she discovers that her well deserved inheritance is being unfairly divided between her and a person who was never there before. The cousin's unresponsiveness to her goodwill and his obvious preference 145 for Heinrich upsets Aline all the more. Aline disappears from the plot suddenly. The author's oversight in offering any compensation to Aline for her unhappy married life or in punishing her appears deliberate. After all, the politics of women's fiction of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries demanded that the fate of female defiant characters like Aline's be dealt with strategically. It was necessary for women writers to not express their subversive feelings, therefore, female characters who did not follow socially sanctioned paths were either punished for their non-conformity or were forced to recede into the background. Armand's wife Elise's personality was more like Aline's in the beginning, but as the narrative proceeds Elise's character undergoes a transformation. She becomes friendly and affectionate towards Nanni, and willingly offers financial help to Wilhelm in time of need. It is interesting to note that Elise's character is made to conform to the accepted norms of femininity by imbuing it with maternal feelings. While Elise does not have children of her own, she assumes the role of a grandmother for Nanni's children: "Kam es ... darauf an, Nanni's Kindern eine Freude zu machen, so spielte die artige Frau das GroBmfitterchen und zwang ihnen scherzend Geschenke auf."[137] Such a change in Elise's character can be explained by the fact that the epic tension of the plot needed to be resolved. While Aline's "anti-heroine" 146 character was made to dissappear from the plot, the epic tension of the plot was still present, because Elise's unconventional character existed in the plot. Aline's transformation from a superficial to a loving and compassionate person was one technique to conclude the narrative with a happy traditional ending, which depicted the characters accepting plausible roles within the permitted social frame. 147 Notes 1"Die Jugendfreunde" is not the only short prose narrative by Therese Huber which juxtaposes different personalities of women. Other narratives depicting this theme include: "Fragmente Eines Briefwechsels" (Vol. I),"Die Ungleiche Heirat"(Vol. II), "Der Ehewagen" (Vol. II), "Alte Zeit und Neue Zeit" (Vol. IV), 2Therese Huber, Die Ju endfreunde,102-3. 3Dagmar Grenz, Madchenliteratnr, 20. 4Wilhelm von Humboldt, "fiber den Geschlechtsunterschied nnd dessen EinfluB auf die organische Natur". Qtd in: Susan Groag Bell & Karen M. Offen, eds., Women, the Family, and Freedom; The hebate ie Documents vol. I 1750-1880 (Stanford: Stanford UP, 1983) 68. 5Karin Hansen, "Die Polarisierung der "Geschlechtscharaktere" - Eine Spiegelung der Dissoziation von Erwerbs- nnd Familienleben." 376-7. 6"Nanny aber,..., versicherte, was Wilhelm Herzenskfilte nenne, sei eine wnnderliche Schnelle ihres Verstandes, der beim Auffassen eines Gegenstandes ihn schon in den Zeitpunkt versetzte, wo sie ihn mit der Rnhe der Erinnerung ansahe." ("Die Jugendfreunde", 105) 148 7Nanni's husband pretends to see a child-like innocence in Nanni, which sees goodness in everything. Her comments about Elise become insignificant to some extent, because after all, in her child-like innocence and purity she cannot be critical towards anyone. Instances such as : "O du liebes Kind, sprach Wilhelm, nnd strich seinem Weibe die Locken aus der jungfranlichen Stirn,..."[107], establish Nanni's child-like character. Moreover, the narrator's comments, "Nanni bemfihte sich, mit kindlicher Geflissenheit die Freundin zu bedienen"[109], further emphasize Nanni's inherent innocence and goodness, and simultaneously her inability to judge a person realistically and correctly. 8Marion Beaujean, while discussing women's fiction and its affirmation of marriage as the final destiny of women, states in her article "Frauen-, Familien- nnd Schanerromane" that: "wahrend hier wie in vielen vergleichbaren Romanen die Situation der Frau in der konventionellen Ehe nicht in Frage gestellt, sondern ausdrficklich bestatigt wurde, zeigen sich doch auch erste Ansatze eines Versnchs, die psychologischen Bedfirfnisse nnd Reaktionen zu verstehen. Es ist dabei etwa an Therese Hubers Ehestandsgeschichte von 1804 zn erinnern, ...; [] die Entwicklnng von einem nnerfahrenen jungen Madchen, ..., ist mit bemerkenswertem psychologischen Gespfir dargestellt." (Marion Beaujean, "Frauen-, Familien- nnd Schanerromane", Deutsche Literatur: Eine Sozialgeschichre: 149 Zwischen Revolution und Restauration: Klassik nnd Romantik, 220) 9"Ich bin ihr jeden Ersatz schuldig, sagte er, denn nicht sie hat mich betrogen, ich mich selbst, nnd indem ich das Unmfigliche von ihr foderte, verffihrte ich sie zn dem Unrecht, mir das Billige zu versagen." Quoted from: "Die Jugendfreunde". [139] loElaine Showalter, "Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness", 266. 11In her book The Resistin Reader, Judith Fetterly maintains that, "as readers and teachers and scholars, women are taught to think as men, to identify with a male point of view, and to accept as normal and legitimate a male system of values, one of whose central principles is misogyny." (xx). A fair reading of Huber's narrative, therefore, would involve looking at Aline's character from a female point of view, of seeking reasons for her nnfriendliness and aloofness from her husband and his friends. Klosterberuf "Klosterberuf" is the story of a young woman Theofanie who, growing up in struggle torn Poland of the last decades of eighteenth century, seeks to join the cloister. Eugiene, the wife of a bavarian officer, visits Theofanie's father's house in Lithuania and is attracted by Theofanie's "Hoheit nnd Hingebung, und Kalte nnd Innigkeit".[146] She asks Theofanie to write her autobiography. Theofanie finds it difficult to comprehend why someone would be interested in her story. "Ich begreife nicht recht klar, warum Sie die kleine Geschichte meines Lebens, die so unbedentend ist, die so bald ffir die Welt ganz aufhfiren wird, schriftlich von mir haben wollen", [148] says Theofanie to Eugiene. Theofanie's skepticism about writing her "small" and "unimportant" autobiography is further visible in the diffident manner in which she describes her inability to express herself in a coherent manner. She not only fails to regard her life worthy enough to be made the subject of her writing, but she also lacks the language in which she can express herself. However, Theofanie hesitantly begins her story which she believes to be devoid of any feelings: Ach, ich erzahle schlecht! ich sehe wohl, daB ich Ihnen wenig sagte bis jetzt. Ungewohnt, von Herz zu Herz zu sprechen, erzahlte ich Ihnen todte 150 151 Thatsachen, und mein Geffihl blieb verschlossen in meiner vollen, schmerzenvollen Brust. Jetzt lfiste es sich in der Stille des Denkens und Schreibens, ungezfigelt durch die gewohntere Umgebung Ihrer Gegenwart, ungestfirt durch die Ungelenkigkeit meiner Znnge, der die deutschen TOne verboten sind, seit meiner Mutter Stimme im Grabe verhallte.[157] Unaccustomed to voicing her feelings, Theofanie struggles to inscribe herself. She is afraid that she is only documenting dry facts instead of writing about herself. Her writing process becomes more tedious, because until now she has been forbidden by her father to use the German language. The suppression of German - her mother's native language - and the imposition of Polish upon Theofanie after her mother's death has made her German "awkward". However, only by writing in her mother's native language, German, is Theofanie able to give vent to her suppressed emotions. The metaphorical illustration of Theofanie's forced interaction with her father's native language makes apparent the inadequacy of the patriarchal language to convey women's emotions. Ulrike Prokop's assertion regarding the silence and depression of young German women writers during 1770 and 1780 explains from a psychosocial View Theofanie's problem to write her story in the year 1791. U. Prokop states in 152 her article "Die Einsamkeit der Imagination: Geschlechterkonflikt und literarische Produktion um 1770" that, "es besteht der Impuls, sich selbst zu begreifen, das eigene Ich zum Ausdruck zu bringen, und doch liegt darauf offensichtlich ein Tabu."1 Neither the writer Therese Huber nor the character of Theofanie, who is the antobiographer in the narrative, remain silent and depressed. But Theofanie's initial resistance to inscribing her life invokes the image of those young women writers who were torn between the desire to express their "self" and the taboo to do so. Theofanie has to overcome the problem of finding the right words in order to be convincing. Even in her "mother- tongue" she lacks the confidence which can make her statements assertive. Her language remains lifeless and incapacitated. By declaring that, "... meine Worte sind recht todt und lahm",[193] Theofanie brings attention to the fact that the so called mother-tongue also does not "speak" for her, it remains silent. Elaine Showalter's categorical statement regarding women writers' restricted access to the language could serve as an explanation for Theofanie's problematic relationship to her mother's native tongue when it points out that. When one reads about Theofanie's attempts to write about herself, then one realizes that: The problem is not that language is insufficient to express women's consciousness but that women have been denied the full resources of language 153 and have been forced into silence, euphemism, or circumlocutions,2 Theofanie too has been "denied the full resources" of her "mother-tongue" by her father. His suppression of Theofanie's German has given her the feeling of "awkwardness" while writing in German. Besides Theofanie's inaccessibility to language, her involvement in the household duties spares her no time to write. She implies in the following statement that she finds it difficult to excuse herself from her social and religious obligations: Zu meinem Unvermfigen in der Sprache in dem Styl kommt noch mein Mangel an Zeit. Der Sommer ...ffihrt so viele Gaste herbei, daB meiner Mutter Putzzimmer am Vormittage nicht leer wird. Von der bischfiflichen Tafel darf ich mich nicht mehr ausschlieBen, und selten darf ich von da bis zur Abendpromenade nach Hause zurfickkehren.[149] Therese Huber puts words in Theofanie's mouth to illustrate the conditions under which women carried on their literary activity in late eighteenth century Germany. Eva Walter's recent sociological research on eleven women writers born between 1760 and 1770 deals with the same issue. Women's literary activity appears in its totality when Eva Walter integrates it into the realm of other activities. Unlike male authors, women writers could not neglect being wives, 154 mothers, friends, lovers, intelligent secretaries of their husbands, managers of their households and society ladies.3 Theofanie's social obligations too do not leave her much time to write. Thematic restrictions were another stumbling block in women writers' way. As an antobiographer Theofanie is aware of the limited subject matter available to her. In the beginning of the story she asks, "denn was hat ein Madchen bei uns zu schreiben? was darf sie schreiben?"[149]4 Her descriptions about the early fathers of the church are disapproved by her stepmother and regarded as Kopfhangerei, as something morose - implying thereby that women may not deal with religious matters in their writings. Her father confessor believed that women's writing caused doubts in their minds, which in turn meant that women became inquisitive while writing and thus unfeminine. Theofanie also affirms Eugiene's conviction that women should not concern themselves with political affairs. She, therefore, creates an illusion of remaining aloof from the political affairs of her country: Ich habe mir ein heiliges Gesetz gemacht, fiber nichts, was meinem Schicksal fremd ist, zu schreiben, nnd Sie behaupten ja, meines Landes Ketten seien mir fremd, und die Morgenrfithe seiner Freiheit, die so herrlich aufstieg, gehe das Weib nichts an." [167] 155 But in spite of this explicit denial of any interest for the activities of the public sphere, Theofanie's fervent patriotism for Poland cannot remain disguised for long. Theofanie's passionate love for her country becomes evident when she declares: "Nur Eine Art Elend kannte ich, die Sklaverei unseres Landes; nur Einem Idol hatte ich auBer Gott und meiner Mutter einen Altar in meinem Herzen errichtet - der Freiheit meiner Nation."[169] Theofanie justifies her interest in the political affairs of her country by stating that it is women's natural destiny to love, therefore the love for one's country is simply a manifestation of one aspect of their personality. Theofanie's autobiography thus appears rich in descriptions of Poland's socio-political situation in the last decades of eighteenth century. But social norms prohibit her stepping out of her domestic setting in order to participate in heroic deeds. Theofanie is aware that she belongs to a society where activities of the public sphere are only men's prerogatives. It is this conflict between Theofanie's patriotism and its social rejection that constructs the pattern for her autobiography. She inverts her passion for political activity and replaces it with an intense desire to become a nun: Ich sah, daB die Welt, die mein Herz bedurfte, ..., nirgends zu finden sei, ich ahnete, daB sich 156 der Mann eine eigne Welt bilden kfinne, wenn Kraft und Entsagung ihn waffne, aber ffir mich hfilfloses Weib, einsames Madchen sah ich kein Mittel, das Gute zu beffirdern, weil Nichtsbedeutenheit die Bedingung unsers gesellschaftlichen Daseins geworden ist.[194] Theofanie substitutes her patriotism with a religious fervor so strong that she decides to join a cloister. A cloister with its closed walls, in which Theofanie wants to spend the rest of her life, is the only place where she can realize her altruistic ambitions: Gegen das Bfise mit meiner Ohnmacht zu kampfen, vermochte ich nicht, das Gute zu bewirken, bedurfte ich eines geschlossenen Kreises, der mir seine Spuren merkbar machte - jede neue Erfahrung von Anderer Leiden und meiner Schwache zeigte mir also nur eine Freistatte - das Kloster.[195] Her disenchantment with this world reaches its extreme when she confesses: "Eine Mauer suche ich, die mich von dieser Welt scheidet ...." [206] Theofanie becomes convinced after her mother's death that she cannot survive in the evil outside world. She had been literally protected from the outer world by a wall around her house, and she desires to be walled in again in a cloister. Therese Huber skillfully employs the metaphor of the wall to portray Theofanie's confinement as well as 157 freedom. While describing her childhood Theofanie says: Bis in mein dreizehntes Jahr lernte ich in der Welt nichts kennen, als unsere walder, unsere Hfigel, unseren klaren FluB, und die grfiBte Entfernung, die ich allein zu erreichen mir getraute, war der lange, dunkle Gang am Ende des Parkes, wo ihn die Klostermauer der ehemaligen Abtei noch umschlieBt, und durch eine angebrachte Offnung jetzt die Aussicht gegen die untergehende Sonne gestattet. Damals war die Mauer noch unversehrt, und an der Stelle der Offnung ein Wandgemalde, das Christus am Kreuze darstellte, und die Mutter mit Johannes unter ihm, wie er ihnen sein heiliges Vermachtnis verkfindet. - O dieses Bildt-. [165] The wall is destroyed by Theofanie's father after her mother's death - an action meant to communicate his control over her life and introduce her to the outer world; Theofanie has to entertain guests the whole day long as well as attend balls and parties at the polish court. She feels that she cannot become part of a politically turbulent setting, where even her father actively participates in the intrigues of the court.5 Having lost the protection of the wall around her, Theofanie desires a life of seclusion in a cloister, also because she cannot bear to see the inhumane treatment of one people by another: 158 So ward mein Volk behandelt! Die Unmenschen, die es damals zerfleischten, setzen ihm wieder den FuB anf den Nacken. - Und ich soll froh sein? Ich soll in einer Welt leben, wo solche Grauel vorgehen? Ich soll Menschen angehfiren, die ihres Meisters Ebenbild so vertilgen? Denken Sie, ich sei thfiricht genug, um Reinigkeit, Heiligkeit, Freiheit im Kloster zu suchen? - Eine Mauer suche ich, die mich von dieser Welt scheidet ---. [206] The atrocities of the Russians in her country and her own father's intrigues against his people have convinced Theofanie of the rationale of her choice. She believes she would not have looked for chastity, piety and freedom in a cloister if the circumstances had not forced her to do so. The plot of the first part of this narrative is constructed in such a way that Theofanie's decision to become a nun seems to be prompted by her desire to escape her father's evil influence, her country's destruction, simultaneously her inability to do anything about it and lastly to escape marriage with a protestant partner chosen by her father and step-mother. Her maternal grandparents had decided to hand down their vast property in Silesia to their daughter's children only if they remained protestant like their mother. In the event of their becoming catholics they would have no right over this property. Eager to keep this property in the family after his wife's death, 159 Theofanie's father puts pressure on her to marry a protestant, named GroBmaniev. Thus, at this point Theofanie's conversion to catholicism and her taking the veil seem like appropriate measures which promise her escape from her father's authority. Theofanie was supposed to write her autobiography, but a large part of her story deals with her parents' life in a social, political and religious setting. Theofanie's life appears to be simply an extension of her parents' life. It appears as if she does not exist as an independent entity, but only in relation to her parents. After all, what can she write about herself without writing about her parents and her country Poland? It takes time for Theofanie to untie herself from her parents life and write about herself. The second part of the narrative is taken over by Eugiene, at whose insistence Theofanie had first started writing. Here Eugiene illustrates Theofanie's relationship with her lover Demetri, his childhood in Greece, his patriotism for Poland and finally Theofanie's role as a mother to Demetri's daughter and her own step-brother and sister. In this technically complex portrayal of Theofanie's life one discovers characteristics of an autobiography and a traditional Bildungsroman of the eighteenth century. Eugiene becomes the narrator of Theofanie's story and thus converts her autobiography - defined by Kay Goodman in opposition to memoirs- as the 160 depiction of the inner state of an individual6 - into a Bildungsroman. In her article "Shadowing/Surfacing/Shedding: Contemporary German Writers in Search of a Female Bildungsroman," Sandra Frieden comments upon the nature of Bildungsroman and autobiography in the eighteenth century: Together, the Bildungsroman and the autobiography acted as complementary counterparts of the same expressive role: the fictional and the nonfictional account of the individual in his ( "his" is, of course, being used in this context intentionally) development, in his struggle to integrate himself, his ideals, and his perspectives into an increasingly industrialized, materialistic, and alienating bourgeois society.7 The narration of Theofanie's story by a narrator subsumes her story into the category of those works in which the protagonist's march through the various stages of "his" development, until he reaches "his" integration into the society, constitutes the main theme. Theofanie differs from the male hero of a Bildungsroman because she cannot achieve an integration into society on her own. By combining both the traditions of the autobiography and the Bildungsroman in her narrative, Huber introduces the readers to a non-fictional "true" story of Theofanie which seems credible. The second part of "Klosterberuf", continued by Eugiene, prevents the readers from total 161 identification with Theofanie's character, not only since it is narrated in third person, but also because it includes lengthy descriptions of heroic adventures of Demetri as well as the history of the tribal wars in Poland.8 No longer do Theofanie's personal problems determine the plot of the narrative, but details of her lover Demetri's adventurous life become significant. Starting from descriptions of his father's valiant struggle to free Poland from the Russians, and his childhood on a Greek island where his father worked as a slave for a benevolent Greek businessman, this part of the narrative proceeds to give an account of Demetri's heroic fight against the Russians. The inclusion of details of Demetri's life in Theofanie's story serves an important function in this narrative. Demetri's fantastic adventures, his overtly active participation in the freedom struggle of Poland sometimes appear exaggerated and thus unreal, but they make the readers aware of the possibilities available for men to realize their ambitions. At the same time, they also highlight the impossibility for a woman to fulfill her ambitions outside of the domestic sphere. Furthermore, Demetri's character can only then function as an external force through which Theofanie finds her self, when the narrator bolsters his image with heroic deeds. Only after he has endured several difficulties can he be considered worthy enough to become the savior of the main protagonist 162 of this narrative. While in a classical Bildungsroman the male protagonist of the novel "educates" himself and reaches maturity through his conflicts with the society, in the case of Theofanie's Bildungsroman the introduction of a male character becomes necessary to draw the heroine into the society. Theofanie's entrance into the "real" world is also facilitated by other factors such as her moving to a city and assuming responsibility for her step sisters and brother after her step-mother's death. The turning point in Theofanie's life arrives when a festival is organized by the prince of Lithuania to welcome a Russian princess. The festival takes place on an idyllic island surrounded by trees and decorated in such a way that it invokes the image of a palace described in a fairy tale. Theofanie and Demetri are the main dancers in a Greek dance which is meant to welcome the princess. After the dance is over, Theofanie is abducted by GroBmaniev - the man who had been chosen as her husband. Fortunately enough Demetri arrives in time and saves Theofanie. Once again Theofanie expresses her will to join the cloister, because she realizes that it would provide her with an escape from her forced marriage with GroBmaniev. At this moment, a friend of Theofanie implores Demetri to dissuade her from taking the veil: "Czesinsky, werden Sie Theofaniens Freund, halten Sie sie vom Kloster ab, bereden Sie sie, ihrem Vater nach 163 Schlesien auf ihre Gfiter zu entfliehen,"[284] requests this friend of Demetri. And so begins Demetri's role as Theofanie's guide on her way to maturity. He becomes Theofanie's friend and lover and convinces her to change her mind for the sake of her fatherland. He insists that their country needs Theofanie and people like her: "Jetzt bedarf das Vaterland Sie und alle Edle Ihres Geschlechts sowie des unsern in dem thatigen Leben, nicht hinter Klostergitter, und ich bin berufen, Ihr Freund zu sein ...." [287] Demetri also betrays his love for Theofanie when he begs her to make Poland's freedom their common cause. His words take on an erotic undertone when he declares: O Theofanie - ... - lassen Sie zwei Herzen sich vereinen, Jeder auf seinem Wege, nur in der Hoffnnng sich entwickelten ffir Andere, aus diesem Chaos eine neue, ware es auch nur die kleinste Schfipfung anfblfihen zu sehen.[287-8] Theofanie reciprocates Demetri's feelings as she also becomes aware of her love for Demetri. She realizes that she had been denying her worldly existence until Demetri appeared as her savior. At this point in the narrative Theofanie accepts her feelings for Demetri as natural. In other words Demetri's presence helps her to regard her worldly ties as legitimate: Was sie bis jetzt nicht hatte wahrnehmen wollen, 164 weil der Vorsatz, den Schleier zu nehmen, diese nnd alle Banden, die sie an die Welt knfipften, ohnehin auflfisten, ihre Empfindung ffir Czesinsky, rief sie kfihn an das Licht ihrer Vernunft und drfickte ihr das Siegel des reinen Willens auf, der Alles heiligt.[288] Theofanie's sexual maturity signifies her social maturity in the narrative. She learns to suppress herself for the sake of other ideals: "Theofanie lernte nun Ideale kennen, der Schfinheit, der GrfiBe, des Leidens, und ihr eignes Ich trat zurfick vor den erhabnen Bildern, die vor ihr aufstiegen."[292] Theofanie's awakening to the world outside could have resulted in "einem unweiblichen Heroismus" or might have finally forced her to seek refuge in a cloister as a helpless woman. But it is Demetri who prevents her from this fate: "Da fand sie ihren Freund, und jedes ffihlte nun, sich in dem Andern verlierend, daB es selbst nun vollendet sei."[293] It is Demetri who arrives in Theofanie's life as her guardian angel, "er erschien und ward der Schutzgeist ihres Lebens, "[290] and insists that she can contribute to the good in the world by not joining the cloister: Er hatte ihr deutlich gemacht, daB sie zu dieser Masse des Guten reichlicher beitragen wfirde, wenn sie, das Bfise nicht scheuend, die freie Willkfir ihrer Handlungen durch keine Klosterregel 165 einschrankte. [296] Theofanie accepts the decree of fate and sees herself as Demetri's "Freundin, Vertraute, Gefahrtin." [294] She finally takes up the responsibility of taking care of her young siblings. When Demetri inquires if she would be his daughter's guardian as well, she declares that the source of a woman's happiness can be found in love and in the upbringing of her lover's children. "Ich dachte oft fiber das hfichste Glfick des Weibes nach und fand, das zweite sei: die Kinder des Geliebten zu erziehen." [302] In the meanwhile Warsaw is attacked by Russian troops and the whole city is in a state of chaos. While Demetri fights on the front, Theofanie takes care of the sick and wounded soldiers in the hospitals. Finally when the city is in ruins and Theofanie can no longer venture outside her home, she resumes her domestic duties and takes care of her daily household affairs. Her contribution may be within her home, it nevertheless complements Demetri's action on the battle field. The narrator describes Demetri's brave fighting to be creating an impressive effect upon Theofanie. However, her activities in the familial sphere assume the same significance as Demetri's when the narrator juxtaposes the two against each other: Die Sache, der so graBliche Opfer gebracht werden muBten, ward ihr stets grfiBer und heiliger; aber mit weiblichen Gemfithe wand sich ihr Blick von 166 ihren Mittlen ab und heftete sich glfiubig an den kleinen Kreis ihrer taglichen Sorgen, schwindelnd vor der Verantwortlichkeit ihres Freundes, der in das Schicksal der Nation mit kfihner Hand eingriff.[313] Demetri dies while fighting for the freedom of his country and thus Theofanie finds herself responsibile for her step brother, sister and Demetri's daughter. She decides to leave for Silesia to bring up her foster children on her vast estate. Theofanie's beautiful property in Silesia reminds the readers of the surroundings of her parents home from where she could see the hills, the forest and the clear river.9 The image of Theofanie's innocent and happy childhood reappears in the narrative in this description of the natural surroundings and also when once again Eugiene meets Theofanie by sheer coincidence in Silesia. Eugiene too is attracted by the idyllic setting of Theofanie's home: Die Gegend war reizend, und das Betragen der jungen Madchen machte Eugienen ungeduldig, die Mutter solcher holden Kinder zu sehen. Unvermerkt kamen sie in einen dunkeln Gang, an dessen HuBerstem Ende eine wunderbar hervortretende Aussicht fiber den FluB, das gegenfiberliegende Dorf und eine lachende Gegend sie fiberraschte. [338] Silesia is the realization of a utopian dream for Theofanie, 167 since here she can fulfill the social responsibility of looking after her foster children - a task for which she made a conscious decision. The narrative "Klosterberuf" takes a full circle by bringing Theofanie and Eugiene together. Firstly, in tying the two ends of the story together Therese Huber overcomes the technical difficulty of narrating such a long, complex and thus confusing story. In addition, this conclusion of Theofanie's story functions as an encasing of a public/ political theme between the descriptions of Theofanie's personal life. As a narrative strategy Therese Huber makes use of a conventional beginning and ending while in between she deals with themes not approved by the male critics for women's writing.10 By writing Theofanie's story Therese Huber brings attention to the fact that women can find fulfillment and happiness by being mothers and educators in the family. Demetri's heroic deeds are indeed praised in the narrative, but one may say that his deeds are not rewarded by the author as he does not survive the political upheaval. Theofanie, on the other hand, finds peace and contentment in her familial setting. Her sphere of influence extends beyond the narrow daily routine of the household work to include the management of her property. Most important of all, she directs her activities towards the upbringing of her children. Through Theofanie's character, Therese Huber 168 propagates a cult of domesticity which looks beyond woman as a household servant, subservient wife or a powerless mother. Baym's remarks regarding the view of women writers of early nineteenth century America regarding domesticity aptly sum up Huber's conception of home too, for Huber seems to propose through Theofanie's decision that, "... "‘home' is not a space but a system of human relations;.... Woman, if she can preside over the home space, will then be not out of the world but at the very center of it."11 By choosing the domestic world over a cloistered existence, which in the eighteenth century was no longer a haven for women's self- development 12 Theofanie places herself at the center of the world. 169 Notes 1Ulrike Prokop, "Die Einsamkeit der Imagination: Geschlechterkonflikt und literarische Produktion um 1800", Deureche Lireratur von Frauen: I Band Vom Mittelalter bis gem Ehde des 18. Jahrhunderts, ed. Gisela Brinker-Gabler (Munich: C. H. Beck, 1988) 330. Therese Huber's prolific literary activity which began in 1784 obviously places her in a category other than that of women writers mentioned by Prokop. Nevertheless, her choice of a woman character who hesitates to express her "self" in writing thematizes once again the same dilemma that younger women writers of the 1770's and 1780's experienced. Before Theofanie began to write her autobiography, the only way Theofanie could assert her self, without raising suspicion of being selfish and unfeminine, was to insist upon joining the cloister. 2Elaine Showalter, "Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness", The New Feminist Criticism: Essays on Women, Litereture and Theory, ed. Elaine Showalter (New York: Pantheon, 1985) 255. 3In her book §ehrieb oft, von Magde Arheir mede; eb s ' e d uts ch 1 telleri e , Eva Walter introduces the readers to eleven German women writers born between 1760 and 1770 in their various roles. Unlike male writers, these female writers could not isolate 170 themselves from the household and carry on writing undisturbed. There was no escape from the activities around the house. Therefore it is true that, "es war ein Leben mit vielen Gesichtern. Parallel, glieichzeitig und fiberscheidend sollten diese Frauen sowohl Managerinnen des Hauswesens als auch repraentative Damen, liebevolle Freundinnen und konkurrenzfahige Rivalinnen, ffirsorgliche Mfitter nnd selbstbewufite Kampferinnen, aber auch anspruchsvolle Liebende und anlehnungsbedfirftige Mfidchen sein." (12) 4An explicit answer to Theofanie's question can be found in the eighteenth century literary historian C.W.O.A. von Schindel's essay "fiber die Schriftstellerei der Frauen und ihren Beruf dazu". He proclaims that women are more talented to write domestic fiction and deal with the theme of love between the two sexes because of their "knowledge" and "observation" of these themes in domestic situations.(xx-xxi) 5Theofanie comes to know through people that the older prince of Poland had been declared insane by the younger prince. He is discovered by a sheer coincidence by Amadeus, a priest and Theofanie's mentor, in a far flung village. Soon thereafter the older prince is murdered. Theofanie finds out that her father had a major role to play in the murder of the older prince. Completely disillusioned by 171 this world Theofanie vows never to be like her father. Upon discovering that her father had a hand in the older prince's death, she vows never to be like her father who has destroyed her paradise: "So welkte meines Lebens Leben, meine Unschuld - mir bleibt nur Kraft, nur Tugend, nur starrer Wille, nie zu sein wie Jene, die mein Paradies mir zerstfirten. - "[177] 6In her article "Weibliche Autobiographien", based on Georg Misch's study, Kay Goodman makes a distinction between autobiographies and memoirs. "Memoiren - meistens von Adeligen geschrieben - behandeln eher HuBerliche Begebenheiten: z.B. Hof- und Berufsintrigen, Militargeschichten. Autobiographien - meistens von Bfirgerlichen geschrieben - behandeln eher innere Begebenheiten: Seelen- und Bildungserlebnisse." (Fraeenliteraturgeeehichte: Schreibende Frauen vom Mittelalter bis znr Gegenwart, eds. Hiltrud Gnfig and Renate Mfihrmann [Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler, 1985] 290) 7 Sandra Frieden, "Shadowing/Surfacing/Shedding: Contemporary German Writers in Search of a Female Bildungsroman,” The Voyage In: Fictions of Femele Development, eds. Elizabeth Abel, Marianne Hirsch, and Elizabeth Langland (Hanover: UP of New England, 1983) 304. 8In the article "Therese Forster-Huber und Polen", 172 Barbara Becker-Cantarino discusses the narrative "Klosterberuf" in order to shed light upon Huber's portrayal of Poland's political and national problems, for she asserts, "Politische und nationale Probleme stehen in der Erzahlung "Klosterberuf" im Mittelpunkt", and later maintains that the main concern of this narrative is Poland's political fate, which Huber disguises under the experiences of a young girl: Polen und sein politisches Schicksal im 18. Jahrhundert ist das Anliegen dieser Erzahlung, woffir die Erlebnisse einer jungen Frau als fiktionaler Stoff dienen." Barbara Becker-Cantarino, "Therese Forster-Huber und Polen", Chloe:Beihefte um Daphnie (Amsterdam: Rodopi) 62-3. 9Describing her home in her autobiography Theofanie says: "Bis in mein dreizehntes Jahr lernte ich in der Welt nichts kennen, als unsere walder, unsere Hfigel, unseren klaren FluB, und die grfiBte Entfernung, die ich allein zu erreichen mir getraute, war der lange, dunkle Gang am Ende des Parkes,...."[165] 10Therese Huber's literary skills becomes evident in this narrative when she integrates the history and the contemporary political affairs of Poland into descriptions of Theofanie's personal life. Without raising any suspicion of deviating from the main plot, i. e., Theofanie's story, she implants her story in the socio-political milieu of her 173 time and thus takes the opportunity to express herself on themes other than those reserved for women writers of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Germany. Theofanie's traditional and religious character becomes a vehicle for the author to comment upon the political affairs of Poland. In the first part of the narrative the readers are brought face to face with political issues which Theofanie mentions in the course of writing her autobiography. Another substory in the second part of the narrative traces the family history of Theofanie's lover Demetri, Czensky' son. Czensky was a Pole who had settled on a Greek island and raised his family there. His son Demetri fervently believes that Poland should be freed from the attacks of Russians. He comes to Poland to fulfill his mission of fighting for his fatherland. Through Demetri's story, Therese Huber gets an opportunity to narrate the civil war in Poland and comment upon Russia's role in destroying Poland. 11Nina Baym, Woman'e Fiction: A Guide to Novels hy gee about Women in America, 1820-1870 (Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1978) 49. 12For a discussion of women's creativity within Cloisters in the middle ages and its decline with the passage of time, as a result of Luther's theological and moral arguements, see Ruth Klfiger, "Zum AuBenseitertum der 174 deutschen Dichterinnen", Untersuchungen zum Roman von Fraueh em 1800, eds. Helga Gallas and Magdalene Heuser (Tfibingen: Neuwied, 1990) 13-9. Die ungleiche Heirath The short prose narrative "Die ungleiche Heirath" deals with the issue of "unequal" marriage between a thirty year old woman, Melanie, and a twenty year old man, Camille. Melanie's first marriage had been with St. Amand, a swiss officer three times older than her who treated her like a "lovable" child. St. Amand invites one of his old war comrade's son, Camille, from the south of France to spend some time with him and Melanie in Vauveron- Switzerland in order to distract him from joining Napoleon's army. Young Camille captures everyone's heart in the village of Vauveron by his high spiritedness, childlike capriciousness and good looks. After St. Amand's death Camille helps Melanie with the management of her property. Melanie, like other villagers, becomes spellbound by Camille's physical beauty and his joviality, whereas he passionately falls in love with Melanie. In addition to Melanie and Camille's mutual attraction, external factors also provide an impetus for their marriage. The people of Vauveron begin to regard Melanie and Camille's marriage as beneficial to both of them since Melanie could gain Camille's support in affairs concerning her property and Camille could be saved from conscription in Napoleon's army by marrying Melanie. After marriage Melanie immerses 175 176 herself in the household duties and four years later gives birth to a daughter. Camille employs his youthful energy and enthusiasm in the supervision of Melanie's vast property. The birth of his daughter gives Camille an opportunity to put into practice his much admired Rousseau's ideas regarding the upbringing of children: He insists that Melanie nurse her daughter herself instead of engaging a wet nurse. As a result of insufficient nutrition their daughter succumbs to poor health. Camille is emotionally shattered by his daughter's death. The doctor recommends a change of scene for him to help him recover from this shock. Leaving Melanie in charge of the property, Camille leaves for Geneva. Camille meets an educated and beautiful German woman named Ida in Geneva. Ida becomes his mentor and influences him to such an extent that, upon his return to Vauveron Camille asks Melanie to grant him a divorce. Melanie complies with his request and makes preparations to leave Vauveron, since she cannot bear to live there as a divorced woman. Soon thereafter she emigrates to a German colony in Virginia along with a French family of one Herr du Gange, his married daughter Babette and his german son-in-law Dfirnberg. Herr du Gange assumes the position of a patriarch in the new colony and Melanie is respected and loved as a mother by other members of this newly established community. Camille, in the meanwhile, follows Ida to Germany in 177 the hope of winning her love. Ida, however, ends their friendship by leaving him alone in Frankfurt and going to Wiesbaden to get married to a wealthy baron. Rejected and dejected Camille returns to Vauveron to find that Melanie too has already left for some unknown destination. He regrets his past decisions so much that he decides to leave Switzerland for good. Camille emigrates to America with his German friend Fritz Brown in the hope of starting anew. As luck would have it they reach Du Gange's colony. Camille and Fritz are invited to join a festival in which the men catch fish for the whole season and later welcome women in a celebration. An accident occurs during this celebration which brings Camille and Melanie face to face once again. While crossing the river the women's boat capsizes and all the women are thrown into the river. Camille jumps in the river and saves Melanie from drowning. But they are prevented from divulging their true relationship to the onlookers. Herr du Gange and his son-in-law Dfirnberg decide to introduce Camille as Melanie's son to other members of the community. They are afraid that if people discover the true relationship between Melanie and Camille then Melanie's maternal image may be tarnished. Du Gange and Dfirnberg believe that for the sake of preserving Melanie's reputation as a caring mother of the community, they can deceive others with this lie. Since Melanie and Camille had already 178 realized that their marital relationship was an "unequal" relationship, they too come to the conclusion that their love for each other was meant to be like the love of mother and son. Thus Melanie and Camille live in the Du Gange colony as mother and son until Melanie's death. Melanie fulfills her duty as a mother towards Camille by uniting her adopted daughter Emilie with him in marriage on her deathbed. Like several other prose narratives of Therese Huber this narrative also depicts a triad of women with different personalities. Melanie, Ida and Babette are the three women characters in this story who possess altruistic qualities, extrovert characteristics and non-traditional ideas respectively.1 Melanie represents all the characteristics of an ideal woman propagated in the philosophical discourse of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Germany.2 Melanie's upbringing in an "herrenhuterisch" institute has inculcated in her "Reinheit der Sitten, Herzlichkeit, heitre Frfimmigkeit and weibliche Tatigkeit" [207] -all those characteristics which ensure her subordination under her first husband who was three times older than she and treated her like a child. Ida's character, on the other hand, defies any attempts at categorization as an "ideal woman". Nevertheless, her intelligence and ability to participate in scientific conversations is attractive to men: "die Manner waren von ihr angezogen, denn in Genf scheucht ein 179 geistvolles, ja an wissenschaftliche Gegenstande geknfipftes Gesprach der Frauen die Manner nicht zurfick."[238] Camille, the "Naturkind", also discovers in Ida his mentor who teaches him not only German, but also how to reconstruct his marital life. Ida becomes the stereotypical "Machtweib"3 when, "Ida fand einen ganz neuen GenuB darin, sich mit einem solchen Naturkinde zu beschaftigen, so eines launigen und gewaltthatigen Neulings Lehrerin und Herrin zu sein."[239] Ida's strong and dominating personality coupled with her intelligence creates a large following of men. At the same time, her belief in the superiority of Vernunft over Herz makes her appear as a cold-hearted and selfish woman. Ida's character gets progressively overshadowed by the self- sacrificing and altruistic Melanie. In contrast to Ida, Melanie is portrayed as Camille's guardian angel since she saves his life by throwing herself over him to protect him from bitter cold. When she reacts unfavorably to his confessions of love for Ida, Camille is disappointed in her because he had expected her to be above such worldly emotions. He leaves her "weinend fiber sie, wie fiber einen gefallnen Engel."[270] The difference in Melanie and Ida's personality becomes more evident after Camille returns from Geneva. Whereas Melanie "war so Achtung gewinnend in dem liebevollen Ernst ihres Wesens" [246], "Ida's Bild trat in Flammenzfigen vor seine Phantasie...." [247] Ida had convinced Camille that Melanie was not capable 180 of responding to his passions as she lacks health and youth. Melanie too realizes it herself, therefore, she decides to become a celibate in her marital life. Her dress reflects her somber mood - "sie war so rfihrend in der anspruchslosen Kleidung, die zwischen Kranken- und Witwentracht die Mitte hielt!"[246] Melanie's simple dress and her preoccupation with the household is meant to convey to Camille her resolve to abstain from her marital duties. She has realized that she can never make Camille happy again. Camille returns to Vauveron after six months to find Melanie reconciled to her fate: Er begegnete nur klaren Blicken, sah nur stille Thatigkeit, hfirte sanfte, hausliche Gesprache, vernahm beharrlicher Freundschaft aufopfernde Treue.[247] Melanie is successful in conveying her intentions since from then on her life appears dull and insipid to Camille: Idas sprfihende Geistesfunken hatten ihn verwfihnt; gegen den Taumel zwischen Heftigkeit des Geffihls und Sinnendurst, in dem er neben ihr gelebt hatte, schien dieses EbenmaB im Leben schal, diese MaBigkeit im Empfinden leer.[247] It becomes clear that in Camille's comparison of Melanie and Ida, Melanie loses to Ida because she is no longer sexually desirable. Melanie and Camille's marriage fails to survive not because Ida appears between Camille and Melanie's 181 happiness, but because the initial attraction felt by Camille and Melanie for each other subsides. The introduction of Ida's character in the narrative simply expedites the annulment of Camille and Melanie's marriage. Their marriage was based not upon the "union of souls", but upon their sensuous desire which is extinguished when they get married. Earlier Melanie was steered by Camille's natural beauty and childish passion and Camille desired physical proximity with Melanie. He did not disguise his desire for Melanie when he pressed her close to him one night when Melanie came into the study to check if he was still working on a matter concerning her property. " - Hier legte er einen Arm um ihre Hfiften und drfickte sie, wie sie vor ihm stand, an sich! - Melanie war unfahig zu sprechen, sie war regungslos. - Das war Liebe! Liebe hatte noch nie zu ihr gesprochen."[227] Or in still another instance, Camille's desire for Melanie becomes obvious when "Camille's Blicke verzehrten Melanie".[229] Melanie too experiences passionate love for the first time in her life.4 Therese Huber employs erotic imagery to portray Melanie's sexual desire and Camille's passions: Melanie empfand, was ihre Jugendblfite nie vergoldet hatte, was der Rose der Schfinheit doch allein den gfittlichsten Zauber verleiht - sie sah sich geliebt, angebetet, und indem der Jfingling zum Manne zu werden schien, weil er das Weib 182 seiner Liebe als Beute davontrug, entblfihte in ihr eine neue Jugend des Herzens, der Reize. - Doch ach! Ihr war Liebe Herbstsonne, die verspatete Knospen entfaltete; ffir Camille war sie ein Frfihlingsgewitter, das plfitzlich des Baumes kraftige Zweige mit Laubschmuck umkleidet.[230] In response to Camille's attention Melanie's sexuality blooms like a late flower. Soon, however, marriage dissipates Melanie and Camille's desire. Here Helga Gallas' analysis of Rousseau's Novelle neipiee appropriately sums up Camille and Melanie's story as well. Gallas contends that, "Verbot und Trennung sind die Bedingungen zur Errichtung des Begehrens und zu seiner "5 Melanie and Camille's desire is also Aufrechterhaltung. inflamed by the distance between them, but it soon vanishes in marriage. Marriage makes it possible for them to fulfill their desire for each other, which also means that once this desire is fulfilled it exists no longer. Melanie's pregnancy withers away her youth and beauty. The birth of her daughter and her sickness divert Melanie's attention from Camille. Camille's child becomes his adversary in demanding attention from Melanie. Thus he not only experiences the culmination of his desire in marriage, but also unfulfillment of his sexual needs. The introduction of Ida's character at this point not only functions as a means of highlighting Melanie's self- 183 sacrificing nature, but it also brings movement into the plot. Ida's character distracts Camille from his sorrow at losing his daughter, and also from his wife. Her intelligent, sharp, fashionable and outgoing nature entraps Camille. Ida makes him aware that he loves her, but refuses him sexual favors not because of any moral principles, but "aus Klugheit muBte ihm Ida jede verwegene Gunst versagen."[243] Ida wants to maintain a distance between herself and Camille because she knows that this distance will sustain and increase Camille's desire for her. Ida proposes a voluntary renunciation in order to ensure her status as the desired object. She also asks Camille to refrain from any passionate outbursts with Melanie. "Ein achtungsvolles Benehmen, Vermeidung aller leidenschaftlichen Stfirme, sorgfaltige Pflege seines Hauswesens, aber weiter auch nichts" [243]- such is the course of conduct suggested by Ida to Camille in his dealings with Melanie. Ida's advice to Camille is meant to secure his love for herself, for his estrangement from his wife can only bring him closer to Ida. The "sprfihende Geistesfunken"[247] or the witty remarks spewing forth from Ida's mouth, her discussions on various scientific subjects with men alienate other women from her, but they "bewitch" Camille. Her intelligence makes her more desirable to him. Ida's characterization seems similar to Grafin Orsina's in Lessing's Emilia Gal tti, since both the women are 184 intelligent and not naive. Karin A. Wurst discusses the representation of women's sexuality in Lessing's plays in her article "Abwesenheit-Schweigen-Tfitung: Die Mfiglichkeiten der Frau? Lessings Funktionalisierung literarischer Klischees". She contends that the representation of an educated woman in the literary discourse of the Enlightenment invariably, like Grafin Orsina's in Emilia Galotti, assumes a correlation between a woman's knowledge with her sexuality. It is believed that a "learned" woman is sexually not naive, that she is sexually active: Die "zum Trotze" auch "denken[de]" Frau [Grafin Orsina] wird zumeist als Matresse, als sexuelle aktive, "wissende" Frau dargestellt und somit ideologisch abgewertet.6 The signifier "knowledgeable woman" connoting a sexually active woman may be used to characterize Ida in Huber's short story as well.7 It appears as if through Ida's character Therese Huber is trying to come to terms with her own image of a knowledgeable woman/writer and the social obligation of being a housewife and a mother. Gilbert and Gubar see in the "negative" female characters of women's fictions projections of these writers' personal desire to be different and simultaneously their visions of punitive measures for being different: Indeed, much of the poetry and fiction written by 185 women conjures up this mad creature so that female authors come to terms with their own uniquely female feelings of fragmentation, their own keen sense of the discrepancies between what they are and what they are supposed to be.8 From the narrator's examination of motives behind Ida's desire to control Camille's life one deduces the author's sympathy with Ida's character. Ida is neither an angel nor a witch, since "Ida ward bei der ganzen Sache nicht von einer bfisen Absicht -sie ward von gar keiner getrieben, als bewundert zu werden, EinfluB zu fiben und ihre Grundsatze anzuwenden."[242] Wavering between an understanding of Ida's desire to be admired and condemnation for her destructive influence, the narrator regards Ida as a "Zauberin" who has trapped Camille in her illusions: "sie zog ihn in den Kreis ihrer Tauschungen fort;"[272] Camille's friend Fritz Brown describes Ida as a witch who is making Camille crazy. Handing him a letter from Ida, Brown whispers in Camille's ear, "von Grafin Ida, von Deinem Damon, von Deinem Satan!"[277] But the narrator also portrays Ida as a strong and intelligent woman who has an upper hand in her relationship with Camille. Justice is rendered to Ida's figure in that she is married to a rich baron and thus stops playing a role in Camille and Melanie's life. Melanie and Camille's recognition of their folly of having married and then Melanie's meeting with Herr du Gange 186 - all these factors lead the narrative towards still another direction which introduces the readers to Therese Huber's political stance regarding the institution of family. Herr du Gange is completely disillusioned by the consequences of the French Revolution by now. He realizes that he had sacrificed everything for a lost cause when he fought for bourgeois rights in France. He decides to leave France for America with his daughter and son-in-law Dfirnberg. Dfirnberg himself wishes to leave the Rhineland for a place where he can find freedom. Thus both Dfirnberg and Du Gange, der bewegliche Provencale und der bedfichtige Thfiringer wurden von einerlei Sehnsucht fiber den Ocean getrieben. Verzweiflung am Glfick ihres Vaterlandes, kfihne Zuversicht, sich ein neues zu schaffen, im Jugendlande der Freiheit, der Cultur.[264-5] Melanie accompanies this family because she hopes to find a place where she can find refuge from her painful past. Babette and Dfirnberg's affections give her the position of the mother of the family. Dfirnberg seems to have determined Melanie's position in their colony in America when he explains to Babette that: Bei ihr [Melanie] ist es nicht der Besitz des Gatten, es ist die Liebe, deren sie bedarf. Es ist das allumfassendste Wohlwollen, auf einem Gegenstand concentriert - aber ihr bleibt noch 187 viel Liebe ffir Andere, ffir Dich, ffir mich; immer am meisten ffir Den, dem sie am meisten dienen kann. So ist die Liebe in einem reinen weiblichen Herzen.[268] By explaining to Babette that Melanie needs love to survive, and she loves that person the most whom she can serve the most, Dfirnberg turns Melanie into a benevolent selfless figure existing for the sake of others. Melanie herself renounces her worldly ties when she begins to nurture maternal feelings for Camille, when she gives herself up for the welfare of others in the colony.9 It is interesting to see how Therese Huber's vision of a utopian society away from the political turmoil of Germany and France is based upon family as its basic unit and in particular is supported by the idea of a self-sacrificing, life supporting role of women in it. Women assume the important task of children's upbringing in the colony. A patriarchal family with its self-sustaining agrarian economy becomes the basis of an ideal new world in America in this narrative. In his article "Immer noch im Schatten der Manner? Therese Huber als Schriftstellerin" Wulf Kfipke discusses Huber's vision of America and correctly points out that: ... in ihrem Amerikabild kaum von Washington und dem Regierungssystem die Rede ist, sondern durchweg von der lokalen Selbstverwaltung. Damit 188 verbindet sich bei ihr das Ideal des selbstandigen Landguts aus dem 18. Jahrhundert. Die wohlwollende patriarchalische Familie bleibt ffir sie die Grundform der Gesellschaft.lo The highly exaggerated descriptions of the idyllic natural surroundings of Herr du Gange's colony reflect the utopian vision of men who desired an escape from the political disturbances of the Germany of post-Napoleonic wars. The depiction of women's harmonious life as nursing mothers or innocent maidens, on the other hand, conveys to the readers that women can reach the blissful elysian fields only as mothers.11 Melanie is revered by all the members of the colony, because she assumes the role of a matriarch in the colony. Her service to the whole community is praised by the members of this colony: Die fremden Glieder der Colonie fanden in Melanie eine gefibte Hausfrau, eine sorgsame Krankenpflegerin, eine Freundin durch Rath und That, sodaB ihr Leben in der zweckmaBigsten Wirksamkeit verfloB.[298] Melanie finds a purpose in life when she takes up the responsibility of teaching the colony's children. Her selfless service is acknowledged by the community. Implicit in Melanie's praise is a message for other women - that they too can find fulfillment outside the traditional framework of marriage. But, on the other hand, Melanie's character 189 does not seem to be rewarded by the author for her altruism, since Melanie does not live long enough to experience old- age in this colony. A year after Camille's arrival she falls sick and dies. It may seem contradictory that on the one hand the author propagates through Melanie's character the idea that women can find meaning in their lives outside of marriage, while on the other hand Melanie's exemplary character dies away slowly. If one looks at Melanie's last act, when she unites Emilie and Camille as husband and wife, one discovers that there is no contradicition in the author's decision to remove Melanie's character from the plot. In fact, Therese Huber glorifies in this final act of good will Melanie's contributions to the society. Melanie proves through her action that the well-being of society takes precedence over individual desires. She arrives at a stage in her life when the good of others becomes her good: "Jetzt war ihre [Melanies] Individualitat im Einklange mit ihrer Lage; ihre Pflichten mit ihrer Vernunft; ihre Wfinsche mit ihren Kraften."[320] 190 Notes lBabette's character strikes a balance between Melanie's and Ida's character. Babette appears to be neither passive and self-sacrificing like Melanie nor assertive and ambitious like Ida. She combines her education with her household duties in order to nurture a happy family and be her husband's partner: "Bei den Geschaften des Haushalts thatig und zierlich zugleich, von den Verhaltnissen ihres Landes unterrichtet, nach der Geschichte dessen, wohin ihr Vater sie zu ffihren gedachte, mit WiBbegierde forschend, versprach sie Geffihrtin ihres Gatten zu sein, nicht sein Spielwerk, nicht seine Herrin."[264] 2Dagmar Grenz discusses the restricting function of these feminine attributes when she points out that: "In die "Geschlechtscharaktere" selbst gehen gerade die Eigenschaften ein, die Mann und Frau ffir ihre unterschiedlichen Tatigkeitsbereiche benfitigen. wahrend dem Manne Rationalitat und Aktivitat zugeordnet werden, Fahigkeiten also, die ffir die von ihm verlangte formale Qualifikation und Durchsetzungsfahigkeit entscheidend sind, werden der Frau Passivitfit, Demut, Geduld, Nachgiebigkeit, Emotionalitat, Freundlichkeit, Ffirsorglichkeit und Liebesfahigkeit zugeschrieben." Dagmar Grenz, 191 Madchenlireratur: Von den moralisch-belehrendee Schrifren im 18. Jahrhundert bis zur Herausbildung der Backfischliteratur im 19. Jahrhundert (Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 1981) 20. 3Paul Kluckhohn juxtaposes the image of "das einfache natfirliche Weib" with that of "Machtweib" in his discussion of types of women in the literature of Storm and Stress. Referring to Goethe's "Gfitz" Kluckhohn gives a definition of a "Machtweib" which describes Ida in Huber's narrative as well. A "Machtweib" is described by him as "eine alle Manner bezwingende Schfinheit von starkem mannlichem Geiste, die nur den Starksten lieben kann, von seiner Weichheit enttauscht sich dem Sickingen zuwendet und, um diesen zu gewinnen, jenen vergiften laBt. Trotz dieser Skrupellosigkeit liegt ein damonischer und auch liebreizender Zauber in ihrer Gestalt, dem niemand zu widerstehen vermag." Paul Kluckhohn, Die Auffassung der Liebe in der Literatur des 18. Jahrhunderts une ih eer deurschen Romantik (Tfibingen: Niemeyer, 1966) 214. 4For the first time Melanie falls in love with Camille. Before Camille, Melanie had loved her first husband like she loved her parents and relatives. She had reached her thirty years without experiencing sensual love for any man. As the narrator explains, Melanie had not experienced anything beyond friendly feelings, "so blieb nun die Blfite ihres Herzens unentfaltet, und mit freundlichen Geffihlen, in einem 192 Kreise leichter, gernerffillter Pflichten, einffirmigen Wohllebens und genuBloser Ruhe, hatte sie ihr dreiBigstes Jahr erreicht."[209] Her monotonous and uneventful life is suddenly interrupted by an impetuous young man. Camille's daring and sensuous disposition awakens feelings in Melanie which were earlier unknown to her. Camille on the other hand is attracted by Melanie's charming looks which make her look younger than her age. Melanie and Camille are brought together not by their explicit confessions of love, but by a turn of fate which makes Melanie Camille's rescuer and later his wife. One winter evening while returning from a village festival Camille is unprepared for the extreme cold and therefore becomes unconscious on his way back home. Melanie protects Camille by throwing herself on his frozen body. The scene describing Melanie's attempt to save Camille in which "Melanie lag mit ihrer zarten Brust fiber Camille's erstarrter Gestalt" [217] becomes symbolic for Melanie and Camille's relationship as husband and wife. 5Helga Gallas, "Ehe als Instrument des Masochismus oder "Glfickseligkeits-Triangel" als Aufrechterhaltung des Begehrens? an Trennung von Liebe und Sexualitat im deutschen Frauenroman des 18. Jahrhunderts", Un uc u gum Roman um 1800, eds. Helga Gallas and Magdalena Heuser (Tfibingen: Niemeyer, 1990) 70. 193 6Karin A. Wurst, "Abwesenheit-Schweigen-Tfitung: Die Mfiglichkeiten der Frau? Lessings Funktionalisierung literarischer Klischees." Orbis Litterarum (1990) 45. 115 7 I draw a parallel between Ida and Grafin Orsina's character, because both of them are intelligent women, who are perceived as sexually not naive. But it should also be noted here that unlike Grafin Orsina, Ida does not belong to the nobility. Her identity as a knowledgeable woman has not been constructed to malign the nobility as unscruplous, as was the case in Lessing's character of Grafin Orsina. Her character in Huber's narrative is not devalorized ideologically. 8Gilbert and Gubar, Madwoman in the Attic, 78. 9It is also Herr Du Gange, Dfirnberg and her circumstances which determine her decision to accept her husband as her son. Melanie and Camille's new relationship is thus the result of "[das] Zusammentreffen[] von auBeren Umstanden und innerem EntschluB".[315] In consenting to the patriarch of the house Melanie feels superior. This superiority gives her strength to overcome personal desires and thus prepares her for her renunciation from the world: Die edle Matrone ffihlte sich durch ihre Lebensrettung selbst fiber das Leben erhoben, sodaB sie mit ganzlicher Befreiung von aller Persfinlichkeit, deren sie 194 vielleicht gestern noch nicht ffihig gewesen ware, ihrem Liebling ihren BeschluB, fortan ffir seine Mutter gehalten zu werden, ankfindigte. [311] Melanie's lost voice and glowing cheeks further reflect her inner decision to rise above the worldly desires and serve others selflessly: Ihre erloschne Stimme war so liebevoll, ihr Ange, wenn sie Abends unter den Ihrigen saB, glanzender wie je; ihre Wangen farbte ein so zartes Roth, daB es mit einer Alter und Leiden verwischenden Verklarung fiberstrahlte.[318] In order to show Melanie's complete involvment in the welfare of others, the narrator increasingly describes her as free from personal desires. loWulf Kfipke, "Immer noch im Schatten der Manner? Therese Huber als Schriftstellerin", 123-4. 11The new society in the Du Gange colony becomes the promised land for the settlers. Instead of exploiting the nature for their selfish ends, people here work to make nature more bountiful: "Die Natur und der Mensch schienen zusammen zu wetteifern, wer die fippigste Pflanzenwelt schfife."[291] Women in this promised land become men's helpmates, involved with those activities which complement men's activities. They give and sustain life: "Hier unter dem Feigenschatten sitzen frfihliche Mfitter, den Saugling an 195 der Brust, dort schneiden blfihende Madchen den fetten Klee, die noch nicht verhallten Lieder des Mutterlandes singend."[292] This depiction of the new colony may appear highly patriarchal to those who do not read it as a metaphor used by Huber in order to conjure up a country where women do not live under male subjugation. I see Huber making use of a pastoral setting as a metaphor to visualize a women- centered utopian situation. Die Frau von vierzig Jahren Therese Huber's prose narrative "Die Frau von 40 Jahren" is similar to her other prose narratives in its depiction of gender roles and their constricting consequences upon women characters. But unlike other narratives, "Die Frau von 40 Jahren" distinguishes itself by its overtly rebellious tone. The forty year old protagonist Amalie does not accept her present situation without bitterly commenting upon her past experiences with her ex- lover Feldberg and blaming her father for her superficial upbringing. She narrates her life-story to Feldberg, her step-son and his wife. Amalie recounts her childhood, her relationship with Feldberg, her marriage with a wealthy widower and her two love affairs with a hindsight which acknowledges her own mistakes, but at the same time allows her to evaluate others. In the first part of the narrative Amalie makes no attempt to disguise her bitterness against Feldberg. She expresses herself in long monologues which do not permit either the narrator's or other protagonists' interruptions. Amalie becomes the story-teller and the other characters in the narrative her listeners. In the second part Amalie continues with her narration of her marital life with Herr von Helm. The third and the last part of the narrative is taken over by the narrator who 196 197 reads from the written material sent by Amalie. It focusses upon Amalie's affairs with Herr K and a seventeen year old French boy who was under Amalie and her husband's guardianship. Distancing herself from her narrative, Amalie also distances herself from her scandalous past and lets the reader as well as the other characters in the narrative become the audience and the judge of her story instead of herself.1 Amalie's narration becomes a cathartic event, giving her a chance to vent her feelings and simultaneously makes it possible for her to prove her moral superiority by the end of her story.2 Amalie's son's statement in the first paragraph of the narrative conveys more than a request to Amalie to take rest after the hectic events of his wife's childbirth session. His remarks to Amalie: "nun ware es doch Zeit, ..., nun ware es doch Zeit, gute Mutter, daB sie etwas Ruhe genfissen. Sie haben sich auf mehr als eine Art angegriffen, ungewohnt angegriffen ...." [121], take on a symbolic significance in the wake of events to follow, and point towards the end of her story when she is at peace with herself. Amalie had loved Feldberg who was a frequent visitor to her father's home, but Feldberg remained unresponsive to Amalie's love. Now, Amalie accuses Feldberg of being cold- hearted and pedantic, a person who had assumed the role of her mentor but would not acknowledge his love for her. In her anger she belittles Feldberg's intellect, with which he 198 had impressed her twenty years ago by constantly calling him a Pedant instead of Gelehrter. Amalie reminisces about her early years and recognizes in retrospect that she had tried to change herself in order to win Feldberg's love. Feldberg's devotion to "Reason" was obvious. Therefore, in order to impress him, Amalie tried to acquire knowledge and overcome her impulsiveness. She was also determined to educate herself, instead of seeking distractions. But Feldberg did not give up his stern exterior and remained emotionally aloof: Feldberg erkannte die Gewalt, die er fiber mich gewann; er ward mein Mentor, tadelte mich, gab mir Rath - ich folgte ihm gern; ich ergrimmte fiber seine Vernunft und ehrte sie, versagte mir Zerstreuungen, erwarb mir Kenntnisse, bekfimpfte Launen, brachte ihm tausend kleine Opfer und hoffte jedes Mal, nun - nun ihn liebend, anbetend zu meinen FfiBen zu sehen, um ihn wieder zu lieben, um endlich ---. [138] Feldberg's reputation as an enlightened and a self-made-man in a circle of wealthy men had attracted Amalie. But these bourgeois masculine characteristics of intelligence and self-initiative in Feldberg could not ensure either his own or Amalie's happiness. Amalie directs her anger not only against Feldberg in particular, but also against the masculine category of "Reason" with which Feldberg 199 maintained his superiority over her. Amalie's criticism of Feldberg may as well be interpreted as the author's disguised attack against the bourgeois ideology. Through Amalie's character the author criticizes the category of intellect which empowered men to subordinate women's emotions under the pretext of being their guardians. Amalie correctly believes that Feldberg used his intellect to exercise control over her. Feldberg's attitude prompts her to place all men in one category of "grob ffihlenden, heftig verlangenden, im GenuB einschlafenden, durch Herrschen verdorbenen Geschfipfen."[124] Women, on the other hand, she believes, are endowed with such an abundance of emotions that one life is insufficient for their fulfillment. Making this categorical judgment Amalie tells Feldberg: Ich spreche von uns Weibern, denen die Natur Geffihle gab, die kein Menschenleben erschfipft, die wir unserm Geschlecht nicht mittheilen mfigen und die das Eure nicht zu fassen vermag.[124] Feldberg did not reciprocate Amalie's feelings because he wanted to mold Amalie according to his ideal image of femininity.3 Amalie recollects those times when she resisted any response to Feldberg's occasional show of emotions. Amalie would then take revenge against Feldberg's pedantic ways by being rude: Und consequent zu sein, vermochte der arme 200 Pygmaleon doch nicht; wenn er sein Werk betrachtete, vergaB er oft, daB es nur erst rohe Materie war, und stand davor in Entzficken verloren. Da vermaB sich die Statue wol auch, solche Augenblicke ein klein wenig zu merken, und ein ziemlich unartiges Madchen zu sein und sich rachen zu wollen an seiner systematischen Kalte, an seiner pedantischen Gewalt fiber sein Herz.[139] After a hiatus of twenty years Amalie still confronts Feldberg like the spoiled, unartiges Madchen or the rude girl that she used to be, but as a woman of forty years who has experienced the vicissitudes of life her rudeness now seems justified. Quite contrary to being passive, loving and modest, as women were supposed to be according to discourses propagating the dichotomy of gender characteristics at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century in Germany, Amalie is frank, aggressive and confident when she comments upon her relationship with Feldberg. She, who was earlier in awe of Feldberg because he possessed the superiority of intellect over her, now assumes the authority over him in her role as a story teller. Feldberg must remain a passive listener since Amalie does not permit him to interrupt her story. When she begins to describe Feldberg's illustrious career in order to explain to her step-son and his wife why she fell in love 201 with him, little does Feldberg realise that Amalie does not intend to praise him but only to justify her attraction towards him. Feldberg tries to maintain his sense of propriety by being modest about Amalie's positive description of his achievements, when he tells her, "Aber, liebe Freundin, bedenken Sie doch nur einen Augenblick, wie des alten Feldbergs Bescheidenheit gefoltert wird, wenn er seiner Jugend solche Verdienste ...."[137]. Annoyed at Feldberg's assumption that she wants to show her admiration for him, Amalie scornfully interrupts him: "Still mein Herr! die Rede ist nicht von Ihnen" [137]. Amalie reconstructs her childhood and youth with a hindsight acquired through her various experiences. It becomes obvious that Amalie has outgrown her blind admiration for Feldberg. When Feldberg wants to justify himself, Amalie tells him that it is sufficient that she is letting him hear her story, she cannot let him justify himself. Feldberg's insistence to present his side of the story is met with more disapproval. Amalie's remarks become more caustic, and her sarcasm evident in her comments: Jetzt, Kinder, bittet einmal den Herrn, daB er schweigt, oder wenn er's nicht lassen kann, hinfibergeht und dem Bambino vordeclamiert; dort findet er ein geneigtes Publicum, bei welchem seine artigen Compliments nichts auf sich haben. [139] 202 Once again Amalie exercises her authority as a story teller when Feldberg interrupts and asks her, "darf ich reden?"[139]. She does not hesitate to reply, "um mir zu widersprechen? - Nein, noch nicht; vielleicht nachher ...."[139] In her position as a story teller Amalie has the right to determine the course of her story. Her long monologues do not permit interruptions by others. By expressing her "self" aggresively while narrating her story, Amalie's character not only rebels against the masculine order, but also subverts the literary norms which postulate the heroine as socially and sexually submissive, compliant and selfless. Discussing Huber's representation of "negative" figures as heroines, Blackwell contends that, "[] by the very tension of presenting "failed" women as positive figures, they [the literary countermodels] undermine the universal validity of Hingabe [surrender, used here in opposition to active sexual desire] as a moment of liberation for "4 When Feldberg confesses that his pride held him women. back from declaring his love for her, Amalie sarcastically replies that she thought she was being used by him in order to gain more insight into human nature: Ich hielt Sie ffir einen geffihlvollen Pedanten und glaubte endlich gar, das Geffihl stfinde bei Ihnen der Pedanterie so sehr nach, daB Sie mein Herz Ihrer Menschenkunde aufopferten;.... [150] 203 Although Amalie is aware that she has the privilege of age in making judgements about herself and others, she, nevertheless, asserts that she is narrating her story so that she can earn her step-son and his wife's complete love and trust: liebe[] Kinder , ich besitze Eure ganze Liebe, ich verdiene sie auch; es liegt aber ein Theil Glauben in ihr. Ihr sollt mich ganz beurtheilen lernen, auf die Gefahr hin, mich zu misbilligen[126], claims Amalie. The fact is that Amalie makes use of this opportunity to criticise Feldberg's aloofness and her father's ambitious nature which had encouraged her vanity. She also narrates her unhappy married life with Karl's father, Herr von Helm. In appealing to her children's sense of love and trust, Amalie not only prepares sympathetic listeners for her grievances, but also assumes moral responsibility of providing them with a negative-example in her marriage. Her reply to the question of what determines a woman's fate in marriage, is conventional, for she declares, "Nur Eines, meine Kinder: nur deutliche Ansicht unsrer Pflichten als Gattinnen und Muetter in ihrem ganzen Umfang."[152] Thus, by adopting a moralizing tone Amalie legitimizes her criticisms. While rebuking Feldberg, Amalie does not condone her own faults. She sees her father as responsible for her 204 vanity and the recklessness of her youth. Amalie believes that the lack of her mother's influence in her education is to be blamed for her vain and meaningless life. She believes that her "sanfte", "edle" mother protected her from her father's superficial friends for as long as she could. She confesses that: Ich habe erst spat begreifen gelernt, wie sehr sie leiden muBte, in meiner Erziehung den Keim der Verkehrtheiten entstehen und pflegen zu sehen, aus denen in der Folge mein - mein Nichtglfick erwuchs. [131] Amalie's mother's weak character appears in contrast to Amalie's own assertive nature. Amalie praises her mother for her clear insight, altruism, modesty and gentleness, but she also understands that her mother could not achieve much because she was too weak to curb her husband's efforts to amass wealth. Amalie's own personality is different from her mother's: Unlike her mother Amalie is outspoken and determined to undo the wrongs done to her. In her youth Amalie used to rebel against Feldberg's narrow-minded glorification of intellect and outright dismissal of emotions and feelings. Amalie takes revenge against Feldberg by marrying a wealthy widower with two children. In the second part of the narrative Amalie describes her marital life with Herr von Helm. Amalie did not marry Herr von Helm for love, but out of vanity, naivety 205 and recklessness. Amalie uses her vanity as a defense mechanism to confront undesirable situations in her married life. She professes, "ware die Eitelkeit nicht gewesen, so hatte ich ihn [Brautzustand] nur traurig empfinden kfinnen, oder mein Schicksal wfirde eine ganz andere Wendung genommen haben."[153] Amalie indulges in social life in order to escape the monotony of her life. Amalie describes her extramarital affairs in the third part of her story, and concludes that an unhappy marriage means a woman's destruction. She believes that a husband can find fulfillment in fatherhood as well as outside of the home in friendships and in the public sphere, whereas a woman has only her marriage to make her happy: wir sind nichts, wenn wir nicht glfickliche Weiber sind; Selbstachtung, Muth, Duldung, Alles verschwindet, und wir versinken in Erniedrigung, oder kampfen den zerstfirenden Kampf zwischen Gewissen nnd Herz. [151] Amalie's personal experiences become representative of all the women in her usage of the plural personal pronoun "wir". By taking her own example, Amalie categorically states that an unhappy marriage is responsible for a woman's downfall. Amalie describes her married life as full of "nichtsbedeutenden Zerstreuungen".[155] After four years of marriage, Amalie becomes pregnant but does not feel happy. "Ich war zu verirrt, mein Geffihl war zu unausgebildet, zu 206 tief eingeschlafen, als daB ich mich eigentlich gefreut h3tte,"[155] declares Amalie, insinuating the lack of love in her mundane marital life. Amalie gives birth to a son, who is handed over to a wet-nurse without regard for her feelings regarding this matter. She loses her son due to an overdose of opium given to him by the wet-nurse. One finds in Huber's narratives a recurrence of this theme of nursing the infants. In the narrative "Die ungleiche Heirat", Melanie is forced by her husband to breast feed her daughter. The baby dies of starvation since Melanie is not healthy enough to feed her properly. In this narrative Amalie's son dies because he is put under the care of a wet-nurse. In both instances the mothers are deprived of taking care of their new-borns in a manner they deem fit. While Melanie cries helplessly at the loss of her daughter, Amalie in retrospect lashes out at the legal system which disfranchised women from matters 5 Amalie demands to concerning their children's upbringing. know when the immorality of such customs which make women voiceless in their children's welfare will be recognized: "Sagt mir aber, Ihr Weisen und Menschenkenner, ob es nie mfiglich sein wird, die Erziehung und die Gesetze, die Sitten und die Sittlichkeit mit einander in fibereinstimmung zu bringen?" [157] Amalie's written story in the third part of this narrative recounts her love affair with Herr K. Looking 207 back at this relationship Amalie professes that love gives a woman an opportunity to feel important. Amalie's psychological analysis of her situation concludes that it is the feeling of dependence upon the lover which is so valuable to women. Herr K exerts such an influence upon Amalie that she begins to affirm his belief that innocent and good people do not require legalization of their romantic relationship: "wenn die Menschen einfach und gut waren, Liebe allein hinreichend sein wfirde, um Treue zu erzeugen, ..."[172]. Amalie's feelings are further aroused by the erotic novels she reads in her leisure time. Through the fictional characters of these novels, she experiences passionate feelings unknown to her before. When she recognizes the absence of sensual love in her life, she becomes more vulnerable to K.'s advances. Herr K. attempts to seduce Amalie, but she resists his advances. She realizes that she had been blinded by passion and thus could not infer K.'s real motives when he spoke to her about free love and natural feelings between men and women. Although Amalie confesses that she loved K., that she prefered to have an affair with K. much more than indulging in vain activities and vague passions in her marriage, she, nevertheless, refuses to surrender to his sexual advances. Amalie had been blinded by passion for K., but she does not permit the culmination of this passion, for as Helga Gallas contends in 208 regard to depictions of desire in German women's fiction of late eighteenth Germany, only the unfulfillment of passions makes love eternal.6 Like many other of Huber's prose narratives, this narrative also loses its radical edge when the author makes her character recapitulate her scandalous ideas of an extra-marital affair. Amalie's character is also absolved of the sin of falling in love with K., to some extent, when the author emphasizes the role of erotic literature in arousing Amalie's passions. Though Amalie does not emerge morally unscathed from the episode with K., her rejection of K.'s immoral behavior - which was attractive to her - makes her appear as a martyr to social values and thus grants her a moral superiority over K.7 As Amalie's story progresses, it reveals that her seventeen year old foster son Louis had fallen in love with her. She herself was attracted to him when she first saw him by his sick mother's bedside. Amalie's recollection of Louis' looks and behavior as being inconsistent with his young age tacitly condones the difference in their ages. Amalie is charmed by Louis' looks: "ein feines, schwarzes Haar, das eine blendend weiBe Stirn bedeckte, ein ovales Gesicht, worin Schwarmerei und Muthwille stritten, eine Gestalt, die ffir siebzehn Jahre zu zart und doch kein Alter bezeichnete."(emphasis added) [181]. Furthermore, after his mother's death Louis controls his sorrow with an effort like that of a man much beyond his years. Amalie goes on to 209 describe that she and her husband were his guardians, taking care of his education. During his stay with them she realizes that Louis loved her above everything else. Amalie did not see any seduction or falsity in this chevalier's behavior, rather she saw herself loved, "..., mit allen Kraften einer Feuerseele geliebt, die nichts hoffte und nichts ffirchtete, keinen Zweck, keine Absicht hatte, unwillkfirlich brannte, und f fi r m i c h brannte."[185] Once again Amalie experiences that passionate love which is missing in her marriage. Amalie's erotic desire for Louis may be read into metaphors of nature employed by the author to convey her heroine's feelings: Nur in einem Bilde kann ich meine Stimmung beschreiben. Es war die Wirkung der unverhofft belebenden Sonne im Oktobertagen; sie vergoldet das sterbende Laub, lockt junge Blumen hervor, die sich, freundlich verwundert fiber ihr unerwartetes Dasein, dem Lichte fiffnen; aber ehe ihr Kelch den warmen Stral aufnimmt, tfidtet sie der kalte Nachtreif.[185] Feeling the ecstasy of love and flattered by Louis' attention, Amalie is suddenly awakened from this dream-like state by the news of Louis' involvement with a girl his own age. She finds her own reactions to this news scary, for she becomes aware of the "unnaturalness" of this relationship: "Ich erschrak fiber mich selbst, als mir die 210 Entdeckung, daB der Chevalier nun wirklich lieben wfirde, wie ein Dolch durch das Herz fuhr."[189] In describing Louis' oedipal love and later her jealousy towards Louis' new love Fraulein von 8., Amalie is emotionally torn between her sense of maternal duty and her bitterness at discovering Louis' love for another girl. This time Louis leaves Amalie to join the French army which is aiding the insurgents in the American war of independence. Amalie is left alone nurturing the thought that her life had been worth living, since Louis died on the battlefield with her name upon his lips. Once again Amalie goes on to live her life with memories of unfulfilled love, which sustain her sensual desire for Louis. Amalie did not orally narrate the story of her relationships, but sent a written packet containing her story. According to her, after thirty the passions cease being a game, a summer shower, followed by beautiful skies; therefore, she could not have told her story without getting emotional. Amalie, the character of Therese Huber's narrative thus becomes the author of her story for a short while. Amalie's story within a story reflects her need to articulate her love-affairs, her "faults" indirectly in written form. When Amalie was narrating her story directly she felt that she was justified in her accusations against Feldberg. She allowed Feldberg to be one of the listeners because she believed that she could confront him when 211 challenged. On the other hand Amalie's written story about her two affairs functions as a shield behind which Amalie can protect herself. She brings between herself and her readers the written word, which communicates as well as disguises herself. The act of writing gives her an opportunity to reflect upon incidents, which could not have been possible in the spontaneity of oral narration. Or as Helga Meise puts it, writing may have been the way for Amalie to renunciate her desires. Writing her story made it possible for Amalie, "das eigene Begehren weg- "8 or to come to terms with her desire. zuschreiben, The narrative ends happily when Amalie decides to remain with her stepson's family rather than go with Feldberg. Feldberg grasps Amalie's hand, but she pulls him into her children's circle instead of going towards him and asks, "wollen Sie mich wieder aus dem Hafen treiben, wo dies Herz allein Ruhe findet?"[194] By making Amalie choose family life over companionship with Feldberg, the author destroys the bitterness and hostility which any reader might 9 Amalie becomes have associated with Amalie's character. acceptable instead of being an exception when the narrator lets her say: "So- Freund, Bruder, Sohn! - so in Eurer Mitte, kann dies weiche, liebende, unweise Herz ohne Furcht das Alter herannahen lassen- ."[194] As pointed out in the beginning, Amalie chooses domesticity for her later years, instead of reciprocating Feldberg's gesture. By sacrificing 212 the possibility of fulfillment of passionate love with Feldberg, Amalie can ensure its sustainance. In addition, Amalie's choice of domesticity gives her moral superiority, which functions as a legitimate excuse for the author to deal with the theme of sensual love outside marriage. 213 Notes 1Jeannine Blackwell highlights this narrative strategy in her article "Marriage by the Book" which discusses Huber's prose narrative "Die Frau von vierzig Jahren". Refering to Therese Huber's portrayal of Amalie's dilemma to choose between her passionate nature and the socially monitored women's roles, Blackwell states that, "... Huber has the broken and ashamed grandmother leave the room overcome by emotion, and write the rest of the story by hand to be read aloud by the group. By removing herself at this narrative highpoint, she forces the family to recreate the story of her recovery and reintegration into the family circle, and removes herself from public view as an object of horror, pity, or disgust." (In the Shedew of Qiympue: German Wemen Writers Around 180 , eds. Katherine R. Goodman and Edith Waldstein [Albany: State Univ. of N.Y., 1992], 149) 2Jeannine Blackwell asserts in her article "Marriage by the Book" that Amalie's story is "diluted by the pseudo- happy ending with its grandmotherly bliss."(151) If one were to analyze Feldberg's response to Amalie's story, this ending by no means would be called a "pseudo-happy ending". Feldberg's declaration of love is self-centered, for he states: "Einst, Amalie, hoffte ich, Ihnen das Glfick meiner frfiheren Jahre verdanken zu dfirfen - schenken Sie meinem 214 Alter die Seligkeit, die mir ein Leben noch wfinschenswerth machen kann, das noch nie durch Gegenliebe verschfint wurde - ".[194] It can be argued that Amalie declines Feldberg's offer because she sees through Feldberg's egotistical announcement in which he talks about "the happiness of his earlier years", her making his life blissful and desirable. Amalie has realized by now that she can find happiness amongst her children, therefore, her refusal of Feldberg's proposal of marriage is in no way indicative of her surrender of her happiness, rather it indicates her caution against the institution of marriage. It may also be said that Amalie accepts Feldberg as her friend and includes him in the circle of her loved ones, but refuses marital relationship with him in order to feel the moral superiority which accompanies such a sacrifice. In both cases Amalie denies marriage, not the sensual pleasure, for as Helga Gallas contends in her article "Ehe als Instrument des Masochismus oder "Glfickseligkeits-Triangel" als Aufrechterhaltung des Begehrens? Zur Trennung von Liebe und Sexualitat im deutschen Frauenroman des 18. Jahrhunderts", sensual love is sustained by the prospect of its never being fulfilled in the novels of late eighteenth century women writers. 3Amalie believes about Feldberg that: "Von unserem Geschlecht hatte er sich ein Ideal ausgedacht, das er in 215 seiner Geliebten realisiren wollte. Das Ideal war aller Ehren werth, aber der Bildner war - wenigstens ein Pedant." 137 4Jeannine Blackwell, "Marriage by the Book", in the Shadow of Olympus: German Women Writers Around 1800, eds. Katherine Goodman, and Edith Waldstein (Albany: S U of New York, 1992) 144. 5The ALR or the Prussian Civil Code of 1794 legalizes the husband's authority in the household in every matter by stating that the husband was the head of the conjugal society and his decision prevailed in their joint affairs. More concretely it sanctions the husband's interference in matters such as breast feeding, for it stated that it was the father's right to decide on the length of time the mother shall give her breast to the child. See Susan Groag Bell, and Karen M. Offen, eds., Women, the Family, and ehe Freedom: The Debate in Documents (Stanford: Stanford UP, 1983) 39. 6In her article, "Zur Trennung von Liebe und Sexualitfit", Helga Gallas contends that the philosophy in late eighteenth century German women's fiction was, "sich enthalten, um zu geniessen. Nur die Nicht-Befriedigung der Leidenschaft macht die Liebe unsterblich."(hntereeeheegen gum Roman von Frauen um 1800, 73) 216 7Quoting Marion Beaujean, Helga Gallas contends in her article "Zur Trennung von Liebe und Sexualitat" (Untersuchungen zum Roman von Frauen um 1800 [Tfibingen: Niemeyer, 1990] 68)that, "Durch das tugendhafte Dulden erlangt die Frau eine moralische fiberlegenheit fiber den Mann, die sie zu einem Gewinn an persfinlicher Bedeutung, zu einem neuen Selbstwertgeffihl ffihrt." 8Helga Meise, Die Unschuld und die Schrift: Deutsche Frauenromans im 18. Jahrhundert (Berlin/Marburg: Guttandin & Hoppe, 1983) 183. 9Even if one assumes that only in the fulfillment of passionate love could Amalie find happiness, it would have been impossible for Therese Huber as a writer to have given her narrative such an ending. Sigrid Weigel explains that women writers' fiction had to conform to the social conditions of its time. She claims in her article "Double Focus" that: "the contradiction between the female characters' protest and the affirmative stance presented in the text rests on a specific epic tension which corresponds to an ambivalent stance on the part of the author. .... Without denying herself the pleasure of fantasizing, the author can, because she is responsible for the thoughts and actions of her heroine, remain conformist either by punishing her heroine or by letting her (understandingly) renounce. And so perhaps, the message will still get 217 through to women readers, but in a subversive way." (Femihist Aesthetics, 71). Similarly Huber's narrative had to end with the heroine's conformist stance, (which may be interpreted so by modern readers), because the social conditions of early nineteenth century Germany did not permit women writers' to propose radical solutions to sexual politics. Die frfih verlohten "Die frfih Verlobten" begins with a critical look at the tradition of parents dictating the choice of marriage partners for their children. This narrative depicts the relationship of two sisters Sophie and Ursula with their fiancees Marcus and Arist respectively. Sophie and Ursula's marriage had been arranged by their father Herr Salmon with his friend Herr Ottur's sons Marcus and Arist respectively. After Herr Salmon's unexpected death Marcus marries Sophie while Ursula takes care of her father's business. Arist too assumes responsibility for his father's business. Ursula and Arist regard marriage as unsuitable to their independent natures, hence they deliberately avoid any reference to it. While Marcus and Sophie are portrayed as sentimental lovers expressing themselves in loving and tearful glances, Ursula and Arist's platonic relationship "glich mehr der Freundschaft zwischen Mannern."[22] The plot of the narrative takes a turn when Frau von Halten, an old friend of Herr Salmon visits the family to attend Sophie and Marcus' wedding. She is accompanied by a young doctor named Jarl who finds no difficulty in integrating himself into the Salmon household. Jarl's character of a shrewd seducer who creates misunderstandings between Ursula and Arist gives the plot its twists. Along 218 219 with Ursula, Jarl starts managing Sophie and Marcus' wedding preparations. As a result of Jarl's intervention Ursula and Arist's relationship becomes plagued by jealousy. But Jarl's presence also makes Arist aware of his love for Ursula. In an attempt to make Ursula happy Arist decides to sacrifice his love for her by declaring her free from any obligation to marry him. When he discovers that she does not love Jarl, he immediately proposes marriage to her. Ursula rejects Arist's proposal, saying that marriage between two people cannot be based on distrust and suspicion. But after Arist's departure for a business trip Ursula realizes that she too loves Arist. Ursula grieves more when she learns of Sophie and Marcus' extravagant life style in the residence where Marcus is employed at the court. The narrator's negative portrayal of Marcus and Sophie's social life and its unpleasant consequences upon their personal life appears to be a criticism of those male ambitions which endanger domestic harmony. Marcus's ambition of gaining a niche in the noble circles at the cost of his domestic happiness convinces the reader of the importance of bourgeois values of mutual love and care in familial relations. Marcus' neglect of Sophie and consequently her excessive involvement in the social life outside of home in Jarl's company cause their divorce. Jarl, who had arrived in the residence after leaving Ursula and Arist, soon befriends the members of the noble 220 household. He introduces Sophie to those influential people who can assist her husband in fulfilling his ambitions at court. But Marcus suspects Sophie and Jarl of having a clandestine affair and therefore wants to divorce Sophie. He forgets that he had encouraged Sophie to participate in the salons and entertain the members of the nobility in order to expand his social circle. Sophie's arrival at her mother's house marks another turn in Ursula and Arist's story. Arist returns home from his business trip to find Sophie pregnant and suffering emotionally from the unfair treatment meted to her by her husband. As Sophie's condition worsens with time, Arist assists Ursula in looking after Sophie. But she dies during childbirth leaving behind her a son under Ursula and Arist's care, who have been betrothed by her in her last moments. They bring up Sophie's son in an atmosphere of frohe Hauslichkeit [89] or cheerful domesticity which helps to alleviate Madam Salmon's grief at losing her daughter Sophie. The negative portrayal of Sophie and Marcus' marital life draws readers' attention to the incompatibility of romantic love with marriage requiring mutual respect and care. In addition it contains an implicit criticism of the institution of marriage of convenience. They grew up together in the knowledge that they were to be husband and wife. Without giving them a chance to inspect the 221 seriousness of their feelings for each other, their fathers tied their futures together. Their marriage plan as well as Ursula and Arist's appears to be more like a business transaction between their fathers Herr Salmon and Herr Ottur, than a result of their own choice. The main factor motivating Herr Salmon and Herr Ottur's decision is not so much the couples' mutual love, but the wealth they own. The fact that Sophie and Marcus, and Ursula and Arist happened to express mutual interest is regarded as just another matter of external convenience in the fulfillment of their fathers' wishes. The narrator's reference to Herr Salmon and Herr Ottur's business partnership indirectly indicates that these two men are uniting their children for economic reasons: Ottur war in frfihern Jahren mehrmals Salmon's Reisegefahrte gewesen, sie hatten zusammen speculirt, waren zusammen wohlhabend geworden; denn beide vereint, Salmon's HandelskenntniB und schneller Blick, Ottur's Behutsamkeit und unermfideter FleiB - stellten das hfichst zweckmaBige Ganze eines vollkommnen Kaufmannes dar.[4-5] Just as Herr Salmon and Herr Ottur had combined their different talents to pursue their business, they now bring together their personal assets, their children, for the purpose of maintaining their profitability. 222 Although Herr Salmon and Herr Ottur's motives behind planning their children's future becomes apparent to the reader gradually as the narrative proceeds, it is Madame Salmon who is initially blamed for her daughters' unhappiness. Making female characters the target of accusations allowed women writers' to continue writing. Confronting social problems directly was not without consequences for women writers in Huber's time; therefore, their discontent found expression in circumlocutions. Patterns which shift blame upon the female can be discerned too in their writings. In making the female characters the scapegoats of male decisions women writers proved a kind of "objectivity" of their views and thus secured their status as writers. Madame Salmon's negative portrayal is a similar strategy employed by Therese Huber for the purpose of circumventing direct criticism of the patriarchal institution of marriage of convenience. The narrative begins with a reference to Madame Salmon's authoritative attitude after her husband's death: Madame Salmon, welche ihres Mannes Willen stets ffir den besten und den ihren ganz mit ihm fibereinstimmend gehalten hatte, gerieth endlich auf den Wahn, daB ihr Wille ebenso vernfinftig und zweckmaBig sei, wie der Seine, und nach Salmon's Tode waren ihre nachsten Umgebungen ganz erstaunt, wie diese Frau, welche nie einen Willen gehabt, 223 nun plfitzlich befahl.[1] The narrator's sarcastic remarks about Madame Salmon are manipulative since they mislead the readers to think that indeed it is she who is responsible for her daughters' unhappiness. By stating that: "In ihren Handelsgeschaften hatte das keinen EinfluB, ..., allein auf ihre beiden Tfichter hatte die Beharrlichkeit ihrer Beschlfisse einen schadlichen EinfluB,"[1]the narrator creates an impression that Madame Salmon's authoritative attitude was responsible for her daughters' unhappiness. As the narrative progresses it becomes clear that Madame Salmon's insistence on her daughters' marriage is no more than her desire to see the fulfillment of her husband's wishes. Throughout the narrative Madame Salmon's character lacks those characteristics by virtue of which she could have adversely affected her daughters' lives. Her introduction as an assertive woman may be seen as a strategy employed by the author to divert readers' attention from the true nature of Herr Salmon and Herr Ottur's plan. The author chooses to shift blame upon Madame Salmon, in order not to condemn the traditional ways overtly and in particular not to voice criticism against male domination of women's lives. Furthermore, readers' attention is shifted to Herr and Frau Ottur's marriage in which Frau Ottur "mit anderen Waaren Herrn Ottur durch einen Handelscontract fibermacht worden [war]."[5] By making evident the nature of 224 Frau Ottur's marriage, the narrator highlights Sophie and Ursula's situation without directly commenting upon it. More importantly it is Sophie's acquiescence to her parents' wishes and Ursula's rebellion against them which shapes the future events in the narrative. Ursula expresses herself against her parents'/father's decision: Unsere Altern hatten nicht das Recht, unsere Hand zu versprechen, wir wollen das Schicksal nicht anreizen, ihre Unvorsichtigkeit durch eine Verbindung, der unsere Wesen widerstreben, zu strafen, sondern, zufrieden, Freunde geworden zu sein, unsern EntschluB, in kein Verhaltnis treten zu wollen, bestimmt erklaren.[43] Ursula believes that their parents had no right to choose their partners for them. She calls her parents' decision imprudent, because it was made in disregard of their natures. Whereas in the early eighteenth century it would have been not only prudent but inevitable to settle marriages by taking into account the material factors, i.e. the dowry of the woman and the social and economic standing of the man, by the end of eighteenth century the introduction of the concept of love in marriage changed this situation.1 Ursula's words affirm the trend of growing individualism which transformed the institution of marriage by making it personal. Sophie on the other hand unquestioningly accepts decisions made for her by her father 225 and marries Marcus. The juxtaposition of Sophie's physical beauty against Ursula's intelligence is used in the narrative to emphasize their differences. While Sophie's physical beauty attracted men: "Sophie wurde allgemein ffir schfiner als Ursule gehalten, ihr hoher voller Wuchs, blondes, gelocktes Haar, weiche, sanfte Bewegungen zogen die Manner ungemein an,...,"[9]it is Ursula's ability to carry on intelligent conversations which Marcus appreciates after his marriage: "Ursula's Gesellschaft bot ihm, was er nach ernster Tagesarbeit bedurfte: heitere Unterhaltung oder geistreiche Beschaftigung, und Sophie - blieb allein." [28] Heidi Rosenbaum's assertion that by the end of eighteenth century the new concept of marriage demanded emotional as well as intellectual participation of women in their role of housewives,2 holds true for Therese Huber's portrayal of Sophie and Ursula. In Marcus' attraction for Sophie, and later in his preference for Ursula's company, Therese Huber thematizes the issue of women's changing role as housewives. It makes apparent the demands of those pedagogical discourses of the late eighteenth century which encouraged women to acquire education for the purpose of being better wives.3 Sophie and Ursula's different natures are a manifestation of their different education. The depiction of Sophie and Ursula's education conveys to the readers 226 that, although Sophie and Ursula are both sisters, they have diametrically opposite personalities because they were brought up in different ways. Sophie's education enhanced her social skills: Sophie hatte sich von Kindheit an auf dem vorgeschriebenen Bildungsgange wohlhabender Tfichter guter Bfirgerhfiuser fortbewegt, und der sorgfaltigste Unterricht hatte ihr Wissenschaft und Kfinste zur Ausschmfickung des gesellschaftlichen Lebens gelehrt.[13] Ursula on the other hand developed an independent personality which was to determine all her decisions. She used to be an audience for intellectual conversations of "vernfinftige[] Manner" at Frau Ottur's house, and her father brought her up "beinahe so wie er einen Sohn in seine Nahe gezogen hatte."[9] The allusion to Ursula's atypical and Sophie's conventional education illustrates to the readers that gender characteristics rather than being innate and "natural" are social constructs. By tracing Sophie and Ursula's different natures back to their education, this short prose narrative explicitly communicates the significance of upbringing in the lives of women. Sophie's death at the end of the narrative and Ursula's marriage with Arist as well as her new role as Sophie's son's foster-mother compels the reader to reflect upon the significance of gender characteristics. Even 227 though Ursula's character is unconventional in being assertive and not passive, the author integrates her in a familial setting in the end. It is Sophie's character which is eliminated from the narrative. This conclusion of the narrative forces the reader to think about the validity of traditional norms which considered feminity synonymous with passivity and compliance. The themes of friendship, love and marriage constructing the plot of "Die frfih Verlobten" are also representative of the various phases in Ursula's development of "self". Ursula is independent and assertive in contrast to her sister Sophie. Unlike her sister Sophie Ursula seeks a friend in her future husband. Therefore it is not surprising to find Ursula expressing more interest in her father's business than in Arist's presence. She requests Arist to help her fulfill those tasks which are considered inappropriate for women. "Helfen Sie mir schwere, meinem Alter, meinem Geschlechte unangemessene Obliegenheiten erffillen",[11] requests Ursula. Ursula's way of thinking and her activities are referred to as unusual for women. Arist is surprised at Ursula's peculiar ideas about relationships, which are only seldom thought about by other women. While Sophie and Marcus live in a "bestandige[] Extase" [12] of love before their marriage, Ursula and Arist immerse themselves in work. Arist helps Ursula take care of her father's business, and so, "da saBen die beiden 228 jungen Leute Vormittage lang, um Kaufbriefe, Akten, Quittungen zu durchlaufen, zu collationieren u. dgl."[12] Ursula and Arsit's partnership in various activities around the house takes on a new dimension when they make a conscious decision to be just friends. They agree to refrain from falling in "love" with each other. The narrator's sarcastic comments against Marcus and Sophie's sentimental relationship convey Ursula's response to "love": "Sophie und Marcus, das altere Paar, neigten sich Beide zu Dem, was wir, nachdem wir uns an dem Worte Empfindsamkeit fibersfittigt haben, lieber gemfithsvoll nennen."[5] After all, being a witness to her sister's sentimental relationship with her fiance, Ursula's "unabhangige Denkart"[16] has to rebel against the sentimental notion of "love". When her mother Madame Salmon inquires about her and Arist's plan to marry, Ursula does not hesitate to reply, "... nach meiner Denkart kfinnte ich bei den Ansichten, die ich jetzt von der Ehe habe, kein Glfick in ihr finden."[15] While Sophie and Marcus appear to be an ideal couple before their marriage, the transience of their love becomes apparent soon after their marriage. Ursula and Arist's initial "unnatural" relationship in which both dominated each other equally changes too. Ursula and Arist had worked together as partners: "Ursula rechnete auf Arist's Dienste, auf seine Thatigkeit und Aufopferung wie eine Herrin; Arist belehrte, tadelte, ja verweigerte Ursulen, wie einer 229 Untergeordneten"[19], but later in the narrative Ursula's character is made to adjust to the social reality of women's situation. Jarl's arrival at Ursula's house introduces in the narrative the crisis which awakens Ursula from a dream-like state and brings her an awareness of her love for Arist. Ursula, who has been denying love for Arist since the beginning, is made to recognize her rejection of Arist as an illusion. The narrator cleverly portrays the "unveiling" of Ursula's feelings for Arist in a scene which suggests seduction motives on Jarl's part. Accompanying Ursula home on a dusky autumn evening through woods: Jarl suchte durch Witz und Schmeichelrede sie zu zerstreuen; er belastigte sie damit. Sie bat ihn, auf einem schmalen Fqufad vorauszureiten, da nahm sie wahr, wie sich eine zahllose Menge Sommerfaden, die, vom warmen Herbsttag geboren, in der Luft umherschwammen, an seinen Kopf, um seine Schultern gehangen, sodaB er einen geistergrauen Nebel lang nach sich zu ziehen schien. Dieser zufallige Umstand kam ihr ganz schaurig vor, sie blickte rfickwarts, um zu entdecken, ob sie auch so einen sonderbaren Schleier aufgefaBt habe...,[33] Jarl could have seduced Ursula, but her safe arrival home may be interpreted as the author's desire to reward her for her strength to face adversities. Ursula acknowledges her 230 mistake of taking the detour through the woods by referring to it as "meine kindische Amazonenfahrt".[39] Symbolizing the distraction of her feelings of love for Arist this incident through the woods with Jarl opens her eyes to the childishness of her decisions. The gossamer surrounding Jarl creates a hair-raising impression upon Ursula since for the first time she sees him as he is, as someone carrying deception with him. Ursula looks back, literally and metaphorically in her past to see if she too had been veiled in Jarl's deception all along. Thus, Jarl's "veiling" becomes Ursula's "unveiling" of the self and her feelings for Arist. The message to be read in Ursula's coming of age story is that women may assert their independence as long as it does not become defiance of accepted norms. Sophie's blind allegiance to her husband on the other hand is so strictly condemned by the author that her character is completely removed from the plot at the end. Ursula's readiness to assert her "self" whenever her independence is challenged is contrasted with Sophie's compliance with her husband's wishes. Her feeble attempts to protest against her neglect are self destructive. Instead of confronting problems in her marital life with practical measures she reacts against them through her nervous breakdowns. Once again it is Jarl who disrupts the status quo. He successfully manages to separate Sophie from Marcus. Sophie's conformism to social 231 demands, her dependence upon her husband, her inability to assert herself is dealt with such punitive measures that she is made to die during childbirth. Ursula continues to wield authority in her house but she also becomes aware of her true feelings for Arist. She no longer considers herself Arist's equal but requests him to take charge of Sophie's situation: Sie drfickte ihm ihre Zuversicht, an ihm eine Stfitze, an ihm den Beschfitzer ihrer Schwester zu sein, mit Innigkeit aus; ... und verhehlte ihrem Jugendfreund nicht, ..., daB sie ihn auffodere, fortan der Starkere zu sein.[73-4] By conceding superiority to Arist, Ursula surrenders her independence. She willingly accepts Arist as her "Ffihrer". Such a transformation in Ursula's character is expediated by Sophie's arrival at her mother's house after having being divorced by Marcus. Ursula, who did not believe that marriage could be a source of happiness for individuals, whose emphatic rejection of Arist's proposal is obvious in these words: "Arist, Sie kfinnen nie, nie mein Gatte werden, ich muB Sie verabscheuen, wenn Sie daran denken;"[45] finally marries Arist at Sophie's wish. The introduction of external circumstances such as Sophie's death and the birth of her child expediate the culmination of Ursula and Arist's love in marriage. Sophie makes them responsible for her son; therefore their marriage seems to be taking place more 232 for the sake of fulfilling their obligation to Sophie than their personal desires. Wulf Kfipke's assertion regarding Therese Huber that: Den radikalen Veranderungen und Verwirrungen der Revolutionszeit setzt sie einfache konservative Grundsatze entgegen, die insgesamt zur Zeitkritik werden, ja, am Ende etwas wie ein nostalgisches Idealbild der Familie aufrichten, das dann reaktionar benutzt werden konnte,4 holds true for the conservative recapitulations of female characters in her short prose narratives. The nostalgia for the ideal family may portray the author of this narrative to be reactionary, but her attempt to delineate "good" and "bad" marriages through Ursula and Sophie's characters, appears to be progressive. The development in Ursula's character in the narrative leads to a point where she is able to make decisions regarding her future. Ursula's conscious acceptance of Arist in her life, after going through various emotional experiences, and Sophie and Marcus' failed marriage, are culminations of two relationships. The success of one, and the failure of the second relationship could be interpreted as the author's consent to such marriages in which the "union of the souls" truly takes place because the woman as well as the man, both, have complete control over their decision. Unlike Sophie and Marcus, Ursula and Arist 233 determine their future themselves. Hence, even though the narrative concludes with the integration of the protagonists in the domestic setting, it's affirmation of women's ability to steer their lives themselves cannot be missed by the readers. 234 Notes 1Heidi Rosenbaum states that: "Bis ca. zur Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts dominierte im deutschen Bfirgertum, ebenso wie bei Handwerkern, Bauern, aber auch dem Adel, die traditionelle, sehr sachliche Einstellung zur Ehe." 263 But by the end of eighteenth century "love" became the basis of marriage. The idea of love in marriage found its culmination in the German Romanticism, "bei der nicht mehr die "vernfinftige Liebe", sondern die individuelle Geschlechtsliebe und -erotik, die psychische Verschmelzung der beiden Partner im Zentrum stand." (Formeh ger Familie [F.a. M.: Suhrkamp, 1982] 266) It will be analysized later in this narrative how Ursula refuses to marry Arist because she cannot tolerate the idea of marriage based only on the superficial romantic love, but expects marriage to be a union of souls as well as intellect of the two individuals. In constructing such a balanced character of Ursula, Therese Huber exemplifies her position regarding love and marriage which is neither conservative nor radical, but somewhere in between the two. 2Heidi Rosenbaum calls the marriage as it was supposed to be by the end of eighteenth century in Germany as "Geffihls- und geistige Gemeinschaft."( Fo e der F il'e, 265-6). 235 This concept of marriage considered not only women's emotional contribution important for its sustainance, but demanded their intellectual participation as well. 3Paul Kluckhohn contends that the demands of eighteenth century German philosophers for women's education were meant to be not for women themselves, but for the purpose of their being better equipped to entertain their husbands. "All die hfihere Bildung, deren man die Frauen teilhaft machen wollte, sollte im Grunde doch nur dazu dienen, "das Leben der Manner frfihlicher und herrlicher zu machen" (Hippel), wohl um auch die Kinder besser zu unterhalten." (Die Auffassueg der Liebe in der Literatur des 18. Jahrhunderts uhd in der deutseheh Romantik, 156) 4 Wulf Kfipke, "Immer noch im Schatten der Manner", 130. Conclusion In my dissertation I discussed how women's social participation was reduced in favor of the domestic tasks for which they were supposedly suited "by nature" in late eighteenth century Germany. Changes in the domestic economy, legal discourses along with gender ideology were the three factors influencing women's position within the family. Kept away from actively participating in the public sphere, women had no choice but to fulfill their duties as wives, housewives and mothers. Whereas the "whole house" afforded women the opportunity to take up non-domestic tasks, within the nuclear family women were reduced to emotional entities existing only to look after their husbands and children. Sigrid Pohl asserts in her book Entwicklnng nee Ursachen der Frauenlohndiskiminierung: ein feministisch- marxistischer Erklarungsansatz that until the middle of the eighteenth century there was no work meant specifically for women, like that of childrearing which was later elevated to the most natural and noble work for them. Up until the middle of the eighteenth century, even in the middle orders, one did not find childhood as a special and distinct stage of life preceding adulthood, and hence there was no need to restrict women to childrearing.1 Once childhood began to be 236 237 considered the preparatory stage for adult life, women's role as mothers gained a new importance. Since gender ideology had endowed her with a "natural" capacity for love and caring, she assumed the responsibility of childrearing within the family. My discussion of Therese Huber's two narratives "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels" and "Kindestreue" reveals Therese Huber's response to questions concerning the upbringing of children and the role of mothers. On the one hand, by publicizing through her writings the mother's role in the upbringing of children, Therese Huber makes visible how women as educators indirectly sustain the whole society. Thus, she glorifies motherhood. On the other hand, not all mothers in her narratives are self-sacrificing ideal mothers who sacrifice themselves for their children's well-being. In the narrative "Fragmente eines Briefwechsels" Charlotte does not give up her other activities for the sake of breast feeding the child she is expecting - a duty considered most important for a woman during that time. But Charlotte's decision is not criticized by the narrator. I argue that through Charlotte's character Therese Huber moralizes to women about being good mothers, but she does not propagate absolute standards by which mothers should bring up their children. Through Charlotte's character she portrays women not as passive and emotional creatures, but as intelligent and assertive individuals who wield power within the 238 domestic setting. In short, Therese Huber does not connect motherhood with women's lack of power. In the narrative "Kindestreue" Frau von Alpeck's cold and distant behavior towards her daughter Emma is condemned by the narrator. I argue that although Therese Huber does not propagate deviations from the idea of perfect mothering, she still accepts these deviations. Frau von Alpeck appears as a selfish and an unloving mother who cannot give up her gambling and extravagant spending. The reader is told that it was the lack of love in her two marriages which pushed Frau von Alpeck towards gambling. In giving reasons for Frau von Alpeck's unconventional personality the author creates sympathy for her character, and for her inability to show maternal affection towards her daughter. Even though she is indirectly responsible for her daughter Emma's death, she is not punished at the end of the narrative. I see the mildly happy ending where Frau von Alpeck and her husband aspire to achieve material comforts and inner peace, as the author's way of declaring that maternal feelings are not "natural" feelings in a woman and thus a woman should not be punished for not possessing such feelings. I have also discussed in the third chapter of my dissertation how women writers managed to circumvent the social taboo against their writing activity by restricting themselves thematically, and how certain patterns in their writings disguised their rebellious tone. Women writers 239 sought legitimation for their writing by proclaiming that their writings were written for the purpose of moralizing their readers about becoming good wives, mothers and housewives. It is this overtly moralizing tone of these writings which imparts to this literature a conservative tone. Therese Huber's narratives also do not seem to question the institution of marriage and women's confinement within the household as wives and mothers, but I believe that in some of the narratives one needs to look beyond the apparent in order to read their subtext which incorporates deviations and defiance against the existing norms. It is important that while analyzing women's writing of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Germany one does not discuss how radical any woman writer was in portraying non-domestic options for women, but rather how she evaluated women's position in the family and how she envisaged means of empowering women within their domestic circle. For example, the social conditions under which Therese Huber was writing would not have permitted her to pen subversive literature. In addition, since Therese Huber undertook writing in order to support her family, it is unrealistic to expect and hope from her that she would depict images of radical women in her writings. But it is to her credit that in spite of the existing restrictions she manages to incorporate in her narratives dissent against 240 social norms. Behind the moralizing tone she lets her heroines deviate from the prescribed paths. Thus, the study of how such a double-voiced discourse is not only interesting but also important for the purpose of determining Huber's contribution to the implicit stage of feminist literature. I have also discussed in the third chapter various patterns and strategies which exist in women's writing of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century women writers. By recognizing such patterns in Huber's narratives I have shown how she lends a voice to women who do not necessarily fit into the image of an ideal woman. When deviant women characters' subjective feelings become part of the theme of Huber's narratives, then most of the time they also end up being obliterated either by the narrator's moralizing tone or by other women characters' docile and thus exemplary voices. I argue that such a depiction of non-exemplary women characters fulfills two important functions in Huber's narratives. First, a mad or monstrous woman character gives vent to Huber's personal feelings, or as Gilbert and Gubar say, "... she is usually in some sense the author's double, an image of her own anxiety and rage."2 Secondly, not only does this "dark-double" give expression to the author's own thoughts and feelings, but it also becomes the medium through which the author presents various opinions on an issue in order to instigate the 241 reader to find her/ his own position regarding that issue. The last chapter of my dissertation presented the analysis of five short prose narratives. The narrative "Jugendfreunde" showed how Huber brings together three women characters who have different personalities. While one is an embodiment of an ideal woman with her domestic virtues, the second is an independent, fashionable and assertive woman. The third woman character is not only not affectionate and not self-sacrificing, but she does not even respond to her husband's wishes. In the analysis of this narrative, I argue that although the third woman appears in a negative light as compared to the other two, the reader still finds justification for her actions in the narrative. The narrator neither supports this character nor castigates her. For example, when she refuses to go on sharing her uncle's household even after her marriage, the narrator informs the reader that she was willing to take care of him in her husband's house. Or in another instance, when her husband disapproves of her inclination for fashion and entertainment after her child's birth, the narrator is quick to add that she was not the woman with typical maternal qualities. Thus, on the surface it may appear that this character functions as a negative example of a wife or a mother in the plot of the narrative; however, a close reading of the narrative reveals that her actions are being justified to some extent. Through her character Therese 242 Huber legitimizes deviations from the prescribed marital and maternal norms. "Klosterberuf" is a narrative in which I see the characteristics of a female Bildungsroman. At the center of this female novel of development is the young heroine Theofanie who wants to join the cloister, because she wishes to escape from the real world. My analysis of this narrative shows how Theofanie goes through various stages in her life which make her realize that she can contribute more to the world by not joining the cloister. In the beginning of the narrative, Theofanie is unable to express herself because she is not sure of what she wants in her life. She seeks refuge from the world, because she lacks the confidence to interact with it. The first part of this narrative expresses Theofanie's struggle to integrate herself within the world. This struggle ends in the second part of the narrative when the male protagonist, Demetri meets Theofanie. They fall in love with each other, and it is in her relationship with Demetri that Theofanie becomes aware of her social duties. I show in the analysis of this narrative that Theofanie's love for Demetri does not force her to give herself up for him, but acts as a liberating force for her. Although it is true that Therese Huber introduced a male character in the narrative in order to make her heroine aware of her social responsibilities, such a twist in the 243 plot of the narrative, nevertheless, should be evaluated positively since it prevented Theofanie from wasting her life in a cloister. I argue that the introduction of a male character as her mentor is justified in this narrative, since her sexual maturity brought about her social maturity instead of enslaving her. The narrative "Die ungleiche Heirath" deals with the issue of marriage of a 30 year old woman with a 20 year old man. The differences in their ages makes itself felt when the heroine, Melanie, finds herself unable to respond to her husband's desires and the husband falls in love with a worldly wise and an intelligent woman, Ida. Once again the reader finds the depiction of two women characters having different personalities. The "dark-double" of the heroine is an independent, intelligent and an assertive woman, whereas the heroine is docile, compliant and self- sacrificing. After the couple's divorce, Melanie leaves her village and emigrates to a German colony in Virginia where she assumes the role of a matriarch, while Ida abandons Melanie's husband in order to marry a rich baron. The narrative concludes with Melanie's death and the betrothal of her husband with a young girl of the colony as desired by her. Melanie thus sacrifices herself for the sake of the new colony. Although the narrative draws an obvious comparison between Ida and Melanie, and Melanie appears to be the role-model for the female readers, still the 244 culmination of the plot with her death and Ida's marriage leaves one thinking - what did Melanie gain from this sacrifice. While it is obvious that this narrative glorifies Melanie's sacrifice which seems necessary for the realization of a utopian society away from the political turmoils of Europe, her tragic end and Ida's marriage, however, seem to me a narrative strategy by which Therese Huber conveys that Ida's independent characteristics do not need to be punished so as to coerce her to become passive, modest and self-sacrificing. In short, this narrative finds women's expression of their subjectivity acceptable and not deserving of punitive measures. In the narrative "Die Frau von vierzig Jahren" the forty year old protagonist, Amalie, reveals her two extra- marital love affairs when she narrates her life-story to her step-son and his wife. One might say that the act of story- telling by Amalie allows her to recapitulate the events of her life from a hind-sight which puts her at a vantage point and thus in control of her story. Or one might also say that Therese Huber shows how the writing process allows a woman writer to deal with "immoral" issues from a woman's perspective. Just as the story-telling became a cathartic event for Amalie, so one might assume that the writing process gives the woman writer an opportunity to express herself. While illustrating how Amalie comes to terms with her past, the narrative sheds light on the issue of extra- 245 marital love affairs in a woman's life. Amalie regards her love-affairs as her means of seeking love that she did not find in her marriage. I believe that this narrative implicitly justifies Amalie's affairs by regarding them as her quest for love, instead of seeing them as outrageously scandalous deeds. One also gets this impression when Amalie's moral superiority remains intact when she refuses to be seduced by her lover, and prefers to choose her marriage over her affair. The narrative "Die frfih Verlobten" makes evident, through the character of Ursula, the pattern of conformism and confrontation so typical of Huber's narratives. In the analysis of this narrative I show how Ursula is initially depicted as an independent-minded and assertive woman who does not believe in the concept of arranged marriages which do not permit men and women to know each other well before they get married. But later Ursula awakens to the fact that she is in love with her fiancé and that he is more capable of solving her problems than she. Her initial protest against marriage dissipates too soon when she falls in love with her fiancé. This might appear to be Ursula's surrender to the social norms which demand women's subordination under men, but I believe that Ursula's marriage is not her capitulation to the traditional values, or that her portrayal does not signify the author's acceptance of women's life within the domestic setting as their destiny, 246 because Ursula does not enter into marriage blindly. She finally marries her fiance not because she is forced to, but because she realizes that he can be her companion. She has gone through various trials in her life which lead her to her self-development. This new self, with all the experiences behind it, is an enlightened self which makes decisions instead of following them. I believe that it is important to read these narratives as products of their times in order to fathom their apparently not-so-radical tone. By virtue of their capacity to expose the obvious in a new light and thus generate questions and doubts in readers minds, Huber's prose narratives distinguish themselves as non-traditional, if not revolutionary. It is important for the modern reader to investigate how Huber constructs those personal relationships in which women transcend oppression not because they become aware of their economic or legal discrimination, but because they negotiate with options available within the domestic setting. 247 Notes 1Sigrid Pohl claims: "Bis zur Mitte des 18. Jahrhunderts existierte eine bestimmte Arbeitsaufgabe ffir Frauen nicht, namlich ihre angeblich natfirlichste und vornehmste Aufgabe, die Erziehung der Kinder". She further quotes Gisela Bock and maintains that, "... selbst in den bfirgerlichen Schichten hat es eine von der Erwachsenenwelt abgetrennte Sphare des Kindes nicht gegeben". ( Ehrwicklung und Ursachen der Frauenlohndiskiminierung: eih feministisch- marxistischer Erklarungsansatz [Frankfurt am M.: Peter Lang, 1984] 238) 2Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, The Madwomae in rhe Attic (New Haven & London: Yale UP, 1979) 78. APPENDIX 1 Die Jugendfreunde (The main characters in "Die Jugendfreunde" and their relationships) Wilhelm: friend 1 Nanny: Wilhelm's wife Armand: friend 2 Elise: Armand's wife Heinrich: friend 3 Aline: Heinrich's wife The narrative "Die Jugendfreunde" describes the friendship of three friends Wilhelm, Heinrich and Armand, who met as students in Gfittingen. Years later, Heinrich plans to visit Armand and his wife Elise on New year's Eve, but fails to find them at home upon his arrival in Werdach. Therefore, he goes to his other friend Wilhelm's house, where he is greeted with warmth and hospitality by Wilhelm and his wife Nanny. Heinrich expresses his disappointment at Armand and Elise's unfriendly conduct and believes that 248 249 it is Elise who has transformed his friend with her cold- heartedness. When Wilhelm joins in to disapprove of Armand's wife, Nanny protects her by saying that Elise only pretends to be formal and haughty. Nanny proceeds to praise her other friend Aline, with whom Heinrich intends to get acquainted and get married. Aline is described by Nanny as a cheerful, hardworking and sympathetic person. Wilhelm does not approve of Nanny's scheme of matchmaking for Heinrich and Aline. He also dissuades Heinrich from his plan of falling in love with Aline, for he believes that such a plan seems to challenge fate itself. The next morning Armand returns from his trip and apologizes for his absence from his home. His wife Elise had put away Heinrich's letter announcing his arrival, without reading it, explains Armand. The three friends' happy reunion is interrupted by Elise's arrival in the afternoon. Her formal manner bespeaks of nnfriendliness on her part. She appears to be completely opposite in nature to Nanny who is very loving, friendly and graced with domestic virtues. All the friends celebrate Epiphany in the city, where they also meet Aline at her uncle's house. Heinrich is touched by Aline's affection for her uncle when he sees her comforting her uncle in his sorrow of losing an old friend. Although Wilhelm and Armand warn Heinrich of his and Aline's different natures, Heinrich falls in love with Aline and 250 marries her. After his marriage, Heinrich discovers that Aline does not possess the domestic virtues that he so values in women. He is hurt when she demands to separate from her uncle's household. Her uncle's recent decision to bequeath half his property to his illegitimate son Claude Ancay, who has returned home to his father after serving in the French army, seems unfair to Aline. She does not appreciate Heinrich's benevolent gesture of presenting half his inheritance to Wilhelm and Nanny's first born child at his christening ceremony. She denies any maternal instincts by preferring to stay with the childless, fashionable and extravagant Elise than with the gentle, unassuming Nanny with her first born child. Heinrich tries to transform his wife with love, but Aline regards his mentoring efforts as an intrusion in her life. Even after the birth of their son, Aline does not give up her coquetry, her interest in fashion and social activities. She vents her anger at her cousin Claude by mentioning the circumstances of his birth. Indirectly she causes Claude's death, since one of Claude's spiteful comrades challenges him to a duel with inflammatory comments about his birth. Burdened with guilt about Claude's death, Aline accompanies Heinrich to Wilhelm and Nanny's second son's christening. At the ceremony, Wilhelm announces his crumbling financial status which is threatening to destroy him. He calls upon his friends to rescue him from the 251 impending ruin. Without thinking twice, Armand and Heinrich step forward to offer financial assistance to their friend. Elise surprises everyone by her generous support, whereas Aline is furious at Heinrich's benevolent gesture. From now onwards, Elise transforms herself from an extravagant and formal person into a simple and caring friend of Nanny. Aline, on the other hand, drifts away from Heinrich and his -. one-rm ...-1 friends. She bears Heinrich a son, who lets him forget his marital discord in the joy of his fatherhood. Soon, however, Heinrich is deprived of this happiness too, as his only comfort his son dies. Heinrich decides to emigrate to Virginia, since nothing holds him back in Germany. Leaving his divorce and property papers with Armand, he bids farewell to his Werdach friends. Eighteen years pass, when Wilhelm and Nanny's older son Theodor returns home crippled from the war against Napoleon. He gets engaged to one of Elise's relatives. His engagement and the conclusion of the first peaceful year after the Napoleonic wars is celebrated by Wilhelm, Nanny, their four children, Armand and Elise. As the year 1816 draws to an end, the friends hear the sounds of a chaise at the door front. Once again, like twenty five years ago, they are pleasantly surprised to see their friend Heinrich at their door step. Heinrich has returned from Virginia to spend the rest of his days amongst his friends of youth. 2 Klosterheruf The narrative "Klosterberuf" presents the readers with Theofanie's story. Theofanie is the young daughter of a Polish castellan, who writes her autobiography at her bavarian friend Eugiene's insistence. Theofanie decides at the young age of sixteen that she wants to become a nun when she is twenty five years old. Circumstances force her to conclude that she can contribute more to the world by taking the veil than by leading a worldly life. Theofanie begins her story by describing her childhood under her mother's care as happy and protected. Her mother was a Silesian protestant while her father was a Polish catholic. Theofanie's mother married her father out of love but soon became disillusioned by him. Her husband's extravagance and philandering, and her stay in the impoverished, bleak and prejudiced Warsaw made her utterly unhappy. She found consolation listening to Stabat mater in a cathedral. Theofanie's father suspected her mother of converting to catholicism when he learned about her visits to the church. He feared that her new interest in the catholic service could disinherit her from her parents massive wealth in Silesia, and consequently rob him of a comfortable future. But too involved with the politics of the prince-bishop of Poland, Theofanie's father soon forgot 252 253 about her mother's religious inclination. His long absences from home permitted Theofanie's mother to depend upon father Amadeus', a catholic priest's advice and support in times of need. Father Amadeus and Theofanie's mother brought up Theofanie protected from the world. Theofanie grew up in the natural surroundings of a walled park without ever coming in contact with the outside world. The only misery she knew, was the struggle of her fatherland, and therefore, she prayed for its freedom. Theofanie's becomes more sorrowful after her mother's death and at discovering her father's involvement in the court intrigues which are responsible for the murder of the prince-bishop's older brother. She feels lonely and forlorn when her father forbids father Amadeus to visit their house. In her despair, Theofanie like her mother seeks consolation in religion. Her father's second marriage makes her more miserable. Her step-mother showers her with gifts and tries to introduce her to the fashionable society. She insists that Theofanie give up her piety, but remains unsuccessful. Without her mother's love, neglected by her father and surrounded by her step-mother's vanity, Theofanie feels abandoned when she gets the news of her grandparents' death in Silesia. Theofanie spends the following winter at her step- mother's father's palace in the city. She is introduced here to the society by her step-mother. Only one person in 254 this fashionable and superficial society is able to comprehend Theofanie's inner struggle. An elderly foreigner named Mortan keeps Theofanie company in large parties and entertains her with stories of different cultures and peoples. Theofanie's conversations with Mortan convince her that she cannot find escape from her misery in this world. Only life in a cloister can give her weak and helpless self an opportunity to serve others. She is more convinced of the rightfulness of her decision when she sees the lavish court spending and the apathy of court officials towards the common Polish people. Helpless at the sight of her people's exploitation by the corrupt courtiers as well as the barbaric Russians, Theofanie can think of no better place of refuge than a cloister. In addition to her sympathy for her people, her religious lessons with a protestant teacher force her to make comparisons between catholicism and protestantism, and she chooses catholicism in her heart. Theofanie announces her decision to take the veil when her parents choose a husband for her-GroBmaniev- a protestant whom she dislikes. She clearly states that she will wait only until she turns twenty five years of age to become a nun, if her parents do not force her to marry the man she despises immediately. She makes GroBmaniev aware of her decision and threatens to convert immediately if forced to marry. Theofanie spends summer at her home in W-ky, surrounded 255 once again by the natural surroundings of her childhood and by the thoughts of her caring mother. Theofanie's village W-ky prepares for a festival to welcome a Russian princess travelling through Poland. Theofanie is asked to participate in a Greek masked dance to be given in honor of the princess. During one of the practice sessions with GroBmaniev as her partner, Theofanie is introduced to an aristocrat Demetri Czenisky. His father had fought heroically for Poland's freedom, but was captured as a slave by the Cossacks. Along with a woman, whom his father later marries, he is sold to a Greek merchant by the cossacks. Their son Demetri grows up in the household of the Greek merchant as his own son. But Demetri also yearns to fight for the same cause for which his parents had risked their lives. After having several heroic adventures, Demetri's patriotism brings him to Poland. Here he sacrifices his personal life for the sake of his country by marrying a wealthy woman. In order to gain recognition amongst the Poles as a rich landlord, Demetri agrees to marry a woman he does not love. On his tour of Poland, Demetri has reached W-ky, where he becomes friends with Mortan. Mortan introduces Demetri to Theofanie. Theofanie appears to him as the embodiment of an ideal woman. He is attracted by Theofanie's simplicity and virtue, and Theofanie too is drawn by Demetri's intellect and patriotism. The freedom of Poland becomes 256 their common cause. But it is Theofanie's abduction by GroBmaniev after the festival dance, and later her rescue by Demetri, which brings them closer. This incident reinforces Theofanie's decision to join the cloister, but Demetri requests her to reconsider her resolve. He persuades her to believe that her country needs her more than the secluded cloister. Meanwhile, Poland is attacked once again by Russia. Demetri prepares to fight at the front against the Russians. Before he leaves for the battle, he asks Theofanie to be a foster mother to his daughter. Theofanie finds a new meaning to life by agreeing to take up the responsibility for Demetri's daughter. She now regards her duty as the guardian and educator of her step brother, sister and Demetri's daughter as important as her earlier determination to work within the four walls of a cloister. After Demetri's heroic death, Theofanie leaves the war-torn Poland for Silesia. In Silesia she takes over the management of her vast property for the sake of her three foster children. She lives in an idyllic natural setting fulfilling her duty as a foster mother and cherishing the memory of her lover Demetri. 3 Die ungleiche Heirath The narrative "Die ungleiche Heirath" portrays the thirty-year old protagonist Melanie's marriage with the twenty-year old Camille. Melanie's first marriage had been with a much older wealthy Swiss officer, St. Amand, who treated Melanie like a loving child and whom Melanie loved like she loved her friends and relatives. After St. Amand's death, his foster son Camille falls in love with Melanie. His charming personality and vivacious youth evoke in Melanie feelings of love which she had not experienced before. External circumstances, such as Melanie's attempt to save Camille from freezing in the winter snow and Camille's clever handling of Melanie's property dispute with a neighboring farmer, bring them closer to each other. Besides their mutual attraction, the people of Vauveron's encouragement expediates their marriage. The people support Melanie and Camille's marriage, because they admire Camille's lively nature and his expertise in handling Melanie's property matters. Camille and Melanie are happy in their marriage until the birth of their daughter. Camille insists that Melanie nurse her child herself; thus, she indirectly causes their daughter's death due to starvation. Melanie not only grieves the loss of her daughter, but also her failing health and marred good looks. Camille is so shattered by 257 258 his daughter's death that he seeks solace either in emotional outbursts or in long silences. At the doctor's recommendation he departs for Geneva for a change of scenery, and leaves Melanie in charge of her property. Camille's friendship in Geneva with a beautiful and intelligent German widow, Ida, changes his life. He is impressed by her charm and wit with which she takes part in the intelligent conversations of men. Ida becomes Camille's mentor and confidant. Camille opens his heart to her and tells her about his personal life with Melanie. He portrays a sorry picture of his past with Melanie in order to evoke sympathy from Ida. Ida analyzes Camille's marital life, blames Melanie for marrying a much younger man than herself and thus committing an unnatural act. Ida causes Camille to believe that he does not owe anything to Melanie since he has sacrificed his youth and health for her. Camille returns to Vauveron in love with Ida and determined to distance himself from Melanie by leading a celibate life. Melanie too, in the meantime, has gained insight into the situation which led to her marriage with Camille. She realizes that she is too weak to fulfill her marital duties towards her young and passionate husband. Therefore, she makes changes in her living quarters and assigns a separate unit in the house for Camille. Camille's ego is hurt by this new arrangement initiated by Melanie. He cannot resist comparing Melanie's serenity with Ida's animated 259 personality. The more moody and unpredictable Camille becomes, the more maternal attitude Melanie takes towards him. But her patience gives in when Camille confesses his love for Ida to her. She demands a divorce and makes preparations to leave Vauveron. While Camille leaves Melanie to join Ida in Geneva, Melanie departs from Vauveron with a relative of the village priest. Herr du Gange takes Melanie along to his house in Marseille. He informs her of his plan to emigrate with his daughter and his German son-in-law to America. Melanie finds a loving home amongst Herr du Gange's family members. The more she hears of their emigration plans to Illinois, the more she wishes to join them in order to escape from her past. A letter from Camille requesting her to forget him determines her fate and she sails for Illinois with the Du Gange family. Camille, in the meantime, follows Ida to Frankfurt, but soon discovers her plans to marry a rich Baron. Abandoned by Ida, Camille returns to Vauveron only to find that Melanie too has left for some unknown destination. In his sorrow Camille wanders around in the countryside living miserably, since he no longer cares about himself. Taking along money left to him by Melanie's sister-in-law, Camille starts for north Germany from where he hopes to sail for Baltimore. A German army lieutanant named Fritz, who had helped Camille in Frankfurt during his crisis with Ida, 260 meets him once again in a German village and decides to emigrate with him to America. Five years go by since Camille and Melanie's separation. Melanie has settled down in the Du Gange colony by the banks of river Wabash. She becomes the matriarch amongst the settlers, looking after their children, educating them, giving them advice and taking care of them 1‘ in their sickness. The idyllic banks of river Wabash E provide a haven for European settlers fleeing the political K chaos of their countries. In a typical patriarchal setting here the men go out of the house and work while women tend to the hearth and look after the children. Melanie takes care of Christine, a young motherless girl, as her foster child. She also worries about Camille's whereabouts like a mother worrying about her son. Fate brings them together once again during a Du-Gange valley's festival celebration. Camille has been invited to attend this festival by Herr du Gange and his son-in-law, who hear of him through their surveyor Fritz. Fritz introduces him to Herr du Gange and his community as his french friend Evrieux, who teaches music and drawing in Louissaille. During this celebration the women sail in a boat to reach the opposite bank of the river to meet the men. Their boat overturns before reaching the other side. Like other men, Camille too jumps in to save the drowning women. Unknowingly he saves Melanie and helps to revive her. The festival unites them, but as 261 mother and son, for Du Gange and his son-in-law think it only appropriate for Melanie's maternal status in the colony, that she be declared Camille's mother. Melanie and Camille themselves regard each other differently now. They have both realized that their marital relationship was an unnatural one. Camille now spends time in Melanie's 1‘1 vicinity and starts building a home in the Du-Gange colony. After the drowning accident, Melanie starts losing her voice and her health begins to fail, but she does not let Camille ' “no. '1‘; know of her sick condition. The narrative ends with Melanie's death in Camille's house and his betrothal with Christine desired by the dying Melanie. 4 Die Frau von vierzig Jahren "Die Frau von 40 Jahren" is an autobiography of a forty year old widow, Amalie. Amalie, the protagonist/narrator recounts her childhood, her youth, her marriage and her two love affairs to her step-son Karl, his wife, Gertrude and a family friend Feldberg, who are gathered at Karl and Gertrude's house for the birth of their child. Amalie uses this occasion to narrate her story to them, so that they can know her well enough to judge her and she can feel justified in receiving their love. Amalie was spoilt by her father, who bought his way into the nobility. Amalie's mother was a pious and moral woman but too weak to curb her husband's ambitious schemes. She had been the only moral influence over Amalie. Despite her efforts to inculcate simple and religious beliefs in her daughter, Amalie prefers the company of men and becomes coquettish. When she is 16, she meets Feldberg, a scholar well known for his intelligence and achievements. She is flattered by his attention and waits for his declaration of love for her. But Feldberg is a pedant who wants to mold Amalie in his image of an ideal woman before he can confess his love to her. When Feldberg does not reciprocate Amalie's feelings with love, Amalie marries an old widower Herr von Helm out of spite. At the same time, she views her marriage with Herr von Helm as another step in elevating her 262 263 social status. Although Herr von Helm is a kind man, he does not know how to make Amalie happy. Amalie is unhappy in her marriage, since she is physically repulsed by Herr von Helm; Herr von Helm's two children from his first marriage are sent away to the relatives when he marries Amalie, because Amalie's non-aristocratic background is not regarded proper enough for her step children's education. Her married life consists of entertaining guests and receiving compliments for her beauty and grace. After four years of marriage she gives birth to a son, who, according to the customs of higher classes, is handed over to a wetnurse to be nursed. The child is given an overdose of opium by the wetnurse to make him sleep, which causes his death. To overcome her grief, Amalie undertakes a journey. On this trip she finds a little girl, Christine, living in misery and poverty and being taken care of by her grandparents. Amalie decides to adopt Christine and give her a good upbringing. But she encourages Christine to develop an interest in music and opera at the cost of other subjects. Christine grows up to be vain and disrespectful of Amalie's wishes. One day she elopes with an opera singer after Amalie reprimands her for her waywardness and ingratitude. Four years later Amalie hears of Christine's miserable death due to miscarriage. At this point in the narrative, Amalie ceases to be the story-teller, and sends a written packet contains the rest 264 of her story. Amalie happens to go to a party after Christine has eloped from her house, and at this party she is introduced to Alexander von K, a dashing young man in his thirties. She rightly believes him to be Christine's father, but still finds him interesting. Alexander von K. introduces himself to Amalie at her house and asks forgiveness for abandoning his daughter, but does not regret his sensual desires. He forges friendship with Amalie and Amalie too is drawn to him in spite of his reckless and casual attitude towards his relationship with Christine's mother. K. awakens in Amalie the love that had remained unfulfilled for her in marriage. Amalie is soon receiving novels from K. and discussing them with him. Even though she is aware of the immorality of K.'s beliefs, Amalie lets herself be swayed by him. K. tries to convince Amalie that an affair between them would not be immoral at all, but Amalie resists his advances. At Amalie's step- daughter's wedding day, K. tries to seduce Amalie but is unsuccessful. She refuses to give in to his sexual advances and thus chooses marital duty towards Herr von Helm over love for K.. Soon thereafter she leaves for a spa in order to get away from her tumultuous past. Amalie meets Louis, a seventeen year old French boy accompanying his sick mother to the baths. Amalie offers to take Louis under her guardianship after his mother's death. 265 In his moment of grief, Louis hangs on to Amalie and calls her "my beautiful mother". Louis is infatuated by Amalie and demands her complete attention. His whimsical nature embarrasses Amalie, but she also enjoys his attentions and unconsciously starts loving him. Upon hearing about his one night affair with a village girl, she reprimands him not so much for the immorality of his action but for considering another woman over her. She is more jealous than before when Louis praises the charming and graceful Auguste von B., who he met at a ball. She cries bitter tears of anguish upon hearing Louis' feelings for another girl and realizes the nature of her feelings for him. At this moment the American war of independence breaks out and Louis decides to volunteer for French army aiding the insurgents in this war. He dies on the battle field with Amalie's thoughts on his mind. His letter biding farewell to Amalie is addressed to "most loving mother". Amalie goes on living with regrets about her youth, her wasted life and her husband who could not understand her and thus could not mean much to her. Only upon her step-son Karl's return home does she feel herself being loved and respected. She thanks him for respecting her and integrating her in his family and giving her a chance to fulfill her maternal duties. The narrative is interrupted here with Amalie's return to this group of readers who are reading from her written 266 story that she sent to them, instead of narrating it herself. She playfully snatches the packet away from Karl and announces the end of her story. Karl and Gertrude rise up to receive their mother in their arms, while Feldberg requests her to marry her and present his old age with the happiness that has eluded him since his youth. Amalie responds by including him in the circle of her loved ones, but refuses his offer by asking him if he once again wishes to drive her away from shores which finally greeted her with happiness. The narrative's happy ending has Amalie declaring - friend, brother, son -thus in your company can this weak, loving and unwise heart approach old age without fear - the years will make my hair gray, but your love will bring back a better and eternal youth for me. 5 Die Frfihverlobten This prose narrative focusses upon themes of love and marriage by depicting the relationship of two sisters with two brothers. Sophie and Ursula are the two sisters who have been betrothed to the two brothers Marcus and Arist respectively by their parents. Herr Salmon had decided that he would marry his daughters to the sons of his business 5 l partner Herr Ottur. Their children's compatible f personalities makes it easy for them to carry on their plan. i Sophie and Marcus tend to be sentimental lovers, sighing tearfully at the thought of separating from each other, whereas Ursula and Arist work together as partners in looking after their parents' business. Sophie, the older sister, is different from Ursula in her appearance and in her personality. She is more beautiful than Ursula and well versed in the social graces such as dancing, singing and entertaining. Ursula, on the other hand, has acquired knowledge by accompanying her father on business trips and by being an audience to scholarly discussions held at Frau Ottur's house. After Herr Salmon's death, Ursula and Arist develop a companionate relationship with each other. They go through their parents' business concerns as partners and as friends, while Sophie and Marcus sing duets and participate in enacting tableaus. Their wedding preparations are 267 268 undertaken by Ursula and Arist with enthusiasm until their new acquaintance Jarl joins in. Jarl is accompanying Frau von Halten, a family friend visiting Herr Salmon's family after his death. He integrates himself in the Salmon family by cultivating appropriate relationships with each member of the family. Sophie is treated with respect by him and Ursula is intellectually stimulated by his thoughts on love and marriage. She is impressed by his feigned respect for bourgeois virtue and human rights. She fails to see beyond his sophistry regarding morals and social norms. Arist too finds a conversation-partner in Jarl. Therefore, Jarl becomes Arist and Ursula's close friend and assists them with Sophie's wedding preparations. Frau von Halten's romantic nature fails to understand that Jarl's behavior towards Ursula is superficial, and that her platonic relationship with Arist is not meaningless. Therefore, in addition to the circumstances she encourages Jarl and Ursula's relationship. Soon, however, Ursula, Arist and Jarl's triad disintegrates due to Arist's exclusion from Ursula and Jarl's activities. Jarl intentionally assumes responsibility for such tasks which require Ursula's cooperation. When Arist tries to warn Ursula against Jarl's hypocrisy, he appears to Ursula as a close minded mentor trying to force his views upon her. She rebels against his attempts to control her life. While Ursula and Arist's 269 relationship transforms due to Jarl's intrusion in their lives, Sophie and Marcus' marital life becomes less harmonious as their infatuation with each other fades away. Marcus seeks an intelligent wife, and Sophie a romantic and love-sick husband. The news of Marcus' transfer to the residence seems to restore their happiness, albeit, temporarily. Their family members decide to accompany them to the first station of their destination. Arist decides to make use of this opportunity to travel back alone with Ursula and to confess his love for her. Ursula rejects his suggestion and jumps on her horse instead of riding in the chaise with Arist. Jarl follows Ursula on his horse through the woods in that dusky evening. For the first time, Jarl appears in a different light to Ursula when he is following her. The dark and eerie atmosphere of the woods warns her of Jarl's dishonest intentions. She intuits Jarl's evil motives, which Arist had already surmised during their conversations. Regretting her decision to ride alone, Ursula reaches home - unharmed by Jarl. But Arist has misinterpreted Ursula's intention of riding without him as an expression of her love for Jarl. He pays her a visit the next morning to declare her free from any obligation to marry him. Ursula denies any feelings for Jarl, but also refuses to accept Arist's hand in marriage. IShe never loved Jarl and she did not mean to give him that impression, but she also believes that misunderstandings between her and 270 Arist have made it impossible for them to become husband and wife. Their agitated emotions and critical brains cannot make their marital life peaceful, she thinks. She also considers her parents decision to arrange their marriage as unfair, since it was in disregard of their natures. Arist is dejected by Ursula's firm denial. He undertakes a trip in order to overcome his hurt emotions. Arist's absence becomes painful for Ursula, since she realizes that she too loves him. Ursula is also disturbed by reports of Sophie and Marcus' new life in the residence. Marcus' ambitious plans of gaining a niche in the aristocratic circle, and Sophie's social activities forebode their unhappiness in Ursula's mind. Jarl's arrival in the residence and his contacts with Sophie and Marcus cause more trouble between them. Jarl exploits the fact that Marcus is too busy to spend time with Sophie when he cultivates friendship with Sophie. Believing people's gossip, Marcus wrongly accuses Sophie of having an affair with Jarl. He demands a divorce from her, in spite of Sophie's announcement that she is pregnant. Sophie is left with no choice but to return to her mother's house. Her unhappiness and failing health add to Ursula's sorrow who is now waiting for Arist's return. Ursula depends upon Arist's support in dealing with her sister's tragic situation. Sophie's imminent death convinces Arist of the need to mediate between his brother 271 and Sophie so that they can be reconciled. Ursula rejects such a plan and without any hesitation offers to look after Sophie's child after her death. Nevertheless, Arist makes an unsuccessful trip to Marcus' house. When he returns, he finds Sophie nearing her end. She dies in childbirth leaving behind her a son. 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