The Position of Women in the Romantic Period and Its Reflection in the Letters by Rahel Varnhagen

Renata Trejnowska-Supranowicz

Katedra Filologii Germańskiej Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie

Abstract

The paper is an attempt to answer the question concerning the extent to which letters written by Rahel Varnhagen von Ense, one of the most important representatives of the women's epistola- ry literature of German Romanticism, touches upon women issues. The analysis of the psychologi- cal and social contexts of women's situation is a crucial motif in the correspondence of the said authoress. In her letters to David Veit, Rebecca Friedlander, and her sister Rose, one can notice harsh criticism of the limited opportunities for the girls from Jewish families as well as of the institution of marriage in its traditional form based on the wife's absolute submission to her husband. As a result, a woman would lose a large part of her personality and freedom. Rahel never changed her opinion on marriage, although her married life with August Varnhagen was an example of an ideal partnership. In her letters, Rahel also deals with the problem of equal rights for women in the fields of art and science. For example, the authoress mustered the courage to voice severe criticism on women writers such as Karoline Schlegel-Schelling and Dorothea Tieck, who would publish their works under male pen names. In her writings, Rahel Varnhagen points out to an extremely hard situation of the well-educated women and demands more personal freedom for them. According to her, this very freedom is a significant factor for women and men to become equal.

Keywords:

German Romanticism, women issues, women in psychological and social contexts, criticism of the institution of marriage, equal rights for women, personal freedom