Charlotte von Lengefeld
Charlotte Luise Antoinette von Schiller (née von Lengefeld; 22 November 1766 – 9 July 1826) was the wife of German poet Friedrich Schiller.
Early life[edit]
Lengefeld was born in Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, into an aristocratic family, and given an education appropriate to a life at the ducal court of Weimar.[1] Her father Carl Christoph von Lengefeld (1715–1775), who died when she was a young girl, had been a forest administrator of Louis Günther II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, while her mother was Louise Juliane Eleonore Friederike von Wurmb (1743–1823). In her young adulthood she was introduced to the literary circles of Weimar. She became friendly with Charlotte von Stein, who was at the center of the circle of Weimar Classicism as a friend of Schiller and sometime mistress of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Stein confided in her throughout her complex relationship with Goethe.[2]
Her first love was a soldier, but after her family's opposition the engagement was dropped.[1]
Works[edit]
Though never a published author during her lifetime, Lengefeld was a writer her entire life. Her letters to her husband, her sister, Stein, Goethe, and others have been published in multiple editions.[5] She has also been identified as the author of several works found among her husband's papers and posthumously included in collected editions alongside his work, notably the novel Die heimliche Heirat (The Secret Marriage).[6] Along with other women in the Goethe-Schiller circle, Lengefeld has been receiving increased critical attention; critic Gaby Pailer wrote the first full-length scholarly book on her life and work, published in 2009.[7]
See also[edit]
Beloved Sisters [Die geliebten Schwestern]. A 2014 German biographical film.