Ottilie assing
Encyclopedia
Ottilie Davida Assing was a 19th century German feminist, freethinker
, and abolitionist. Born in Hamburg, she was the eldest daughter of a prominent Jewish physician, David Assur, who converted to Christianity upon marriage and changed his name to Assing. Her mother was the poet Rosa Maria Varnhagen Assing
, who was friendly with other literary women, including Clara Mundt and Fanny Lewald
, and prominent in liberal circles that supported (but failed to achieve) social revolution in 1848.
After the great fire of Hamburg in 1850, Assing and her sister Ludmilla went to live with their uncle, the prominent literary figure and revolutionary activist, Karl August Varnhagen von Ense
. His wife, the noted Jewish writer and saloniste Rahel Varnhagen
, was long dead. Ottilie and Ludmilla soon came to blows in that household, and Ottilie left, never to return. In 1852, she emigrated to America, settling in New York and eventually in Hoboken, New Jersey. She supported her self by writing articles for the Morgenblatt für gebildete Leser and often wrote under a male pseudonym.
Assing read the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
, and was impressed. In 1856, she went to Rochester to interview Douglass. They struck up an immediate friendship and, possibly, an affair. For the next 26 years, they attended meetings and conventions together. At first, she wrote general interest pieces about culture, but soon her writing focused on the abolitionist movement. While Assing was in Europe, trying to establish her claim to her sister's estate (including her mother's, and the Varnhagens' papers) she read in a newspaper that Douglass was to marry his 20-years-younger white secretary, Helen Pitts. She had already been diagnosed with incurable breast cancer. Assing committed suicide in a public park in 1884. As per the will left in her hotel, her correspondence with Douglass was burned and Douglass received her meager estate (the bulk of the family fortune having been given away on a whim by her sister.)
Freethought
Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas...
, and abolitionist. Born in Hamburg, she was the eldest daughter of a prominent Jewish physician, David Assur, who converted to Christianity upon marriage and changed his name to Assing. Her mother was the poet Rosa Maria Varnhagen Assing
Rosa Maria Assing
Rosa Maria Antonetta Paulina Assing nee Varnhagen, was a German lyric poet, prose-writer, educator, translator and silhouette artist. She was the elder sister of Karl August Varnhagen, the sister-in-law of Rahel Levin, and the mother of Ottilie and Ludmilla Assing...
, who was friendly with other literary women, including Clara Mundt and Fanny Lewald
Fanny Lewald
Fanny Lewald was a German Jewish author-Biography:She was born at Königsberg in East Prussia. When seventeen years of age she accepted Christianity. She traveled in the German Confederation, France and Italy...
, and prominent in liberal circles that supported (but failed to achieve) social revolution in 1848.
After the great fire of Hamburg in 1850, Assing and her sister Ludmilla went to live with their uncle, the prominent literary figure and revolutionary activist, Karl August Varnhagen von Ense
Karl August Varnhagen von Ense
Karl August Varnhagen von Ense was a German biographer, diplomat and soldier.-Biography:He was born at Düsseldorf, with siblings including Rosa Maria Varnhagen. He studied medicine in Berlin, but spent more time on philosophy and literature, which he later studied more thoroughly at Halle and...
. His wife, the noted Jewish writer and saloniste Rahel Varnhagen
Rahel Varnhagen
Rahel Antonie Friederike Varnhagen née Levin later Robert was a German-Jewish writer who hosted one of the most prominent salons in Europe during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. She is the subject of a celebrated biography, Rahel Varnhagen: The Life of a Jewess written by Hannah Arendt...
, was long dead. Ottilie and Ludmilla soon came to blows in that household, and Ottilie left, never to return. In 1852, she emigrated to America, settling in New York and eventually in Hoboken, New Jersey. She supported her self by writing articles for the Morgenblatt für gebildete Leser and often wrote under a male pseudonym.
Assing read the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, and was impressed. In 1856, she went to Rochester to interview Douglass. They struck up an immediate friendship and, possibly, an affair. For the next 26 years, they attended meetings and conventions together. At first, she wrote general interest pieces about culture, but soon her writing focused on the abolitionist movement. While Assing was in Europe, trying to establish her claim to her sister's estate (including her mother's, and the Varnhagens' papers) she read in a newspaper that Douglass was to marry his 20-years-younger white secretary, Helen Pitts. She had already been diagnosed with incurable breast cancer. Assing committed suicide in a public park in 1884. As per the will left in her hotel, her correspondence with Douglass was burned and Douglass received her meager estate (the bulk of the family fortune having been given away on a whim by her sister.)
Further reading
- Her letters to Douglass and her articles on the United States are published in Radical Passion which is edited, translated, and introduced by Christopher Lohmann
- "From German Cultural Criticism to Abolitionism: Ottilie Assing: "Zealous to give vent to her gall"" (2002) by Britta Behmer
- "Love Across The Color Lines" by Maria Diedrich (Hill and Wang, 1999), biography of Assing focussing on her relationship with Douglass.