Pauline Gotter
Encyclopedia
Pauline Gotter was the second wife of Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling and a friend of Louise Seidler
and Sylvie von Ziegesar
.
") and archivist Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter
and Louise Gotter (née Stiege). Her mother was a close friend of Caroline Schlegel (née Michaelis), while her father had been close friends with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
since his youth.
Pauline Gotter had two sisters and knew Goethe and Caroline Schlegel from childhood on. In her youth she was friends with Sylvie von Ziegesar
and the painter Louise Seidler
. Together with her friends, she had access to Jena's most elevated intellectual circles, which at that time comprised such creative minds as Friedrich Schiller
, Johann Gottlieb Fichte
, Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
, the Alexander
brothers and Wilhelm von Humboldt
, the brothers Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel, Friedrich Tieck, Clemens Brentano
, Voß
, Paulus
, Niethammer, Zacharias Werner and others.
Pauline Gotter loved her mother's friends. Caroline Schlegel was an intelligent woman who had sided with the French Revolution
, and as a result was nearly arrested for treason. Her daughter, who was almost the same age as Pauline Gotter, was the first love of the philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling, a rising star in Jena
's intellectual world, and a passionate follower of Johann Gottlieb Fichte
. When she fell sick with dysentery in 1800, he tried desperately to find some means by which to stave off her death. Pauline Gotter and her family were forced to stand by as accusations were made of Schelling and rumors were spread. "Schelling," said Dorothea Veit
, "had a hand in it." Jena's literary magazine, the Jenaische Allgemeine Literaturzeitung, reported, "He cares for her 'flawlessly' and kills her 'honestly.'" Rumors, accusations, and gossip didn't die down, and August Wilhelm Schlegel and his wife Caroline divorced in 1803 at Goethe's behest. Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling married her two months later. They left Jena together in 1804 and moved to Würzburg
, where Schelling received a teaching position at the university, and Caroline Schelling stood faithfully by her new husband's side.
In 1806 Pauline Gotter stayed with her friend Sylvie von Ziegesar
in Karlsbad
, where Goethe courted Ziegesar and dedicated some of his poems to her. Her friend Louise Seidler
also enjoyed the favor of the German prince of poets, who instructed her to paint a portrait of him.
On September 7, 1809, Caroline Schelling (formerly Schlegel) died suddenly. Pauline Gotter and her family were very distraught at her death. They wrote letters and paid visits to Schelling in an effort to console him, but he became progressively more withdrawn and expressed growing criticism of science and of the church. This increasingly intimate correspondence lead to his engagement with Pauline Gotter.
On June 11, 1812, Pauline Gotter married Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling, who was eleven years her senior, and who was elevated to the nobility and invited to join to the Academy of Science in Munich
in the same year. On December 17, 1813, their first child was born. Five more followed. One of their daughters was named Caroline, in honor of Friedrich's first wife. Pauline Schelling took charge of running the house and raising the children. Her letters possessed a natural, spirited grace, though they lacked the intellectual significance of his first wife's writings. She was in this respect no substitute for Caroline in Friedrich's eyes, and he grew unpersonable and withdrew rapidly into incoherent writings on mythology and irritated responses to Hegel as he ascended to scholarly fame.
Pauline Schelling died on December 31, 1854, four months after her husband.
Louise Seidler
Louise Seidler was a German painter at the court of the grand dukes of Weimar, custodian of their art collection and a trusted friend of the poet Goethe and the painter Georg Friedrich Kersting.-Early life:...
and Sylvie von Ziegesar
Sylvie von Ziegesar
Sylvie von Ziegesar was a German woman active in the intellectual circles of Weimar Classicism. She was a friend of the painter Louise Seidler and the intellectual Pauline Gotter the subject of Goethe's poem "To Sylvie von Ziegesar"....
.
Life
Angelica Pauline Amalie Gotter was born on December 29, 1786. Her parents were the playwright, Privy Councilor ("GeheimratGeheimrat
Geheimrat was the title of the highest advising officials at the Imperial, royal or principal courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the Geheimer Rat reporting to the ruler...
") and archivist Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter
Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter
Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter was a German poet and dramatist.He was born at Gotha. After the completion of his university course at Göttingen, he was appointed second director of the Gotha Archive. He subsequently went to Wetzlar, the seat of the imperial law courts, as secretary to the...
and Louise Gotter (née Stiege). Her mother was a close friend of Caroline Schlegel (née Michaelis), while her father had been close friends with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
since his youth.
Pauline Gotter had two sisters and knew Goethe and Caroline Schlegel from childhood on. In her youth she was friends with Sylvie von Ziegesar
Sylvie von Ziegesar
Sylvie von Ziegesar was a German woman active in the intellectual circles of Weimar Classicism. She was a friend of the painter Louise Seidler and the intellectual Pauline Gotter the subject of Goethe's poem "To Sylvie von Ziegesar"....
and the painter Louise Seidler
Louise Seidler
Louise Seidler was a German painter at the court of the grand dukes of Weimar, custodian of their art collection and a trusted friend of the poet Goethe and the painter Georg Friedrich Kersting.-Early life:...
. Together with her friends, she had access to Jena's most elevated intellectual circles, which at that time comprised such creative minds as Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, Johann Gottlieb Fichte
Johann Gottlieb Fichte
Johann Gottlieb Fichte was a German philosopher. He was one of the founding figures of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, a movement that developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Kant...
, Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
, the Alexander
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
brothers and Wilhelm von Humboldt
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt was a German philosopher, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of Humboldt Universität. He is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of language and to the theory and practice...
, the brothers Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel, Friedrich Tieck, Clemens Brentano
Clemens Brentano
Clemens Brentano, or Klemens Brentano was a German poet and novelist.-Overview:He was born in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz, Germany. His sister was Bettina von Arnim, Goethe's correspondent. His father's family was of Italian descent. He studied in Halle and Jena, afterwards residing at...
, Voß
Vos
Vos or VOS may refer to:In computing:* Hitachi VOS, a mainframe computer operating system by Hitachi Data Systems* Stratus VOS, a fault-tolerant computer operating system, developed by Stratus...
, Paulus
Paulus
- Roman and Byzantine empire :*Paul or Julius Paulus , Roman jurist*Paulus Catena , Roman notary*Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus , Roman general*Paulus , short-time ruler over the Domain of Soissons...
, Niethammer, Zacharias Werner and others.
Pauline Gotter loved her mother's friends. Caroline Schlegel was an intelligent woman who had sided with the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, and as a result was nearly arrested for treason. Her daughter, who was almost the same age as Pauline Gotter, was the first love of the philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling, a rising star in Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
's intellectual world, and a passionate follower of Johann Gottlieb Fichte
Johann Gottlieb Fichte
Johann Gottlieb Fichte was a German philosopher. He was one of the founding figures of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, a movement that developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Kant...
. When she fell sick with dysentery in 1800, he tried desperately to find some means by which to stave off her death. Pauline Gotter and her family were forced to stand by as accusations were made of Schelling and rumors were spread. "Schelling," said Dorothea Veit
Dorothea von Schlegel
Dorothea von Schlegel was a German novelist and translator.-Biography :Dorothea von Schlegel was born in 1764 in Berlin. Oldest daughter of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, a leading figure in the German Enlightenment...
, "had a hand in it." Jena's literary magazine, the Jenaische Allgemeine Literaturzeitung, reported, "He cares for her 'flawlessly' and kills her 'honestly.'" Rumors, accusations, and gossip didn't die down, and August Wilhelm Schlegel and his wife Caroline divorced in 1803 at Goethe's behest. Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling married her two months later. They left Jena together in 1804 and moved to Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, where Schelling received a teaching position at the university, and Caroline Schelling stood faithfully by her new husband's side.
In 1806 Pauline Gotter stayed with her friend Sylvie von Ziegesar
Sylvie von Ziegesar
Sylvie von Ziegesar was a German woman active in the intellectual circles of Weimar Classicism. She was a friend of the painter Louise Seidler and the intellectual Pauline Gotter the subject of Goethe's poem "To Sylvie von Ziegesar"....
in Karlsbad
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
, where Goethe courted Ziegesar and dedicated some of his poems to her. Her friend Louise Seidler
Louise Seidler
Louise Seidler was a German painter at the court of the grand dukes of Weimar, custodian of their art collection and a trusted friend of the poet Goethe and the painter Georg Friedrich Kersting.-Early life:...
also enjoyed the favor of the German prince of poets, who instructed her to paint a portrait of him.
On June 11, 1812, Pauline Gotter married Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling, who was eleven years her senior, and who was elevated to the nobility and invited to join to the Academy of Science in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in the same year. On December 17, 1813, their first child was born. Five more followed. One of their daughters was named Caroline, in honor of Friedrich's first wife. Pauline Schelling took charge of running the house and raising the children. Her letters possessed a natural, spirited grace, though they lacked the intellectual significance of his first wife's writings. She was in this respect no substitute for Caroline in Friedrich's eyes, and he grew unpersonable and withdrew rapidly into incoherent writings on mythology and irritated responses to Hegel as he ascended to scholarly fame.
Pauline Schelling died on December 31, 1854, four months after her husband.
Further reading
- Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. Gedenkausgabe der Werke, Briefe und Gespräche. Zürich/Stuttgart: Artemis, pp. 681-682.
- Xavier TillietteXavier TillietteXavier Tilliette is a French philosopher, historian of philosophy and theologian, born on July 23, 1921, in Corbie . Former student of Jean Wahl and of Vladimir Jankélévitch, he is a member of the Society of Jesus and professor emeritus at the Catholic Institute of Paris , at the Pontifical...
, (2004). Schelling: Biographie. Translated from French by S. Schaper. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta. ISBN 3-608-94225-4. - Kirchhoff, Joche (1988). Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling. Mit Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten. Reinbek: Rowohlt. ISBN 3-499-50308-5.
External links
- Brief mention of Pauline Gotter in
- Correspondence with her friend Louise Seidler (in German)
- Meeting with Goethe in 1806 in Karlsbad (in German)
- Letter to Schelling, May 1811 (in German)