Charlotte Albertine Ernestine von Stein (also mentioned as ''Charlotta Ernestina Bernadina von Stein'' ), born von Schardt; 25 December 1742,

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

– 6 January 1827,

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

at the court in Weimar and a close friend to both

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

and

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

, whose work and life were strongly influenced by her.

Childhood

Charlotte's parents were

Hofmarschall The ''Hofmarschall'' (plural: Hofmarschälle) was the administrative official in charge of a princely German court, supervising all its economic affairs. Historically, every civil service was regarded as court service (e.g. the Russian nobility is ...

Johann Wilhelm Christian von Schardt (1711–1791) and Koncordia Elisabeth Irving of Drum (1724–1802). While her father was a wasteful eccentric, her mother who had had Scottish ancestors was said to be very quiet and dutiful. Her parents moved to Weimar when Charlotte was yet a little child and she was prepared for working as a lady-in-waiting. Her education included literature, art, singing and dancing. They said that Charlotte was unobtrusive, witty, graceful and dutiful like her mother was. There were four things she spent most of her time on: *Society (according to her “profession”) *Taking cures (she had a weak constitution) *Literature/Theater/Art (she was an avid writer and later published several dramas, including "Dido" and "Ryno") *Animals (she had various pets, e.g. cats, dogs and doves)

Profession and family

In 1758 Charlotte became a lady-in-waiting to Anna Amalia, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, whom she served until the Duchess's death in 1807. On 17 May 1764 Charlotte married

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...

Gottlob Ernst Josias Friedrich von Stein (1735–1793). It was not a marriage for love, but for social and political interests. Often Charlotte remained alone in Weimar, as her husband travelled a great deal in the service of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar in

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

. From 1764 to 1773 she gave birth to seven children. Four daughters died; three boys, Karl, Ernst and Fritz, survived. After her seventh child was born, Charlotte was physically exhausted, and took a succession of cures. She was also the aunt of

Amalia von Helvig Anna Amalia von Helvig (August 16, 1776 – September 17, 1831) was a German and Swedish artist, writer, translator, socialite, Salonist and culture personality. She is known as an inspiration for many artists. She was a member of the Royal Swe ...

, who became a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...

Works

Charlotte von Stein wrote four plays, only one was published during her lifetime, ''Die zwey Emilien'' (''The Two Emilies''). The play was published anonymously, but with Schiller's name on the cover, which led many to believe that he was the author. Not until 1923 was ''Die zwey Emilien'' published under Charlotte von Stein's name. A second play, ''Die Probe'' (''The Trial'' or ''The Rehearsal''), may have been written by Charlotte von Stein. It was published in 1809 and has since disappeared. Charlotte von Stein wrote two more texts, both of which were untitled and have also been lost. The first was a story and the second another comedy. ''Rino'' (1776) ''Dido'' (1794) ''Neues Freiheitssystem oder die Verschwörungen gegen die Liebe'' (''New System of Freedom or the Conspiracy Against Love'') (1798) ''Die zwey Emilien'' (''The Two Emilies'') (1800)

Charlotte and Goethe

In 1774

and Charlotte von Stein met in

. It was the beginning of a deep friendship which lasted for twelve years. During this time she had a strong influence on Goethe's work and life. Goethe took into his house her eleven-year-old son Fritz (her darling), in May 1783, and took over the boy's education to her satisfaction. This period of her life might have been the happiest since she was in the center of social life and attention and met many famous personalities, e.g.,

, Karl Ludwig Knebel, and

Johann Georg Zimmermann Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann / Johann Georg Zimmermann (8 December 1728, in Brugg, Aargau7 October 1795, in Hanover) was a Swiss philosophical writer, naturalist, and physician. He was the private physician of George III and later Frederick ...

. She frequently corresponded with Schiller's wife

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

In the eyes of her contemporaries

Knebel has given an outstanding depiction of von Stein's nature:

Loneliness and death

In 1786 the deep friendship between Charlotte and

ended with his sudden departure to Italy without even telling her he wanted to go. Not until after 1800 did their relationship begin to normalize and even then it never became as close as before. After her husband had died in 1793 Charlotte retired from society and became more and more lonely. In 1794 she wrote the drama ''Dido''— a literary self-portrait that also depicted her disappointment about Goethe's behavior.'' Der Große Brockhaus''. 16. edition. Vol. 11. F. A. Brockhaus, Wiesbaden 1957, p.193 It reflected the years from 1770 to 1790 and the situation in Weimar at that time. As depicted by

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

Dido (Queen of Carthage) Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

was forsaken by her lover

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

who set off for Italy - an obvious parallel to von Stein herself and Goethe. Charlotte von Stein died on 6 January 1827 at the age of 85.

Legacy

The German poet Peter Hacks presented his play "Gespräch im Hause Stein über den abwesenden Herrn von Goethe" (A Discussion in the Stein Home about the Absent Mr. Goethe) in 1974. This monodrama became a worldwide success and is seen as a subtle analysis of the fate of Charlotte von Stein.

References

External links

picture of the Stein family house in Weimar

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Charlotte von 1742 births 1827 deaths German ladies-in-waiting People from Eisenach People from Saxe-Eisenach German untitled nobility

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 18th-century German people