Gisela von Arnim (also Giesela; August 30, 1827 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

– April 4, 1889 in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

) was a German writer, mainly of

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

Biography

Gisela was the youngest child of

Achim Achim (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Achem''), commonly Achim bei Bremen, is a municipality and the largest town (population 30,059 in December 2006) in the district of Verden, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Weser, a ...

and

Bettina von Arnim Bettina von Arnim (born Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano; 4 April 178520 January 1859) was a German writer and novelist. Bettina (or Bettine) Brentano was a writer, publisher, composer, singer, visual artist, an illustrator, patr ...

. Her father died when she was four years old. Her maternal grandfather was of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent, and some of his ancestors are

Sophie von La Roche Marie Sophie von La Roche (née Gutermann von Gutershofen; 6 December 1730 – 18 February 1807) was a German novelist. She is considered the first financially independent female professional writer in Germany. Biography Sophie von La Roche was ...

and

Johann Philipp Stadion, Count von Warthausen Johann Philipp Carl Joseph Stadion, Count von Warthausen (18 June 1763 in Mainz – 15 May 1824, Baden bei Wien, Baden) was a statesman, foreign minister, and diplomat who served the Habsburg empire during the Napoleonic Wars. He was also founder ...

. She was not formally educated, being taught only by her sisters. In her youth she read fairy tales and Romantic poetry, especially the works of

Wilhelm Hauff Wilhelm Hauff (29 November 180218 November 1827) was a German poet and novelist. Early life Hauff was born in Stuttgart, the son of August Friedrich Hauff, a secretary in the Württemberg ministry of foreign affairs, and Hedwig Wilhelmine Elsa ...

, and began to write fairy tales herself. With her sisters she started the "Kaffeter circle", first a group for young women and later a full

literary salon A salon is a gathering of people held by a host. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to please or to educate" (Latin: ''aut delectare aut prodesse''). Salons in the tradition of the Fren ...

also including men (honorary members included

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

and Emmanuel Geibel). In 1849, Gisela met violinist and composer

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian Violin, violinist, Conducting, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely ...

, (born in 1831), in Weimar. Gisela von Arnim de.wikipedia.org A painful relationship developed and only ended after Gisela von Arnim married

Herman Grimm Herman Grimm (6 January 1828 in Kassel16 June 1901 in Berlin) was a German academic and writer. Family and education Grimm's father was Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), and his uncle Jakob Grimm (1785–1863), the philologist compilers of indigenou ...

in 1859. In 1853 she met

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

and Joachim through their mutual acquaintances

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

and

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; ; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic music, Romantic era, she exerted her influence o ...

. Brahms and Joachim subsequently used elements of her name via musical cryptography in some of their music. Joachim dedicated his Three Pieces for Violin and Piano (Opus 5), published in 1854, to her. Gisela von Arnim's letters to Joseph Joachim are unpublished, and are at the Freies Deutsches Hochstift, Frankfurt. On October 24, 1859, she married the

Germanist German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, German literature, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on Culture ...

and

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

Herman Grimm, a son of

Wilhelm Grimm Wilhelm Carl Grimm (also Karl; 24 February 178616 December 1859) was a German author, philologist and anthropologist. He was the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm. Life and work Wilhelm was born in February 1 ...

Works

* ''Das Leben der Hochgräfin Gritta von Rattenzuhausbeiuns'' (with Bettina von Arnim) * ''Mondkönigs Tochter'' * ''Aus den Papieren eines Spatzen'' * ''Das Licht'' * ''Die gelbe Haube'' * ''Dramatische Werke'' (collection) * ''Drei Mährchen''

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnim, Gisela Von 1827 births 1889 deaths Writers from the Kingdom of Prussia German people of Italian descent Gisela 19th-century German women writers 19th-century German writers German salon-holders

Biography

Works

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography