Countess Ida von Hahn-Hahn (; 22 June 1805 – 12 January 1880) was a German author from a wealthy family who lost their fortune because of her father's eccentric spending. She defied convention by living with Adolf von Bystram unmarried for 21 years. Her writings about the German aristocracy were greatly favored by the general public of her time. Ida von Hahn-Hahn often wrote about the tragedies of the soul and was influenced by the French novelist

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...

. She "was an indefatigable campaigner for the emancipation of women" and her writings include many strong female characters.

Biography

She was born at Tressow, in the

duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting H ...

. She was the daughter of Count (1782 – 21 May 1857 Altona) of the

von Hahn The House of Hahn (originally Hane and Hanen) was an ancient German-Baltic noble family which was prominent in the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and on the Baltic Island Ösel. It was founded in 1230 and existed until 1951. It was also part of ...

family, who was well known for his enthusiasm for stage productions, upon which he squandered a large portion of his fortune. In his old age, he was obliged to support himself by managing a provincial company and died in poverty. In 1826, Ida married her wealthy cousin , which gave her the doubled name. With him she had an extremely unhappy life, and in 1829 her husband's irregularities led to a divorce. She spent the years after her divorce ignoring social norms by traveling and living with Baron Adolf von Bystram. Bystram encouraged her to write about their travels across Europe and the Near East. In 1847, the author drew upon herself the merciless ridicule of Fanny Lewald, who "attacked her as a self-indulgent aristocrat indifferent to the plight of the poor." After the

revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

and the death of Adolf von Bystram in 1849, she embraced the Roman Catholic religion in 1850, after having opened the Bible on some day in 1849 and seeing this passage: "Arise, be enlightened O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon there." The countess Ida even visited the Prince Bishop Diepenbrock, of whom she asked whether or not she could be absorbed into the Catholic Church. Hahn-Hahn justified her step in a polemical work entitled ''Von Babylon nach Jerusalem'' (1851), which elicited a vigorous reply from Heinrich Abeken, and from several others as well. In November 1852, she retired into the convent Du Bon Pasteur at Angers, which she however soon left, taking up residence in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

as a "layperson in a convent she had co-founded for "fallen" girls." She would die there (at Mainz) in 1880. Hahn-Hahn devoted herself to the reformation of outcasts of her own sex, and wrote several works, among which are: ''Bilder aus der Geschichte der Kirche'' (3 vols., 1856–'64); ''Peregrina'' (1864); and ''Eudoxia'' (1868).

Writings

For many years, her novels were the most popular works of fiction in aristocratic circles; many of her later publications, however, passed unnoticed as mere religious manifestoes. ''Ulrich'' and ''Gräfin Faustine'', both published in 1841, mark the culmination of her power; but ''Sigismund Forster'' (1843), ''Cecil'' (1844), ''Sibylle'' (1846) and ''Maria Regina'' (1860) also obtained considerable popularity. For several years, the countess continued to produce novels bearing a certain subjective resemblance to those of

, but less hostile to social institutions, and dealing almost exclusively with aristocratic society. Her collected works, ''Gesammelte Werke'', with an introduction by Otto von Schaching, were published in two series, 45 volumes in all (Regensburg, 1903–1904).

''Gräfin Faustine''

''Gräfin Faustine'' or ''Countess Faustine'' travels to the Orient and ends up in "a cloister to expiate her sins". ''Countess Faustine'' is a female Don Joan set in a world of adultery.

Catholic writings

After converting to Roman Catholicism, Hahn-Hahn began writing to encourage conversions to the Catholic Church.

Publications

Countess von Hahn-Hahn's published works as cited by ''An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers''. All publications listed below are in German. * * * * * (reprinted as ) * * * * (reprinted as ) * (reprinted as ) * Her Protestant works in 21 volumes. * * (reprinted as ) * (reprinted as ) * * * * Her Catholic works in 45 volumes.

References and notes

External links

A selection of works by Hahn-Hahn
from the Sophie database {{DEFAULTSORT:Hahn-Hahn, Ida von 1805 births 1880 deaths 19th-century German novelists 19th-century German women writers Countesses in Germany German women novelists People from Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district) People from the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Writers from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania German Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism