Yup, it's Catherine herself. And yep, Claudius totally threw shade at Fritz with that verse in his MT poem. Given Matthias Claudius wasn't a Catholic Southern German (who would have been more likely to have sympathized with MT but a Protestant Northern German, it's all the more pointed.
As for MT biographies, there were two new ones published in her anniversary year and I promise to report on at least one of them, but until I've actually read it, I can't rec or anti rec it to you two. As for availability in English: will check.
Meanwhile, since you asked about the Fritz-Heinrich-other Marwitz lust triangle, I still had the two more recent Fritz biographies from the library available I needed to check on some stuff, but alas neither of them provides more intel than online googling does. However, there's a more recent Heinrich biography out (by a female writer, both the Fritz bios are by male ones), and since this affair was presumably more important to Heinrich than it was to Fritz, I expect more detail there.
The two biographies - which I got via the Munich library's online loan on my kindle, and hence could name check - don't exactly go "no homo", but they do go "this is all not very interesting if you're not a gossipy sensationalist, and we're doing serious analysis of Fritz here, so a few lines, no more". Otoh, the longer biography did provide me with new intel on two fronts: EC's younger brother died apparantly in the same battle after which Fritz was told Wilhelmine was dead (he learned this on October 18th), burst into tears and had a not so minor breakdown. It doesn't exactly excuse the terrible condolence letter, but it does provide context for him being distracted by his own miseries. The biographer goes on to point out Fritz' utter emotional isolation post 7 years war, victory and miracle of the House of Brandenburg not withstanding. With Wilhelmine's death died also any chance of reconciliation with his remaining siblings, Heinrich didn't forgive him for August Wilhelm's humiliation and death, and most of the Rheinsberg era friends were dead (Keyserling) or gone, too. Then he provides a Maria Theresia quote about Fritz I wasn't yet familiar with, in a letter to Joseph, no less, who evidently had gone "yes, I know he's our enemy, but isn't he the coolest!" again. She writes in her response:
"Has this hero" - MT uses "heros", i.e. the Greek term, in her letter - "who has won such fame for himself, has this conqueror a single friend left? Doesn't he distrust the entire world? What kind of life is this that's left for him, having banished humanity out of it?"
And there I have a serious line for her at the fictional super secret summit of fiction.
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Re: speaking of musical relationships....
Date: 2019-10-13 06:32 am (UTC)As for MT biographies, there were two new ones published in her anniversary year and I promise to report on at least one of them, but until I've actually read it, I can't rec or anti rec it to you two. As for availability in English: will check.
Meanwhile, since you asked about the Fritz-Heinrich-other Marwitz lust triangle, I still had the two more recent Fritz biographies from the library available I needed to check on some stuff, but alas neither of them provides more intel than online googling does. However, there's a more recent Heinrich biography out (by a female writer, both the Fritz bios are by male ones), and since this affair was presumably more important to Heinrich than it was to Fritz, I expect more detail there.
The two biographies - which I got via the Munich library's online loan on my kindle, and hence could name check - don't exactly go "no homo", but they do go "this is all not very interesting if you're not a gossipy sensationalist, and we're doing serious analysis of Fritz here, so a few lines, no more". Otoh, the longer biography did provide me with new intel on two fronts: EC's younger brother died apparantly in the same battle after which Fritz was told Wilhelmine was dead (he learned this on October 18th), burst into tears and had a not so minor breakdown. It doesn't exactly excuse the terrible condolence letter, but it does provide context for him being distracted by his own miseries. The biographer goes on to point out Fritz' utter emotional isolation post 7 years war, victory and miracle of the House of Brandenburg not withstanding. With Wilhelmine's death died also any chance of reconciliation with his remaining siblings, Heinrich didn't forgive him for August Wilhelm's humiliation and death, and most of the Rheinsberg era friends were dead (Keyserling) or gone, too. Then he provides a Maria Theresia quote about Fritz I wasn't yet familiar with, in a letter to Joseph, no less, who evidently had gone "yes, I know he's our enemy, but isn't he the coolest!" again. She writes in her response:
"Has this hero" - MT uses "heros", i.e. the Greek term, in her letter - "who has won such fame for himself, has this conqueror a single friend left? Doesn't he distrust the entire world? What kind of life is this that's left for him, having banished humanity out of it?"
And there I have a serious line for her at the fictional super secret summit of fiction.