Fritz called Heinrich his other self??!!* Heinrich picked back up a correspondence with him because he needed someone to bicker with?? Heinrich moved to Wusterhausen in 1799 so he could forget about the last twelve years??!!
I know. You really couldn't make these people up. Or, to use a phrase coined by our other famous dyfunctional and intense brothers, the brothers Mann, "das brüderliche Welterlebnis". (Thanks, Tommy!)
This just goes to show that having self-awareness does not equal knowing what to do about it, which is consistent with my experiences with other highly intelligent, self-aware people with severe trauma, even in the twenty-first century.
Well, Fritz knew what to do about it, alright, it's just that his method of choice was to vary Larkin's famous "they fuck you up, your Mum and Dad, they may not mean to, but they do" into "and then you'll fuck up your brother, too". This isn't what Larkin meant by concluding that poem with "don't have any kids yourself", Fritz!
I would say at least Heinrich didn't hand down the trauma to the next generation, but taking it (at least somewhat) out on his wife isn't much better, so. Other self indeed.
OMG, this is Fritz/Voltaire levels of hateshipping, wow. This may even put them to shame. Wow wow wow
Well, it has that extra special family element. Also Fritz never did anything as serious to Voltaire as force him to marry, break the person Voltaire loves most who dies in his mind because of that, nor did he, conversely, form Voltaire's ideas about a great many things from literature to how to treat your unwanted wife. (Though I guess Voltaire did form several of Fritz' ideas by virtue of being his favourite writer.)
Silesia. He conquered Silesia. He couldn't even hold onto Bohemia or Saxony.
Which reminds me: as has been pointed out by biographers, Heinrich in his partition of Poland negotiations aquired more territory for Prussia diplomatically and thus without a single loss of (Prussian) life than Fritz managed in three Silesian wars. (I mean, it sucked for the Poles, and caused no end of trouble in European history, long term wise, but from a Prussian pov back then, this was awesome.) You can bet Heinrich pointed that out, too. Big Brother wasn't amused.
What. Why would you do that to your boyfriend?
My question exactly, which is why I had to share it. I assume T. thought Heinrich would consider it funny? Or maybe flattering, because the audience, when it noticed Heinrich was present, cheered both him and the Fritz actor with lots of Vive Frederic! Vive le frère du grand Frederic! calls. How that made Heinrich feel, I'll leave to your imagination.
That particular boyfriend also had managed the following saga:
T: So, I got my girlfriend, which yes, I had on the side, pregnant. We need money to marry. Pretty please? H: ....Okay. T's father and Fritz: WTF? Prussian nobles aren't allowed to marry without permission of the King! (See also: Marwitz, female edition.) H: *keeps young T & pregnant wife from being punished, points out done is done and also there's an heir on the way, manages to achieve reconcilation*
Young Mrs. T: dies in childbirth, along with the baby
T: Woe! Comfort me! H: *does so*
Anyway, Heinrich's romantic/sexual track record is the one thing which makes me at least consider the possibility Fritz wasn't acting purely out of spite in the four Marwitz (male) letters.
Oh, and not Ziebura, but older male historians going "why the very het Catherine and the very gay Heinrich went along so well is a complete mystery to us" clearly haven't heard of Elizabeth Taylor, which was the association I immediately had when reading about Heinrich's visits in Russia.
ETA: Meant to include this - when Fritz gave Heinrich permission to go to Paris the first time, it wasn't meant as a holiday, though of course both of them knew it would be a #lifegoal accomplished - Paris! -; Heinrich was actually there to try and woo the French away from their Austrian alliance, now that MT was dead.
(MA: come on. I know I'm not Mom, but I would never, ever, have let that happen! Joseph was counting on me!)
So, while they hash out final instructions and policies via letters, Fritz says, re: the French: "But let them come to you, don't fling yourself in their arms at the first sign of interest, the way you usually do."
Yep. That fraternal bitching is alive and well. (You can bet Fritz would have flung himself into proverbial French arms if he'd ever made it to Paris.)
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Re: Oh Brother! More impressions of the Heinrich bio
Date: 2019-12-03 07:36 am (UTC)I know. You really couldn't make these people up. Or, to use a phrase coined by our other famous dyfunctional and intense brothers, the brothers Mann, "das brüderliche Welterlebnis". (Thanks, Tommy!)
This just goes to show that having self-awareness does not equal knowing what to do about it, which is consistent with my experiences with other highly intelligent, self-aware people with severe trauma, even in the twenty-first century.
Well, Fritz knew what to do about it, alright, it's just that his method of choice was to vary Larkin's famous "they fuck you up, your Mum and Dad, they may not mean to, but they do" into "and then you'll fuck up your brother, too". This isn't what Larkin meant by concluding that poem with "don't have any kids yourself", Fritz!
I would say at least Heinrich didn't hand down the trauma to the next generation, but taking it (at least somewhat) out on his wife isn't much better, so. Other self indeed.
OMG, this is Fritz/Voltaire levels of hateshipping, wow. This may even put them to shame. Wow wow wow
Well, it has that extra special family element. Also Fritz never did anything as serious to Voltaire as force him to marry, break the person Voltaire loves most who dies in his mind because of that, nor did he, conversely, form Voltaire's ideas about a great many things from literature to how to treat your unwanted wife. (Though I guess Voltaire did form several of Fritz' ideas by virtue of being his favourite writer.)
Silesia. He conquered Silesia. He couldn't even hold onto Bohemia or Saxony.
Which reminds me: as has been pointed out by biographers, Heinrich in his partition of Poland negotiations aquired more territory for Prussia diplomatically and thus without a single loss of (Prussian) life than Fritz managed in three Silesian wars. (I mean, it sucked for the Poles, and caused no end of trouble in European history, long term wise, but from a Prussian pov back then, this was awesome.) You can bet Heinrich pointed that out, too. Big Brother wasn't amused.
What. Why would you do that to your boyfriend?
My question exactly, which is why I had to share it. I assume T. thought Heinrich would consider it funny? Or maybe flattering, because the audience, when it noticed Heinrich was present, cheered both him and the Fritz actor with lots of Vive Frederic! Vive le frère du grand Frederic! calls. How that made Heinrich feel, I'll leave to your imagination.
That particular boyfriend also had managed the following saga:
T: So, I got my girlfriend, which yes, I had on the side, pregnant. We need money to marry. Pretty please?
H: ....Okay.
T's father and Fritz: WTF? Prussian nobles aren't allowed to marry without permission of the King! (See also: Marwitz, female edition.)
H: *keeps young T & pregnant wife from being punished, points out done is done and also there's an heir on the way, manages to achieve reconcilation*
Young Mrs. T: dies in childbirth, along with the baby
T: Woe! Comfort me!
H: *does so*
Anyway, Heinrich's romantic/sexual track record is the one thing which makes me at least consider the possibility Fritz wasn't acting purely out of spite in the four Marwitz (male) letters.
Oh, and not Ziebura, but older male historians going "why the very het Catherine and the very gay Heinrich went along so well is a complete mystery to us" clearly haven't heard of Elizabeth Taylor, which was the association I immediately had when reading about Heinrich's visits in Russia.
ETA: Meant to include this - when Fritz gave Heinrich permission to go to Paris the first time, it wasn't meant as a holiday, though of course both of them knew it would be a #lifegoal accomplished - Paris! -; Heinrich was actually there to try and woo the French away from their Austrian alliance, now that MT was dead.
(MA: come on. I know I'm not Mom, but I would never, ever, have let that happen! Joseph was counting on me!)
So, while they hash out final instructions and policies via letters, Fritz says, re: the French: "But let them come to you, don't fling yourself in their arms at the first sign of interest, the way you usually do."
Yep. That fraternal bitching is alive and well. (You can bet Fritz would have flung himself into proverbial French arms if he'd ever made it to Paris.)