Frederick the Great, discussion post 6

[cahn]

...I think we need another one (seriously, you guys, this is THE BEST) and I'd better make it now before I disappear into the wilds of music performance.

(also, as of this week there are two Frederician fics in the yuletide archive and eeeeeeeeeee)
(huh, only one of them is actually tagged with Frederick the Great even though two with Maria Theresia and Wilhelmine, eeeeeee this is awesome I CAN'T WAIT)

Frederick the Great masterpost

Comments

Re: Lehndorff: The Bitter Years

[mildred_of_midgard]

I meant to say, I haven't obtained volumes 2 and 3 yet, but am hoping to this weekend, since my friend and I have plans to chat, and I will ask.

I have downloaded the 2-page foreword to volume 2 and shared it with you, since I have page-by-page download access. I could pick through it and try to answer your question...but it seems faster just to send it to you. ;)

Re: Lehndorff: The Bitter Years

[selenak]

Thank you! I can now report that the Editor speaks thusly:

Dear 1907 readers, since you all want more Lehndorff, I'm happy to tell you that

a) I'll publish the missing entries from years 1750 to 1765 in our ongoing historical magazine, which I'm sure you're all reading and paying for, and

b) Volume 2 contains his remaining journals from 1766 to his retirement.

...Editor! I mean!

Re: Lehndorff: The Bitter Years

[mildred_of_midgard]

No, wait! I think we're in luck! It's weird, but volume 2 actually says "Band 1" on the title page, and volume 3 says "Band 2." Oh, both are Nachträge, supplements, that makes sense.

Anyway, volume 2 (aka Band 1 of the Nachträge) definitely starts with a 1750 entry that doesn't seem to be in volume 1 and I see 1764 near the end, and volume 3 (aka Band 2) starts with 1766. Idk what this is about a historical magazine, but I think we're good.

1907 readers, I'm so proud of you! You did good! I guess all the waterworks didn't turn you off. :P

Anyway, will try to get these over to you asap!

Re: Lehndorff: The Bitter Years

[selenak]

Great, thank you! Also, have been meaning to say:

t just has to be *his* idea; you can't force it on him

This reminds me of Ziebura's speculation re: how Fritz thought the whole AW saga would play out - obviously not with AW' s early death. Ziebura thinks that consiidering his personality and the precedent of his estrangement pus reconcililiation with Wilhelmine, not to mention the precedent of his own experience with FW, Fritz expected AW to make eventually a complete submission, i.e. a "you were right, I was wrong, it was all my fault, please forgive me!" and that if AW had done that, Fritz would have played the generous older brother and reinstalled AW in his favor again. But a) AW had his own inner stubborn Hohenzollern, b) his own experience with FW had in no way prepared him for complete submission, because it had never been required, c) otoh FW had conditioned him to regard military honor as the highest of masculine values, and Fritz had just completely destroyed that for AW, and c) Wilhelmine had been selective in her "you were right, I was wrong" submission - she said that about Marwitz (female) and Marwitz only, not about all the other reasons for their estrangement, plus as a woman she'd been socialized differently, she knew you could come back from having submitted and admitted fault.

So, massive miscalculation on Fritz' part. And while AW's death had a medical cause, all the descriptions of it are clear on the fact that it was a massive struggle with Amalie because she wanted him to live and he wanted to die, so it was argument after argument to make him allow doctors in at all, him kicking them out again, Amalie begging and shouting at him to at least try this and that remedy and let them see him again, etc. So: he probably wouldn't have shot himself (aka the thing FW thought was the right thing to do when your father/brother has told all and sunder he thinks you are a dishonorable fuck up) , but he clearly did want to die and took the opportunity once it arose. (That the subsequent pathology report showed blood in the brain, which meant all those remedies wouldn't have helped, was another matter - none of them knew that during those last terrible days.)

Re: Lehndorff: The Bitter Years

[mildred_of_midgard]

Ugh. This all seems very plausible to me.

Re: Lehndorff: The Bitter Years

[cahn]

gahhhh, it seems very plausible to me too :(