I was wondering why on earth Fritz can write this about Rottembourg to Wilhelmine and what he wrote about Suhm to Algarotti but nothing about Fredersdorf to anyone.
I still don't have another explanation than class in combination with nature of the relationship. It would be better if we had comparative data, of Course, but I can't think of another non-noble Fritz was emotionally close to and survived, whom he could or could not have mentioned in his correspondance.
Incidentally: other than Henri de Catt, is he on the record with talking about Katte to anyone? Because given Catt's diary does not mention Katte and I've been busy side-eying him a bit in terms of reliability. Getting Fritz to talk about Küstrin and Katte is surely the holy grail of memoirists, which could also be why de Catt's general realiability hasn't been questioned more by modern biographers (unlike that of Wilhelmine). They don't want to give up those quotes, because otherwise I guess there are no other.
What I'm getting at: just consider the possibility: if Henri de Catt did invent the Katte statements - whether based on Voltaire's briefer version or not - , then we suddenly have shared parameters again, between Fredersdorf and Katte, as in, Fritz does not talk about either, with anyone.
Biche and the disappeared letter(s): thank you so much for taking the trouble to reupload them! I see the Biche's death letter also has another Voltaire mention (as in, he's the worst, absolute scum, it's only his mind that still seduces me, the word "seduce" being used). If Fritz in the early 1750s is hit by the double whammy of losing his beloved dog and having his relationship with Voltaire implode, yikes.
Haha. I often wonder what these people were smoking, but now I literally wonder what they were smoking! Medicinal cannabis wasn't a thing in Europe yet, or was it?
Honesty, I don't know. But opiates in general already were, I think. (Though the century where everyone is on opium in one form or another is the 19th. Seriously. They even put it in calming syrups for children.) And since I doubt the spa doctors had Wilhelmine smoke tobacco…
But waybe it was just something like waterpipes, to clean out the lungs and nostrils with steam.
Re: Fritz and Wilhelmine Correspondance, Trier Version III - Three Funerals and a Wedding
I still don't have another explanation than class in combination with nature of the relationship. It would be better if we had comparative data, of Course, but I can't think of another non-noble Fritz was emotionally close to and survived, whom he could or could not have mentioned in his correspondance.
Incidentally: other than Henri de Catt, is he on the record with talking about Katte to anyone? Because given Catt's diary does not mention Katte and I've been busy side-eying him a bit in terms of reliability.
Getting Fritz to talk about Küstrin and Katte is surely the holy grail of memoirists, which could also be why de Catt's general realiability hasn't been questioned more by modern biographers (unlike that of Wilhelmine). They don't want to give up those quotes, because otherwise I guess there are no other.
What I'm getting at: just consider the possibility: if Henri de Catt did invent the Katte statements - whether based on Voltaire's briefer version or not - , then we suddenly have shared parameters again, between Fredersdorf and Katte, as in, Fritz does not talk about either, with anyone.
Biche and the disappeared letter(s): thank you so much for taking the trouble to reupload them! I see the Biche's death letter also has another Voltaire mention (as in, he's the worst, absolute scum, it's only his mind that still seduces me, the word "seduce" being used). If Fritz in the early 1750s is hit by the double whammy of losing his beloved dog and having his relationship with Voltaire implode, yikes.
Haha. I often wonder what these people were smoking, but now I literally wonder what they were smoking! Medicinal cannabis wasn't a thing in Europe yet, or was it?
Honesty, I don't know. But opiates in general already were, I think. (Though the century where everyone is on opium in one form or another is the 19th. Seriously. They even put it in calming syrups for children.) And since I doubt the spa doctors had Wilhelmine smoke tobacco…
But waybe it was just something like waterpipes, to clean out the lungs and nostrils with steam.