And EC (supposedly scandalized by Algarotti once upon a time in Rheinsberg, but here not sounding scandalized at all)
You mean not scandalized by d'Argens as critic of the church, or not scandalized by the relationship with Babette? Or both?
Because if the former, then one, I only have unreliable modern sources for that; it could have not happened at all. But two, I actually can see a situational difference. At Rheinsberg, EC is interacting with Algarotti in the presence of Fritz, and Algarotti is trying to impress *Fritz*. And Algarotti could apparently be mocking enough to put Lehndorff off wanting to be in the same room with him. So EC's impression of Algarotti is going to be of someone who's highly critical of religion and doesn't mind saying so in the most snarky way possible.
Whereas d'Argens didn't come to Prussia until Fritz was king, i.e. living apart from EC. So any time he interacted with EC, odds are he was paying court to EC specifically, and probably made a point of not gratuitously offending the queen known for her piety.
So all that tells me is that d'Argens could code-switch.
Now, maybe EC loved Algarotti too, but given that Lehndorff didn't, it's quite possible EC *was* shocked by Algarotti.
At any rate, that is a lovely letter, and I'm glad that EC was gracious with the dancer-cum-actress. Reminds me a bit of Melanie Wilkes with Belle Watling.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Re: Mr. and Mrs. King: Fritz - Elisabeth Christine: The Correspondance
Date: 2020-01-25 10:52 pm (UTC)You mean not scandalized by d'Argens as critic of the church, or not scandalized by the relationship with Babette? Or both?
Because if the former, then one, I only have unreliable modern sources for that; it could have not happened at all. But two, I actually can see a situational difference. At Rheinsberg, EC is interacting with Algarotti in the presence of Fritz, and Algarotti is trying to impress *Fritz*. And Algarotti could apparently be mocking enough to put Lehndorff off wanting to be in the same room with him. So EC's impression of Algarotti is going to be of someone who's highly critical of religion and doesn't mind saying so in the most snarky way possible.
Whereas d'Argens didn't come to Prussia until Fritz was king, i.e. living apart from EC. So any time he interacted with EC, odds are he was paying court to EC specifically, and probably made a point of not gratuitously offending the queen known for her piety.
So all that tells me is that d'Argens could code-switch.
Now, maybe EC loved Algarotti too, but given that Lehndorff didn't, it's quite possible EC *was* shocked by Algarotti.
At any rate, that is a lovely letter, and I'm glad that EC was gracious with the dancer-cum-actress. Reminds me a bit of Melanie Wilkes with Belle Watling.