this did not work, because towards Wilhelmine, he sounds as jaundiced about dear old Dad as ever.
"One can compel by force some poor wretch to utter a certain form of words, yet he will deny to it his inner consent; thus the persecutor has gained nothing" doesn't just apply to religion! It also works for messed-up family dynamics.
By the way, MacDonogh gives the siblings a hard time for their letters that make it clear they're hoping FW dies soon:
During the period of the king’s illness, the tone of Frederick’s correspondence with Wilhelmina took on a sinister, anticipatory air as they waited for the not so old man to die. The letters read like a couple of Hollywood villains planning to murder a rich relative.
And this just makes me so angry. He tried running away from his abuser and things just got a million times worse! Death is the only hope of escape he's got now. I cannot blame either of them for looking forward to it.
Note that Wilhelmine in her memoirs also mentions people keep telling her through the 1730s Fritz has cooled off on her and later that he doesn't love her anymore.
Fritz's letters to her also reflect this: "Stop believing I don't love you! Have some more faith in me!"
And that's leaving aside SD as testified by Seckendorff Jr. badmouthing her daughter to her Father. That family...
:-(
No wonder Fritz turned into the very model of a modern Hohenzollern therapist.
Re: Katte!
"One can compel by force some poor wretch to utter a certain form of words, yet he will deny to it his inner consent; thus the persecutor has gained nothing" doesn't just apply to religion! It also works for messed-up family dynamics.
By the way, MacDonogh gives the siblings a hard time for their letters that make it clear they're hoping FW dies soon:
During the period of the king’s illness, the tone of Frederick’s correspondence with Wilhelmina took on a sinister, anticipatory air as they waited for the not so old man to die. The letters read like a couple of Hollywood villains planning to murder a rich relative.
And this just makes me so angry. He tried running away from his abuser and things just got a million times worse! Death is the only hope of escape he's got now. I cannot blame either of them for looking forward to it.
Note that Wilhelmine in her memoirs also mentions people keep telling her through the 1730s Fritz has cooled off on her and later that he doesn't love her anymore.
Fritz's letters to her also reflect this: "Stop believing I don't love you! Have some more faith in me!"
And that's leaving aside SD as testified by Seckendorff Jr. badmouthing her daughter to her Father. That family...
:-(
No wonder Fritz turned into the very model of a modern Hohenzollern therapist.