Frederick the Great discussion post 15

[cahn]

...I have nothing clever to say here, just really pleased this is still going :)
rheinsberg

Comments

[selenak]

Mes amies, since you‘ve now both read the Ziebura biography - I don‘t recall it mentioning what Heinrich‘s Thiébault-mentioned dislike of Henri de Catt was all about, or when it started. Now, Thiébault is speaking from the pov of someone who only met both partes after the 7 Years War and mostly associates them with their 1770s selves. So it might just be on general „I dislike people who are that fannish about my brother after having known him for years!“ principle. I used to think on general „yeah, that into my brother = indifference/dislike“ principle, but then I realised Heinrich actually is on record for liking a couple of Fritz devoted people of the literary persuasion - Darget, the Abbé Prades, and if you believe him Thiebault himself - and of the non literary type - see him befriending the initially so suspicious Andrew Mitchell (and paying for his bust in the Dortheenstädter Kirche after his death). So young Henri de Catt being starry-eyed about Fritz by itself is no reason for Heinrich to dislike him. (If, that is, he did already during the war and it didn‘t come to be afterwards.)

Possible reasons: at least somewhat based on canon:

- Andrew Mitchell‘s withering „the vainest, most silly“ etc. assessment of de Catt from the 1760s was also Heinrich‘s impression (but then: even discounting Catt‘s exaggarations, Fritz WAS fond of him, so I‘m assuming he was more likeable than that in general

- Heinrich met Henri de Catt in 1758, after AW‘s death. This is not the year where Heinrich is given to great tolerance of Fritz worship, and it may have just rubbed him incredibly the wrong way, while Catt, for his part, could have somewhat grandiosely but good naturedly, believing himself to the the King‘s sole true confidant, decided he just needed to tell Heinrich how much his brother really loved the family in general and AW in particular, could have gotten his head bitten off for his trouble and decided that yeah, no, this is one Hohenzollern whom I‘ll stay away from

- Catt, pre-empting his later tendency as a memoirs writer, hears Heinrich‘s childhood story about Dad‘s homecoming, and two weeks later Heinrich by accident overhears Catt telling someone else this very story - as something Fritz told him. Presto dislike.

Other/same ideas?

[cahn]

Since you told me about Mitchell, I had always figured that that's what everyone else (except, I guess, Fritz) thought about him too. (I also figured Heinrich liked Mitchell simply because I, personally, think both of them are awesome. Which of course means zilch about whether they would like each other, but I am glad to see my assumption is correct :D )

just needed to tell Heinrich how much his brother really loved the family in general and AW in particular

But... yeah, I really like this one, actually. I could imagine Heinrich forming an instant dislike just from that. And then realizing he was kind of vain and silly from there.