I'm still baffled why FW never discovered masturbation himself as a boy, unless the Calvinist teacher who put the fear of God and predestination into him also covered the subject with a mighty DON'T DO IT OR YOU WILL GO TO HELL and young FW was suitably impressed and didn't.
That's exactly what I think happened! He had the self-control to resist the sin of Onanism, his son was given proper religious instruction, QED. I mean! It's a sin! Right? Why would you do it?
Since he was an only child, and really seems to have be utterly caught by surprise that Fritz given the same education would not be just like him, the idea tat different children and youths could respond differently seems to have been new to FW.
Yep. I'm thinking of him giving Fritz the same French governess he had and expecting Fritz to somehow arrive at the same conclusion of the superiority of German, given the same upbringing. FW comes across as parentally naive in some ways.
I admit my theory is entirely a house of cards, but Peter's dismissal on the same day as Fritz's sudden need to be supervised by his governor at age 18, and the younger boys' sexual supervision starting at a much younger age makes me want to connect the dots in the same way as you cleverly connected the dots between the last child's birth, the locking up of SD's favorite son, and the sudden breakdown in FW's commitment to no extramarital sex.
...This is way more insight into FW's sex life (and lack thereof) than I frankly ever expected to have.
Re: The STD thread
That's exactly what I think happened! He had the self-control to resist the sin of Onanism, his son was given proper religious instruction, QED. I mean! It's a sin! Right? Why would you do it?
Since he was an only child, and really seems to have be utterly caught by surprise that Fritz given the same education would not be just like him, the idea tat different children and youths could respond differently seems to have been new to FW.
Yep. I'm thinking of him giving Fritz the same French governess he had and expecting Fritz to somehow arrive at the same conclusion of the superiority of German, given the same upbringing. FW comes across as parentally naive in some ways.
I admit my theory is entirely a house of cards, but Peter's dismissal on the same day as Fritz's sudden need to be supervised by his governor at age 18, and the younger boys' sexual supervision starting at a much younger age makes me want to connect the dots in the same way as you cleverly connected the dots between the last child's birth, the locking up of SD's favorite son, and the sudden breakdown in FW's commitment to no extramarital sex.
...This is way more insight into FW's sex life (and lack thereof) than I frankly ever expected to have.