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Frederick the Great, discussion post 16
We have slowed down a lot, but are still (sporadically) going! And somehow filled up the last post while I wasn't looking!
...I was asked to start a new thread so that STDs could be discussed. Really! :D
...I was asked to start a new thread so that STDs could be discussed. Really! :D
Re: Not his type?
Point very much taken, and very plausible indeed.
Now of course I have to ask: do you think Fritz had a type? Given we have much more data, but also that the more steady boyfriends richly varied in personality, on a scale from Peter Keith to Voltaire?
Re: Not his type?
Point very much taken, and very plausible indeed.
I like it as an explanation because it fits with the rest of Heinrich's personality, and isn't an ad hoc proposal that runs counter to the rest of his personality. Not to say that just because it fits Occam's Razor it's right, but I find it plausible. The one thing I see in Heinrich's life is a lot of taking responsibility and trying to solve problems even when it was an uphill battle--this is "the fly in the carriage" guy. And with the three most WTF guys, Kalckreuth, Mara, and Kaphengst, it's clear he saw a lot of potential there and wanted them to live up to it.
Now of course I have to ask: do you think Fritz had a type? Given we have much more data, but also that the more steady boyfriends richly varied in personality, on a scale from Peter Keith to Voltaire?
Interesting question! And lol, that's such a great scale.
The first and most obvious thing they all the steady boyfriends we know of had in common was being intellectuals or intellectually inclined. Algarotti and Voltaire are obvious; Peter Keith was a member of and curator at the Academy of Sciences and apparently spent all his time in exile reading books and studying languages; Wilhelmine says even after he joined the army, Katte kept up his studies on his own; Suhm not only translated Wolff for Fritz, but Fritz seems to have seen him as one of his main teachers of philosophy; Fredersdorf, who had the fewest educational opportunities of them all, impressed Lehndorff with how this guy from the back end of Pomerania managed to make up his educational deficiencies with such success.
They definitely ran the gamut of introversion to extraversion. Keith, Suhm, and Fredersdorf I would put more on the introverted side, Katte, Algarotti, and Voltaire on the more charismatic and witty side. Keith is probably on the far end of introversion, and Suhm's and Fredersdorf's job descriptions indicate they were likely to be a little more sociable than Keith.
One thing that comes to mind that they must have had in common, even where we lack direct evidence, is positive reinforcement for Fritz. Hille was saying in 1731 that the way to Fritz's heart was through praise. Catt said the same thing in 17whatever. (He had Fritz say it, but whether Fritz did or not, it's definitely something Catt observed.) So praise, reassurance, and/or kindness. We have evidence for heavy amounts of praise from the correspondence with Voltaire (SO MUCH praise), Algarotti, and Suhm. The thrust of Katte's words is skewed toward criticism by the nature of the evidence, but if you look at his *actions*, the devotion couldn't have been more obvious. Plus we do see from his testimony that he was someone Fritz would come to when he was crying and needed comfort. Keith comes across as just incredibly wholesome, plus his actions (pre 1742) show devotion to Fritz. And even given the way he had to be formal in correspondence, Fredersdorf's actions show devotion, and a certain amount of affection comes through even in the letters. So I have to conclude Fritz liked praise and verbal affection, even if he and Voltaire got addicted to each other's dysfunction.
What I've always found interesting is that the presence of intellect and an interest in book learning (more indirectly in Fredersdorf's case) is mandatory, but music and poetry seem to be optional, with Suhm and Keith as the exceptions. Now, as 18th century nobles, they might have been able to produce a few tunes on an instrument in front of friends, but it doesn't seem to have formed part of their relationship with Fritz, is what I'm saying.
Ages seem to have ranged from significantly older than Fritz to close contemporaries (Keith 8 months older, Algarotti 10 months younger), with the ones younger than Fritz being, as far as I can tell, flirtations/sexual at best (Marwitz, Glasow, possible handsome hussars). This is consistent with most of Fritz's close relationships being with people half a generation to a generation older than he was. Yeah, even George Keith, Earl of Marischal, one of the few friends of Fritz's late years, was a full 20 years older than Fritz. I suppose his readers tended to be younger.
Conventional attractiveness: Yes for Fredersdorf and Algarotti. No for Voltaire and apparently Katte. Unknown for Suhm. Opinions seem to vary on Keith, but the cross-eyedness evidently took some getting used to. (Between not just FW putting it in his wanted description, but both Lehndorff and Formey feeling the need to mention it after his death, and Formey's "it wasn't that bad once you got used to it!", I feel it must have been pretty damn noticeable before you got used to it. Lehndorff's "not as noticeable as in most such cases" notwithstanding--I think Lehndorff got used to it.)
None of them were military men, or not really. Katte and Keith only under duress, and neither distinguished himself. Fredersdorf got out as soon as he had a chance. Keith, the only one with a real service record, seems to have joined the Portuguese army during a time of peace in order to get a paycheck while he stayed in a country where he liked the climate and wanted to study Romance languages. Rejoined the Prussian army only out of peer pressure in 1742, stayed home in 1756, and never got a promotion after Fritz became king, but did get a lot of civilian administrative and logistical responsibilities.
Three of them were foreigners, which is consistent with the resentment at Fritz's court for the preference shown to foreigners. And come to think of it, Katte being well-traveled and cosmopolitan was a major source of Fritz's attraction to him. And Keith, as we've noticed, jumped at the chance to get out of Prussia, even though he hadn't seen Fritz in several months, and there's no evidence he put up resistance beforehand, and he's the first one for whom we have evidence that he was involved in an escape attempt. This leaves Fredersdorf as the exception.
But yeah, I think that's what I've got: kindness/praise (less kindness from Voltaire, but whoa praise), and intellect. Music/art/poetry a major plus but apparently not necessary, at least not when Fritz was younger. Ditto charisma and wit.
Keith and Voltaire were definitely the most different! (Oh, tangentially, I've also now seen that the Academy voted *unanimously* in Maupertuis's favor in the big showdown, so that includes Maupertuis' friend and protégé Peter Keith. :P)
Re: Not his type?
Also *nods* It would be totally unsurprising to me that Fritz came out of his childhood with an addiction to praise and positive verbal reinforcement.
Re: Not his type?
*stares pointedly at Fritz*
Re: Not his type?
Thank you for the thorough write-up on the steady boyfriends and their shared traits. Also, poor EC. Even had she had the right gender, the only one of these she could have delivered was kindness/praise.
Re: Not his type?
I don't know if anyone knew when they voted just how involved Fritz would end up getting, but Maupertuis *was* their boss and on good terms with the King, and Voltaire was the interloper, so there's that.
ETA: Now that I've checked the dates again, I see that when they first voted, Voltaire wasn't really involved yet. He got involved after the decision.