SD: Mina, my favorite daughter! Amalie: Excuse me?! Wilhelmine: Tell me about it.
A+ parenting, SD.
That's all I got for today. I've only just gotten to the part where Ziebura is describing how Mina came from an artistic, Francophilic background, in contrast to the Brunswick sisters. Going to read more Sons tonight, and *not* feel like I'm behind on comments, yay.
That's why I hope Wilhelmine and Amalie had the chance during Wilhelmine's visits to Berlin to talk a deux, because Wilhelmine was really the only one in that family whom Amalie could have talked to about SD without having to fear being chided about not considering her mother the most wonderful.
Also, have you got to the part where Mina's uncle the Landgraf of Hesse-Kassel entrusts her with a secret mission to Fritz, specifically, that Fritz should keep his son (also called Friedrich, because hey, we don't have enough of those), the future Landgraf of Hesse, who had secretly become a Catholic at Potsdam to remove him from evil Catholic influence, and Fritz said, well, sure, if you send a few reliable people along to prevent newly Catholic Hesse Fritz from escaping, for: "Er wolle nicht die Verantwortung für einen Fluchtversuch des Prinzen übernehmen." I bet he didn't.
Read up through the first evacuation to Magdeburg, where EC is getting to visit Sanssouci.
selenak, you've now been to Sanssouci more times than EC. (I've been the same number of times, but am going to remedy that, I swear.)
OTOH, you've now been to Katte's grave more often than Fritz! (Also going to remedy that.)
As further German practice, I also did a couple pages of Wilhelmine's memoirs, but it's a little harder going than Sons was. Though I feel like it's still within my range, and I will try to keep at it.
Prince August Wilhelm was particularly fond of her and told his brother Ferdinand that anyone who stayed in her room would come out rejuvenated.
AW, I'm blaming you that I sniggered at this line. :P
With his wise choice Heinrich had achieved that he and his wife, flanked by their two charming ladies-in-waiting, only ever met in company, which was often joined by his sister Amalie and his brothers. In this way he was able to avoid any intimate togetherness, apparently quite casually.
Aw man, Heinrich, you put the "problematic" in "problematic fave."
she was far too clever to hide her insecure position at court
That makes a lot of sense!
Google translate translated "Gnadenbeweise" as "mercy-clones," lol. Maybe I should ask for a SF-inflected Frederician AU for Yuletide after all :P
Karoline had been married to the younger brother of Tsarina Catherine the Great, Prince Friedrich August von Anhalt-Zerbst, who was completely under the thumb of his mother, who treated her daughter-in-law very badly.
Wait... having read ahead to Caroline's death which was apparently of abuse... her mother-in-law was the instigator of the abuse that killed her?? Geesh.
I like how everyone uses Cothenius as this way of getting news to Fritz :P
I like that Mina had girlfriends! I hope some of them stuck by her later :( (I've read far enough to know that many don't.)
She was much more sensitive that her husband did not approve of her loving, tender way of bringing up children.
Louise: So I thought I'd, you know, love my kids -- AW: What kind of family do you think you married into, anyway? Love your kids? That makes no sense to me, unless by "love" you mean "abuse."
(I know, AW was the one who actually got affection! But even for him it was highly dysfunctional.)
Wait... having read ahead to Caroline's death which was apparently of abuse... her mother-in-law was the instigator of the abuse that killed her?? Geesh.
Well, said mother-in-law, according to Catherine, thought it was a great idea that her (i.e. Johanna von Zerbst-Anhalt's) brother "romanced" young Sophie in secret: "He got me to agree to marry him, if my parents did not object. I later came to the conclusion that my mother knew all about this. It was impossible for her not to notice the passes he made at me, and if she hadn't agreed with this, she would surely not have permitted the many visits he paid me. These conclusions, however, were drawn by me many years later; back then I did not suspect this. After my agreement, my uncle threw himself into the force of his passion, which was enormous; he was forever lurking and waiting for the moments to kiss me, he knew how to made them happen, though these, and a few tender embraces were all that happened, otherwise it was quite innocent.
Now keep in mind Sophie was 14 when she left Zerbst and Prussia, went to Russia and became Catherine, and for the last year, whwen the future Czar became an option, her mother did nix any other suitor. So, even keeping in mind that royal uncle/niece marriages were a thing, I had a pretty jaundiced opinion of Catherine's mother and Caroline's mother-in-law anyway. (She also was Ulrike's sister-in-law, since her brother was Ulrike's husband, the Swedish king.)
Indeed. Also, I just realised my phrasing was a bit misleading at one point, so I need to clarify - Johanna, Catherine‘s mother, had several brothers, not just one. The one Ulrike was married to, the King of Sweden, was NOT the groper, that was an unmarried younger brother who was still around in the German states to visit his niece and „romance“ her. Just to make this crystal clear. Btw, as a reminder, Ulrike‘s husband was voted into his job (as crown prince, then King) because the previous Swedish royal dynasty, the Vasas, had ended with Queen Christina converting to Catholicism and calling it quits. Which is how the German Holstein bunch ended up on the Swedish throne until Napoleon, when Gustav‘s scheming younger brother in his old age adopted, or was made to adopt, Napoleonic marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. (Current Swedish royalty are still the Bernadottes.)
One reason why even Royalist Lehndorff thinks Ulrike and her husband should not habve attempted that coup thing is that they literally owe their crown to a vote by Swedish parliament.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: No Pity for the Wives readthrough - Mina
Date: 2020-09-11 12:14 am (UTC)Amalie: Excuse me?!
Wilhelmine: Tell me about it.
A+ parenting, SD.
That's all I got for today. I've only just gotten to the part where Ziebura is describing how Mina came from an artistic, Francophilic background, in contrast to the Brunswick sisters. Going to read more Sons tonight, and *not* feel like I'm behind on comments, yay.
Re: No Pity for the Wives readthrough - Mina
Date: 2020-09-11 06:48 am (UTC)Also, have you got to the part where Mina's uncle the Landgraf of Hesse-Kassel entrusts her with a secret mission to Fritz, specifically, that Fritz should keep his son (also called Friedrich, because hey, we don't have enough of those), the future Landgraf of Hesse, who had secretly become a Catholic at Potsdam to remove him from evil Catholic influence, and Fritz said, well, sure, if you send a few reliable people along to prevent newly Catholic Hesse Fritz from escaping, for: "Er wolle nicht die Verantwortung für einen Fluchtversuch des Prinzen übernehmen." I bet he didn't.
Re: No Pity for the Wives readthrough - Mina
Date: 2020-09-12 04:38 pm (UTC)Yes, Fritz, we know. If you can't escape, no one gets to escape.
Re: No Pity for the Wives readthrough - Mina
Date: 2020-09-12 03:38 am (UTC)OTOH, you've now been to Katte's grave more often than Fritz! (Also going to remedy that.)
As further German practice, I also did a couple pages of Wilhelmine's memoirs, but it's a little harder going than Sons was. Though I feel like it's still within my range, and I will try to keep at it.
Re: No Pity for the Wives readthrough - Mina
Date: 2020-09-14 05:29 am (UTC)Mm. Gonna guess you regretted that one, Heinrich.
Prince August Wilhelm was particularly fond of her and told his brother Ferdinand that anyone who stayed in her room would come out rejuvenated.
AW, I'm blaming you that I sniggered at this line. :P
With his wise choice Heinrich had achieved that he and his wife, flanked by their two charming ladies-in-waiting, only ever met in company, which was often joined by his sister Amalie and his brothers. In this way he was able to avoid any intimate togetherness, apparently quite casually.
Aw man, Heinrich, you put the "problematic" in "problematic fave."
she was far too clever to hide her insecure position at court
That makes a lot of sense!
Google translate translated "Gnadenbeweise" as "mercy-clones," lol. Maybe I should ask for a SF-inflected Frederician AU for Yuletide after all :P
Karoline had been married to the younger brother of Tsarina Catherine the Great, Prince Friedrich August von Anhalt-Zerbst, who was completely under the thumb of his mother, who treated her daughter-in-law very badly.
Wait... having read ahead to Caroline's death which was apparently of abuse... her mother-in-law was the instigator of the abuse that killed her?? Geesh.
I like how everyone uses Cothenius as this way of getting news to Fritz :P
I like that Mina had girlfriends! I hope some of them stuck by her later :( (I've read far enough to know that many don't.)
She was much more sensitive that her husband did not approve of her loving, tender way of bringing up children.
Louise: So I thought I'd, you know, love my kids --
AW: What kind of family do you think you married into, anyway? Love your kids? That makes no sense to me, unless by "love" you mean "abuse."
(I know, AW was the one who actually got affection! But even for him it was highly dysfunctional.)
Re: No Pity for the Wives readthrough - Mina
Date: 2020-09-14 08:05 am (UTC)Well, said mother-in-law, according to Catherine, thought it was a great idea that her (i.e. Johanna von Zerbst-Anhalt's) brother "romanced" young Sophie in secret: "He got me to agree to marry him, if my parents did not object. I later came to the conclusion that my mother knew all about this. It was impossible for her not to notice the passes he made at me, and if she hadn't agreed with this, she would surely not have permitted the many visits he paid me. These conclusions, however, were drawn by me many years later; back then I did not suspect this. After my agreement, my uncle threw himself into the force of his passion, which was enormous; he was forever lurking and waiting for the moments to kiss me, he knew how to made them happen, though these, and a few tender embraces were all that happened, otherwise it was quite innocent.
Now keep in mind Sophie was 14 when she left Zerbst and Prussia, went to Russia and became Catherine, and for the last year, whwen the future Czar became an option, her mother did nix any other suitor. So, even keeping in mind that royal uncle/niece marriages were a thing, I had a pretty jaundiced opinion of Catherine's mother and Caroline's mother-in-law anyway. (She also was Ulrike's sister-in-law, since her brother was Ulrike's husband, the Swedish king.)
Re: No Pity for the Wives readthrough - Mina
Date: 2020-09-15 04:50 am (UTC)OK, with the caveat that we're just getting this from Catherine's pov -- no, really, WHAT.
Wow, talk about terrible mother-in-laws. And mothers.
Re: No Pity for the Wives readthrough - Mina
Date: 2020-09-15 05:38 am (UTC)One reason why even Royalist Lehndorff thinks Ulrike and her husband should not habve attempted that coup thing is that they literally owe their crown to a vote by Swedish parliament.