Because reasons, I was rereading the letters Fritz wrote to Wilhelmine in November and December 1731, i.e. the ones both before and after seeing her again at her wedding. Now, in letters earlier this year, he had explicitly told her not to marry even if she's blackmailed with the prospect of his release. However, in the November letter before the wedding (which includes a poem he's written for the wedding, because of course it does), he explicitly calls her among other things "my liberator", and in the letter from early December where he sort of apologizes for having been distant, he uses the term again.
Most beloved sister! When the Erbprinz (i.e. her new husband) visited me on Tuesday (December 4th), I sadly could not write a goodbye letter to you. But, dearest liberator, I really did not have the time! I was deeply saddened at having to leave you after such a brief reunion already, without knowing when we will see each other again. I did notice that you were doubting my love for you, but I promise you it didn't lessen. Unfortunately, I am lacking any opportunity to prove it to you. But be assured that I don't feel any less than you do. For how shouldn't and couldn't I ignore how kind you were to me after I caused misfortune to my entire family through the foolishness I committed, and how I pushed you into misery! You should have hated me, fool that I was, as the cause of your sufferings, but instead you nobly sacrificed yourself to help me out of this labyrinth. NO, dearest sister, I will never be worthy of the benevolence you have shown. What should I sacrifice for you? What should I suffer for you? I'm ready to do anything. May God give me the opportunity to prove my friendship and devotion to you! Incomparable sister, please don't insult me by doubting me. Otherwise you would slander me by making me look someone who breaks his word, and is unnatural and ungrateful to boot. My heart is yours - yours and the Queen's entirely. (...) Attached is a letter for the Queen and one for your husband with a thousand kisses. Please, rob him of his disbelief in my friendship. Tell him that it is enough that he now owns my heart and is thus as dear to me as my eyes are, and that consequently I have to love him. Moreover, his good qualities have won my entire respect. I write this letter without compliments as a sincere brother to his beloved sister. This is what I hope to receive from you. In any case, I swear to you before God that I will not be blessed or ever see His Face if not every word is coming from my soul. I adore you and love you a thousand times more than I love myself, but never as much as you deserve, for no one can. Farewell! Until death, I am completely and entirely yours. P.S. I alreayd have enlightened many about your husband the Erbprinz and asure you I will do everything to convince everyone of the truth. Principessa (his flute, remember) is kneeling at your feet and kisses the hands of her Prince Belly (her lute).
Okay, aside from all the Rococo emo, and the fact that when he writes this letter, neither of them is yet free of supervision (since Wilhelmine is still in Berlin and hasn't yet left for Bayreuth), which means it could potentially be read and he knows it, it would argue he does make a connection between the better conditions of this late stage of his Küstrin time (plus the permission to travel to Berlin, and later as we know to Frankfurt an der Oder), possibly his eventual liberty, and her marriage, despite having said a few months earlier that any claim he'll do better/get released if she marries BayreuthFriedrich is untrue. Also, it fits of course with Wilhelmine's own description of their brief reunion at her wedding in the memoirs and Stratemann's several descriptions (the original one with "and there was much rejoicing", and the later ones where he mentions rumor has it the Crown Prince has been rude and distant to "people" at the wedding. Not to mention with Grumbkow's pointed advice from August 1731 to put up boundaries with Wilhelmine if he wants FW to like him again.
Now, we know from Wilhelmine that the same Grumbkow told her that FW was shocked, just shocked, that Fritz was all of a sudden so distant to her. And of course due to the inherent possiblity of censorship in this situation, see above, Fritz can't evidently tell her about this earlier demand. My questions are these:
a) Does Fritz sincerely believe Wilhelmine's agreement to the marriage is responsible for his improving situation, or is he just aware she thinks so and wants to keep her in this belief, since the situation is still bad enough? (He probably noticed at the wedding of how unhappy Mom now is with her.)
b) Conversely, is there some hidden (subconscious or conscious) resentment on his part (because she can't see he had to fake it, because she married which he didn't want, possibly because she was against his escape plan, and thus he puts it on extra strong?
c) Since Fritz even in this late stage isn't presumably surrounded by "many" people hating on BayreuthFriedrich who have to be enlightened about him, he's presumably talking in code about Mom, right?
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Letters from Küstrin
Date: 2021-11-06 05:34 pm (UTC)Most beloved sister! When the Erbprinz (i.e. her new husband) visited me on Tuesday (December 4th), I sadly could not write a goodbye letter to you. But, dearest liberator, I really did not have the time! I was deeply saddened at having to leave you after such a brief reunion already, without knowing when we will see each other again. I did notice that you were doubting my love for you, but I promise you it didn't lessen. Unfortunately, I am lacking any opportunity to prove it to you. But be assured that I don't feel any less than you do. For how shouldn't and couldn't I ignore how kind you were to me after I caused misfortune to my entire family through the foolishness I committed, and how I pushed you into misery! You should have hated me, fool that I was, as the cause of your sufferings, but instead you nobly sacrificed yourself to help me out of this labyrinth. NO, dearest sister, I will never be worthy of the benevolence you have shown. What should I sacrifice for you? What should I suffer for you? I'm ready to do anything. May God give me the opportunity to prove my friendship and devotion to you! Incomparable sister, please don't insult me by doubting me. Otherwise you would slander me by making me look someone who breaks his word, and is unnatural and ungrateful to boot. My heart is yours - yours and the Queen's entirely. (...)
Attached is a letter for the Queen and one for your husband with a thousand kisses. Please, rob him of his disbelief in my friendship. Tell him that it is enough that he now owns my heart and is thus as dear to me as my eyes are, and that consequently I have to love him. Moreover, his good qualities have won my entire respect.
I write this letter without compliments as a sincere brother to his beloved sister. This is what I hope to receive from you. In any case, I swear to you before God that I will not be blessed or ever see His Face if not every word is coming from my soul. I adore you and love you a thousand times more than I love myself, but never as much as you deserve, for no one can. Farewell! Until death, I am completely and entirely yours. P.S. I alreayd have enlightened many about your husband the Erbprinz and asure you I will do everything to convince everyone of the truth. Principessa (his flute, remember) is kneeling at your feet and kisses the hands of her Prince Belly (her lute).
Okay, aside from all the Rococo emo, and the fact that when he writes this letter, neither of them is yet free of supervision (since Wilhelmine is still in Berlin and hasn't yet left for Bayreuth), which means it could potentially be read and he knows it, it would argue he does make a connection between the better conditions of this late stage of his Küstrin time (plus the permission to travel to Berlin, and later as we know to Frankfurt an der Oder), possibly his eventual liberty, and her marriage, despite having said a few months earlier that any claim he'll do better/get released if she marries BayreuthFriedrich is untrue. Also, it fits of course with Wilhelmine's own description of their brief reunion at her wedding in the memoirs and Stratemann's several descriptions (the original one with "and there was much rejoicing", and the later ones where he mentions rumor has it the Crown Prince has been rude and distant to "people" at the wedding. Not to mention with Grumbkow's pointed advice from August 1731 to put up boundaries with Wilhelmine if he wants FW to like him again.
Now, we know from Wilhelmine that the same Grumbkow told her that FW was shocked, just shocked, that Fritz was all of a sudden so distant to her. And of course due to the inherent possiblity of censorship in this situation, see above, Fritz can't evidently tell her about this earlier demand. My questions are these:
a) Does Fritz sincerely believe Wilhelmine's agreement to the marriage is responsible for his improving situation, or is he just aware she thinks so and wants to keep her in this belief, since the situation is still bad enough? (He probably noticed at the wedding of how unhappy Mom now is with her.)
b) Conversely, is there some hidden (subconscious or conscious) resentment on his part (because she can't see he had to fake it, because she married which he didn't want, possibly because she was against his escape plan, and thus he puts it on extra strong?
c) Since Fritz even in this late stage isn't presumably surrounded by "many" people hating on BayreuthFriedrich who have to be enlightened about him, he's presumably talking in code about Mom, right?