cahn | 18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 33

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cahn

And, I mean, it doesn't have to be just 18th century characters, either!

(also, waiting for Yuletide!)

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From:

selenak

Unmistakeable move, as described by Eleonore to her sister:

Yesterday he said to me that he looked upon me as his wife, that he had that kind of feeling for me. 'One is not loving towards one's wife', he said, 'but I am interested in everything that concerns you. I feel confident in fact that you belong to me.'

After this direct quote, Beales continues the narration: The princess replied that she was flattered, but could not follow his 'metaphysics of emotions' and was very far of belonging to him in any sense. '

And she's off to Pressburg. Where she finds her husband romancing Joseph's sister. I'm going to venture a guess here that Eleonore wasn't so loyal a subject as not to think "Bloody Habsburgs!" at this point.

Heinrich and Joseph: I don't recall any quote in either Lehndorff's diaries* or in the letters to Fritz, but then the Fritz/Heinrich correspondence at Trier consists at 70% of letters from Fritz to Heinrich anyway. The most likely point in time where he could have offered an opinion in writing to someone was after meeting he and Joseph met taking the waters at Aachen. (This wasn't the first time Heinrich saw Joseph up close, since he was present at the legendary Neisse summit with Fritz, but it was the only meeting with Joseph where no other monarch was present. I'm not at this point yet in volume 2, but I remember Ziebura mentioned it, though if I recall correctly she quoted from a letter from Catherine to a third party (Grimml?) wanting to know whether they talked of her.

*Lehndorff himself did have opinions on Joseph, long distance wise, when he was travelling through Joseph's territories through the early 1780s. He was two thirds impressed one third apalled at all the energy and reforms and basically thinks Joseph is the kind of dynamic monarch Fritz used to be and makes Prussia look backwards now.

From:

felis

metaphysics of emotions

! Very nice. Love that response to the rather presumptuous belonging line. And yeah, okay, that's as head-on as it gets.

From:

cahn

The princess replied that she was flattered, but could not follow his 'metaphysics of emotions' and was very far of belonging to him in any sense. '

ahahahaha even accounting for Eleonore telling the story herself, I am loving this :D Poor Eleonore!