18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 37

[cahn]

More diaries of our favorite 18th-century Prussian diary-keeper have been unearthed and have been synopsized!

January 18th: Blessed be thou to me! Under your light, my Prince Heinrich was born!

Comments

Re: Katte

[selenak]

Thank you for reminding me of the heart in Katte's possession and my fairy tale thought!



Kloosterhuis says Spaen was cashiered, imprisoned 3 years in in Spandau (starting November 7, 1730), and then went into Dutch service.

I can see why you would want Fritz to acknowledge you made a sacrifice!

Peter Keith: Join the club.
Doris Ritter: MEN.
Duhan: He acknowledged me! With the same text as Algarotti, no less!

Right? But given that Fritz is CROWN PRINCE, and Katte is someone Fritz took an immediate dislike to and had to be won around, I could see it playing out so that Katte falls first.

Trying to think of it: is there a (pro)fictional version which even includes Fritz originally being distant? Let alone Katte falling for him first (even in a platonic version)? I can't think of one. (In Roes, he's sorry for Fritz the moment he sees him, but the later emotional and then physical intimacy is all initialized by Fritz. And let's not even mention the Katte/Wilhelmine shipping musical in this context.) Despite, as you say, it making sense.

HOWEVER, and speaking of prinzsorgenfrei: her stories about Katte and Fritz, especially the last one, are the only ones I can think of where Katte has that cheerful energy which salon has decided he must have had (like Keyslerlingk and Algarotti, evidently something Fritz was attracted to) and you can see the two of them having fun instead of being all doomed intensity with each other.

maybe that's a case of, "You know your escape plan is poorly thought out when even Lieutenant Hans Hermann 'My middle name is Impulsive' von Katte thinks it's a bad idea," rather than "Katte's fate in life is to always find himself playing the role of Only Sane Man."

*nods* And that's why in an AU where Fritz successfully escapes, and Katte as well, you'd have to change the plan, methinks.

Re: Katte

[cahn]

Peter Keith: Join the club.
Doris Ritter: MEN.
Duhan: He acknowledged me! With the same text as Algarotti, no less!

Hee, but also :(

And let's not even mention the Katte/Wilhelmine shipping musical in this context.

Lolololol!

her stories about Katte and Fritz, especially the last one, are the only ones I can think of where Katte has that cheerful energy which salon has decided he must have had

Aw man, there's only one in English! Right, I'll have to read that one.

Re: Katte

[mildred_of_midgard]

Duhan: He acknowledged me! With the same text as Algarotti, no less!

He called you his true father! He visited your deathbed and wrote nice things about himself in the third person for doing so! (iirc)

I'm not sure why you're never listed among the "The only person Fritz ever REALLY loved was" statements that biographers love making.

Trying to think of it: is there a (pro)fictional version which even includes Fritz originally being distant?

I mean, I'm not the (pro)fictional expert here, but nothing is coming to mind. And this is the guy who the trial records said initially took a dislike to Katte!

HOWEVER, and speaking of [personal profile] prinzsorgenfrei: her stories about Katte and Fritz, especially the last one, are the only ones I can think of where Katte has that cheerful energy which salon has decided he must have had

Gaah, I am so behind on fanfic! But that is good to know. And good for her!

(like Keyslerlingk and Algarotti, evidently something Fritz was attracted to)

Based on things Fritz wrote, I think he was attracted to it because he had depressive tendencies/PTSD, and being around cheerful people had a tonic effect on him. <3 I think Peter lost out because he *didn't* have this going for him.