Music Herstory: "Annette von Droste-Hülshoff’s magnificent thing", by Susanne Wosnitzka

Annette von Droste-Hülshoff. Painting by Johann Joseph Sprick 1838 © Wikimedia.Commons (public domain)

Annette von Droste-Hülshoff’s magnificent thing

by Susanne Wosnitzka

First published in 2013

With Annette at Meersburg:

“Mein Thurm ist köstlich, d. h. meinem Geschmacke nach einsam, graulich, – heimliche Stiegen in den Mauern – Fensterscheiben mit Sprüchen von Gefangenen eingeschnitten – eine eiserne Thür die zu Gewölben führt wo es Nachts klirrt und rasselt – und nun drinnen mein lieber warmer Ofen, – mein guter, großer Tisch mit Allem darauf, was mein Herz verlangt, Bücher, Schreibereyen, Mineralien, – und als Hospitant mein klein Kanarienvögelchen, das mir aus der Hand frisst und die Federn verschleppt. O, es ist ein prächtiges Ding, der runde Thurm! ich sitze darin wie ein Vogel im Ey, und mit viel weniger Lust heraus zu kommen…”

"My tower is delicious – my taste for greyish lonelyness, – secret stairs in the walls – window glasses cut with prisoner's; sayings – an iron door that leads to vaults where it rattles and clanks at night – and now inside my dear warm oven, – my good, big table with everything my heart desires, books, scribbles, minerals, – and as a guest, my little canary that eats out of my hand and carries away the feathers. O, it is a magnificent thing, the round tower! I sit in it like a bird in the eye, and with much less desire to come out..."

Lone Poetess

Thus Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1797–1848) wrote just a few years before her death in 1844 in the old Meersburg castle on Lake Constance. There – thanks to her sister Jenny's (1795–1859) marriage to Joseph von Laßberg (1770–1855) – she had found her nest and was able to realize herself (far away from her almost omnipotent, oppressive mother) by not only writing poetry and partly critically and satirically observing her surroundings, but also by composing: pretty songs for voice and piano for home use. She was good at playing and singing – throughout her life her voice was compared to that of Angelica Catalani (1780–1849), one of the most famous singers in Europe at the time. In addition, Annette was one of the first women, or rather one of the first people at all, to engage with music of the late Middle Ages: For example, she arranged the melodies of the so-called Lochamer Liederbuch (~1460) and created a total of four libretti for operas (fragmented or unfinished).

Youth trauma

With the help of music she could forget: the shame of the so-called "youth trauma". Two young men made a bet on who would be the first to "get" Annette. They courted her, and when they had her "ready", they dropped her. For 12 years Annette avoided the area where the men lived. And she also had no love affair with her foster son Levin Schücking (1814–1883, which was and still is attributed to her): He was "just" her muse. Annette complained bitterly in a letter about why society cannot understand that there are also platonic relationships between men and women.

[legend: Meersburg Castle on Lake Constance © Susanne Wosnitzka 2013]

Because Annette was in love with women. She had an affair and relationship with the first female numismatist and archaeologist Sibylle Mertens-Schaaffhausen (1797–1857), the "beautiful (and massively rich) Rhine Countess", who was actually in love with Adele Schopenhauer (1797–1849) at the same time – a furious ménage à trois. With the help of Sibylle's money the Cologne cathedral could be completed. Her collection formed the basis of the Roman Museum there. With "Malchen" – Amalie Hassenpflug (1800–1871) –, the sister-in-law of the only sister of the Brothers Grimm, Annette lived an on-off relationship – side by side the two women are buried in Meersburg cemetery, which still holds a few secrets that I am on the trail of.

Annette as a master of camouflage

[legend: Annette’s piano in her Fürstenhäusle in Meersburg including her own vineyard © Susanne Wosnitzka 2013]

Annette was a master of lesbian camouflage: she wrote many of her poems for or dedicated them to women – highly erotic dream poems, which she endowed with a lyrical "I and You"; for fear of discovery. Levin Schücking also contributed to this, who erased almost all of Annette's female relationships from her biography after her death in order to have a sole Annette monopoly. The researcher Angela Steidele already cleared up this cliché more than 15 years ago, but the image of Annette as a "dried up, old, disappointed spinster" still persists.

Fairytale author

Annette herself contributed two stories to the fairy tales of the famous Brothers Grimm: Schneewittchen (Snow White) and Von einem, der auszog, das Fürchten zu lernen (One Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was), because Annette loved scary stories. Once in a while she was overcome by a slight creepiness in Meersburg castle – almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, the castle rises above Lake Constance, mummy-like and dried out, musty grey in its dark corners and dead rooms.

In the late summer of 2013 I was there again, even after a long time, and it was a pleasure to be where Annette had lived, where she sat and wrote and laughed and cried, played music and wrote poetry and listened to the lake telling its stories about greyish loneliness...

Fun fact

[legend: Former German banknotes © Wikimedia.Commons (public domain)]

Annette once was the hero of the 20 DM banknote. On the 5 DM banknote you can see Bettina von Arnim (1785–1859) who was a poet and composer, too, and was in love with Caroline von Günderrode (1780–1806). On the 100 DM banknote you recognize Clara Schumann (1819–1896) who had her big jubilee in 2019. I want my money back – make women composers great and visible again!

Literature tips

Angela Steidele: „Als wenn du mein Geliebter wärest“. Liebe und Begehren zwischen Frauen in der deutschsprachigen Literatur 1750–1850. ("As if you were my lover...": Love and desire between women in German literature 1750–1850 (unfortunately out of print). Metzler publ. comp. 2013.

Angela Steidele: Geschichte einer Liebe. Adele Schopenhauer und Sibylle Mertens. (Story of a love – Adele Schopenhauer and Sibylle Mertens). insel publ. comp. 2011.

Elke Weigel: Der Traum der Dichterin. Die Sehnsucht der Annette von Droste-Hülshoff. (The poetess'; dream. The longing of Annette von Droste-Hülshoff). Gmeiner publ. comp. 2015.

You are welcome to book my speech about these less known facets of Annette von Droste-Hülshoff.

You can find further information here. Or if you need me as a travel guide.