Emilie von Berlepsch or Dorothea Friderika Aemilia von Berlepsch (26 November 1755 – 27 July 1830) was a German traveller and author. She is regarded as an early writer about women's rights in German.
Emilie von Berlepsch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Dorothea Friderika Aemilia von Opel 26 November 1755 |
| Died | 27 July 1830 (aged 74) |
| Known for | writing about women's rights |
Life
Berlepsch was born in Gotha in 1755. Her parents were de and his wife Amalie. Her father died, her mother remarried and she was looked after by an uncle and given a good private education. She published some poetry and then a book of protest because Switzerland was invaded in 1798 by the French.[1] She married de when she was sixteen and she had three children. The marriage ended in divorce in 1787.[2] Her ex-husband married Anna Dorothea Helene Siever, who had been her maid, after the divorce. By this time Berlepsch's writing was being regarded as more than amateur and aspiring to art. She is said to have "set her cap", unsuccessfully, at Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.[3]
In protest at the invasion of Switzerland she went to Scotland to find alternative mountains. She had already met the polyglot Reverend James Macdonald in Germany who was the guide for a young man. MacDonald was an enthusiast for improving relations between Scotland and Germany. The vicar in Fife found that he was the chosen host by Berlepsch. He looked after her and took her on tours of Scotland. Berlepsch wrote a four volume account titled Caledonia, in German, which discussed Scotland and female writers publishing in English.[3] MacDonald's enthusiasm for Berlepsch did not however include marriage and Berlepsch was disappointed.[1] She returned to Germany and married again. Her second marriage was to August Heinrich Harmes who was not of noble birth. They lived at Lake Zurich until 1817.[1]
Writing
Berlepsch's book Caledonia included early translations and reviews of Robert Burns. Her translations are credited with encouraging an acceptance and appreciation of Burns' work. There were numerous reviews in German newspapers and journals after Berlepsch's translations were published.[4]
In her writing Berlepsch deals particularly with the subject of women's rights. She described herself as "fighting against the prejudice that wants to grant women neither a will of their own nor the courage to express it".[2] She talks about routine misogyny that cannot be handled by submissiveness.[2] She argues that women are neither given rights or the opportunity to complain; Women are not by their nature a prisoner of their emotions and men are not natural tyrants. She wanted an end to misogyny but she believed men were supreme.[2] She discussed various writers for German readers including particularly Mary Wollstonecraft.[1] She notes her similar role in raising these subjects for the first time in German.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Hans Utz, ‘Berlepsch, Emilie von (bap. 1755, d. 1830)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 9 Sept 2015
- ^ a b c d e Ruth P. Dawson (2002). The Contested Quill: Literature by Women in Germany, 1770-1800. University of Delaware Press. pp. 259–260. ISBN 978-0-87413-762-0.
- ^ a b Nicholas Boyle (2003). Goethe: Revolution and renunciation, 1790-1803. Oxford University Press. pp. 451–. ISBN 978-0-19-925751-5.
- ^ Murray Pittock (19 June 2014). The Reception of Robert Burns in Europe. A&C Black. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-0-567-17012-5.