Friederike Helene Unger

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Friederike Helene Unger , b. Friederike Helene Rothenburg , (* 1741 (?) In Berlin ; † September 21, 1813 there ) was a German writer .

Life

Friederike Helene Unger was born out of wedlock in Berlin as Friederike Helene Rothenburg, probably in 1741. Her father was Friedrich Rudolf von Rothenburg , Prussian general and confidante of Frederick the Great ; The identity of the mother is not clear. The child grew up in the family of the preacher and translator Johann Peter Bamberger and his wife Antoinette , who was active as a writer, and received an excellent education for girls of their time. Unger's father died in 1751, but left her with a fixed pension for life. Financially secure, she supported the establishment of a book printing company by her future husband, Johann Friedrich Gottlieb Unger , which subsequently became one of the leading printing companies in Germany. Soon, however, the von Rothenburg family failed to make payments, so that they began to write in view of the visibly deteriorating financial situation.

She had her first major success with her debut novel Julchen Grünthal , which was published in 1784. Johann Friedrich Gottlieb Unger, whom she married in 1785, became the publisher of her work. Her translations of Rousseau and Beauchmarchais , anonymous articles, cookbooks, a nature calendar and a reader for rural and military schools were published by Unger-Verlag .

This was also followed by other novels in which she repeatedly dealt with contemporary role concepts and tried to intervene in the literary discussion of her time. Their position was determined above all by their increasing aversion to the Berlin Romantics . The Schlegel brothers in particular - August Wilhelm Schlegel and Friedrich Schlegel - were a thorn in her side, who, after being close friends with the Ungers, increasingly sought the hospitality of Henriette Herz and Rahel Levin's Jewish salons, popular in Berlin . Unger's aversion to women, whose rise in society in their opinion took place too quickly, was replied by the romantics, which ultimately led Unger to a consequent rejection of the Berlin romantics: “Basically, each of their fictions published from 1798 can also be used as a settlement the aesthetics and moral concepts of Friedrich Schlegel and his circle. "

Her husband died in the same year that her novel Albert and Albertine was published; As a universal heir, Friederike Helene Unger became the head of the publishing house, which was expanded to include a bookshop and sheet music foundry, but was also heavily indebted. Your attempt to keep the publisher failed. In 1809 he went bankrupt.

Friederike Helene Unger continued to work as a writer after her husband's death. In 1806 the novel Confessions of a Beautiful Soul was published , and in 1810 her last work, The Young French and the German Girl . Three years later she died impoverished in Berlin. She was buried in the cemetery complex in front of Hallesches Tor in Berlin. Her grave has not been preserved.

Works

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Friederike Helene Unger  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Contemporary biographers give 1741 as well as 1751 and 1754 as dates of birth. However, the year 1741 must be regarded as the most likely, as the father died as early as 1751 from the long-term effects of an injury that he sustained in 1742.
  2. ^ Susanne Zantop: Afterword . In: Friederike Helene Unger: Confessions of a beautiful soul . Reprint. Olms, Hildesheim [u. a.] 1991, p. 394.
  3. ↑ No copy can be found
personal data
SURNAME Unger, Friederike Helene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rothenburg, Friederike Helene (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1741
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH September 21, 1813
Place of death Berlin