The second part of the program with my guest author Doris Gercke was dedicated to the poet, novelist, playwright, philosopher, editor, publisher, actress, director, theater director, (...) - or, in short, the universal genius Sophie Albrecht (1756-1840). We discussed her early Romantic novel "Graumännchen oder die Burg Rabenbühl" [Gray Man or Rabenbühl Castle] from the year 1797.
Sophie Albrecht was born at the beginning of December 1756 in Sömmerda near Erfurt in Thuringia. Her mother was Rebekka, née von Tüntzel, and her father was Paul Baumer, a medical and philosophy professor in Erfurt. She received an exceptionally academic education for girls of that time and is said to have studied medicine under her father's guidance. However, her stronger inclination towards literature and philosophy emerged at an early age. After her father's untimely death in 1771, she married his former medical student, Johann Albrecht, and both dedicated themselves to their literary publications. But first, they had two children: Charlotte (born in 1773) and Wilhelm (born in 1774). They then founded a publishing house, a bookstore, a lending library, and even temporarily took over the publication of the "Erfurtische Gelehrten Zeitung" [Erfurt Scholarly Newspaper].
From 1781 onwards, Sophie Albrecht independently published collections of her poetry, dramas, and prose, which became remarkably successful and were released in three volumes until 1791. She also ventured into the realm of novel writing between 1782 and 1786 with the adaptation of the novel Aramena for public consumption. Additionally, she is said to have written a philosophical-religious study on the doctrine of the soul, which unfortunately remains lost to this day.
At the same time, she embarked on her second professional career as an actress and quickly became one of the most successful actresses with the highest earnings for a woman at the "Kurfürstlich Sächsischen Hoftheater" [Electoral Saxon Court Theater], which performed in Dresden, Leipzig, and Prague depending on the season. Albrecht's signature role as "Luise" in Schiller's Kabale und Liebe [Intrigue and Love], which she performed with great success since its premiere in April 1784, led to a close friendship with the playwright. However, Albrecht's circle of friends consisted of cultural creators of both genders, and in addition to Friedrich Schiller, August von Kotzebue, Wolfgang von Goethe, and Friedrich Klopstock, it is worth mentioning her colleagues Wilhelmine von Gersdorf*, Elise von der Recke, Sophie von LaRoche*, Karoline von Humboldt, and Elise Bürger*. Albrecht's presence in the German-speaking cultural scene of the late 18th century was ubiquitous through numerous newspaper articles about her as an actress and writer - her fame was, in a way, multimedia.
Sophie Albrecht's political contribution to the German democracy movement is admirable, as her support for French Revolution sympathizers and her membership in corresponding Masonic lodges, as reported by the literary scholar Berit C. R. Royer.
From the mid-1790s, Albrecht shifted her sphere of activity to Hamburg-Altona. During the height of her successes in 1797, she turned her attention to a new literary genre, the Gothic novel, and two such novels were produced: Legenden / Das höfliche Gespenst / Ida von Duba (1797) [Legends / The Polite Ghost / Ida von Duba] and "Graumännchen oder die Burg Rabenbühl" (1799) [Gray Man or Rabenbühl Castle]. This genre originally came from England and was often chosen by female writers, such as Anne Radcliffe as well as Jane Austen.
In 1796, Sophie Albrecht and her husband jointly reopened the Altona National Theater at Palmaille near the northern German city of Hamburg. The initial period of their shared management and directorship was a remarkable success and posed a great competition to the theaters in Hamburg. However, soon the expenses proved to be too costly. Ultimately, they had to give up the enterprise as debts accumulated, and Sophie Albrecht's once substantial wealth steadily declined until 1814.
The French occupation in northern Germany until the withdrawal of the Napoleonic troops from Hamburg, during which a significant portion of Albrecht's property was looted and consumed by flames, marked her personal ruin, not just financially. Lastly, her husband Johann Friedrich Ernst, who had resumed his medical practice, died of typhoid fever in 1814. She never fully recovered personally, professionally, or financially from these strokes of fate. In 1828 and 1832, she published some poems in magazines, but the years of deprivation left her artistically inactive until her death in November 1840.
Sophie Albrecht left an impressive body of work, including two dramas, three novels, three volumes of poetry, numerous prose and additional poetry publications in magazines, which set significant milestones for German literature. A writer, an actress, a woman who was incomparably famous in the 18th century, was almost entirely forgotten by the 19th century.
The universal forgetting of female cultural achievements necessitates an analysis of the structures of canon formation and literary historiography: which societal groups perpetuated whose works and why? - To counteract the mechanisms of androcentric canon formation and not succumb to the deception of reproduced gender stereotypes, my program aims to provide a small but hopefully lasting aid to the collective memory regarding female cultural achievements of past centuries.
If you no longer want to wait for literary delights from women, click here to listen to the program with Doris Gercke & Sophie Albrecht in German (starting from minute 31): Doris Gercke & Sophie Albrecht
Or read the novel online in German: Sophie Albrecht „Graumännchen oder die Burg Rabenbühl“ (1799)
* See my "Gallery" on this website for more information on the writers and Albrecht’s close friends Wilhelmine von Gersdorf (Listen to Broadcast), Sophie von LaRoche (Listen to Broadcast), and Elise Bürger (Listen to Broadcast).
