Anna Katharina Schönkopf (; 22 August 1746 – 20 May 1810) was the daughter of the
pewter
Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades ...
er and wine merchant Christian Gottlieb Schönkopf (; 1716-1791)
[ Karl Robert Mandelkow and others: Goethes Briefe. 2. edition. Vol. 1: Briefe der Jahre 1764-1786. '' Christian Wegner publishers'', Hamburg 1968, p. 551] and his wife Katharina Sibylla (; ; 1714-1790).
The young
Johann Wolfgang Goethe, who studied in Leipzig from 1765 to 1768, fell in love with her in 1766.
[Kanne, Anna Katharina]
'' XS4ALL'', December 26, 2008, retrieved May 5, 2011
Käthchen Schönkopf as a figure in Goethe's life
Anna Katharina, who moved to her parents' hotel in 1766, was three years older than Goethe. She reacted rather reservedly to his declarations of love in the beginning. Her parents were kept in the dark about the unfolding love-affair, because a liaison of a girl of Anna Katharina's plain origin and the son of a
patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
family might be seen as unsuitable to Goethe's station. Goethe communicated his wishes and feelings to his friend Ernst Wolfgang Behrisch (1738-1809), and sought Behrisch's advice in the issue.
He felt strong jealousy of real or imaginary rivals, during his relationship to Käthchen, and wrought the inner problems connected to this into his
pastoral play ''Die Laune des Verliebten'' (''The Lover’s Caprice'', 1768), to cure himself.
Anna Katharina appeared to Goethe as a perfect, charming and elegant being.
She liked the love poems which Goethe dedicated to her and which he published as ''Annettenlieder'' (''songs to Annette''). These poems are considered the first of bigger meaning within Goethe's
oeuvre.
Goethe introduced the
jurist and later vice mayor of Leipzig, Christian Karl Kanne, who would later become Anna Katharina's
bridegroom
A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed.
When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man ...
, to his sweetheart. He continued his friendship with Anna Katharina by sending her letters, in which he still felt bound to her, until 1770.
Kanne and Anna Katharina married in 1770.
[Karl Robert Mandelkow and others: Goethes Briefe. 2. edition. Vol. 1: Briefe der Jahre 1764-1786. ''Christian Wegner publishers'', Hamburg 1968, p. 646] Goethe visited Anna Katharina in 1776,
when he had moved to
Weimar.
External links
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonkopf, Anna Katharina
1746 births
1810 deaths
German women
People from Leipzig
People from the Electorate of Saxony
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe