Mariana "Marianne" Maximiliana Christiana Carolina Lovisa Ehrenström,

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

''Pollet'' (9 December 1773 – 4 January 1867), was a Swedish writer, singer, painter, pianist, culture personality, memoir writer and

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

. She was a member of the Academy of the Free Arts and an honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...

. She is foremost known for her memoirs, which are regarded as a valuable historical documentation, especially about the contemporary cultural life.

Life

Marianne Ehrenström was born in

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, to the Swedish Commendant of

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Johan Frans Pollett, and the dilettante painter Johanna Helena von Pachelbel-Gehag. She was given a good education, and her first language at home was reportedly French, though she also spoke German, and was later to learn Swedish.

Culture personality

Between 1790 and 1803, she served as ''

hovfröken A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in Royal Household, royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditi ...

'' to the queen of Sweden,

Sophia Magdalena of Denmark Sophia Magdalena of Denmark ( da, Sophie Magdalene; sv, Sofia Magdalena; 3 July 1746 – 21 August 1813) was Crown Princess of Sweden by her marriage to Gustav III. She was liked by many in the Caps party, believing she was a symbol of virtue a ...

, who reportedly appreciated her. Ehrenström was known as a multi talented artist. She was educated in singing by the singer

Christoffer Christian Karsten Christoffer Christian (or ''Kristofer Kristian'') Karsten (9 September 1756 – 6 August 1827) was a Swedish opera singer. He was the maternal grandfather of the ballerina Marie Taglioni. Life Born in Ystad, he was discovered by queen ...

, in piano playing by the composer

Georg Joseph Vogler Abbé Vogler Georg Joseph Vogler, also known as Abbé Vogler (June 15, 1749 – May 6, 1814), was a German composer, organist, teacher and theorist. In a long and colorful career extending over many more nations and decades than was usual at the t ...

and in drama by the actor Jacques Marie Boutet de Monvel. Being a member of the nobility, she was not professionally active as an artist, but she demonstrated her talent in social life at court and high society and cultural circles, and attracted attention for her abilities. She was regarded as a gifted singer, an accomplished piano player, and admired for her landscape paintings and miniatures. She became a well regarded member of contemporary Swedish culture life, and was acquainted with a number of the leading cultural figures of the era, notably the dramatist

Carl Gustaf af Leopold Carl Gustaf af Leopold (1756, Stockholm – 9 November 1829, Stockholm) was a Swedish poet. Biography He attained distinction in Swedish letters, his first work to attract wide attention being his ''Ode on the Birth of the Prince-Royal Gustavus ...

, with whom she corresponded and who dedicated poems to her. Marianne Ehrenström was inducted into the Academy of the Free Arts in 1800, and became an honorary member of the

in 1814.

Later life

In 1803, she left the royal court and married Colonel Nils Fredrik Ehrenström (1756-1816). Reportedly, the marriage was a purely practical affair, as Ehrenström was an old friend of her family and she was forced to think of her future, as her family was not wealthy and she needed to marry to support herself: her spouse, on the other hand, had been appointed commandant of Gothenburg and needed a wife to handle the representational side of his position, as he had recently divorced his first wife Maria Charlotta von Scheven for having eloped with their adoptive son. After the wedding, she left Stockholm for Gothenburg, where she became a celebrated member of Gothenburg high society life. The marriage did not result in issue. In 1812, her spouse went bankrupt and lost his position, and she separated from him and returned to Stockholm. Between 1815 and 1831, she supported herself by managing a girls' school. After having closed her school in 1831, she mainly lived on some smaller annuities given to her by old acquaintances.

Legacy

In 1826, she published a book about writers, theatre, music, painting and sculpture. Ehrenström is most known for her memoirs in French, which is regarded as a valuable reference work of contemporary Stockholm and Gothenburg in 1792-1812, particularly the contemporary culture life. The unpublished manuscript is now kept at the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

. A selected part of her memoirs were translated and published by

Henrik Schück Henrik Schück (2 November 1855 – 3 October 1947) was a Swedish literary historian, university professor and author. Biography Johan Henrik Emil Schück was a professor at the Lund University 1890–1898. He was a professor at Uppsala Univer ...

in 1919 under the title ''Den sista gustavianska hofdamen'' ('The last lady in waiting from the age of Gustav III').

In fiction

Marianne Ehrenström is portrayed in the novel ''Pottungen'' (Chamber pot child) by Anna Laestadius Larsson from 2014, in which she, alongside

Ulrika Pasch Ulrika "Ulla" Fredrica Pasch (10 July 1735 in Stockholm – 2 April 1796 in Stockholm), was a Swedish rococo painter and miniaturist, and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. Biography Education and early career Ulrika Pasch was ...

Anna Maria Lenngren Anna Maria Lenngren, née ''Malmstedt'' (June 18, 1754 – March 8, 1817), was one of the most famous poets in Swedish history. Her father and brother were also poets. One of her best-known poems is ''Några ord till min kära dotter, ifall jag ...

Ulrika Widström Ulrika Carolina Widström (24 November 1764, in Stockholm – 19 February 1841), was a Swedish poet and translator. Early life and education She was born to the organ manufacturer Peter Forsberg and Katarina Maria Grip. She was educated in bot ...

Jeanna von Lantingshausen Johanna "Jeanna" von Lantingshausen, née von Stockenström, (1753–1809), was a Swedish noble and courtier. She is foremost known as the instigator of the political demonstration by the noblewomen toward Gustav III in opposition of his parliament ...

and

Sophie von Fersen Countess Eva Sophie Piper, née Eva Sophie von Fersen (30 March 1757 – 2 February 1816, Löfstad Slott), was a Swedish countess and lady in waiting. She was the daughter of count Axel von Fersen the Elder and Hedvig Catharina von Fersen and t ...

, becomes a member of a

Blue Stockings Society The Blue Stockings Society, an informal women's social and educational movement in England in the mid-18th century, emphasised education and mutual cooperation. Elizabeth Montagu, Elizabeth Vesey and others founded it in the early 1750s as a li ...

organized by

Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp ( sv, Hedvig Elisabet Charlotta; 22 March 1759 – 20 June 1818) was Queen of Sweden and Norway as the consort of King Charles XIII and II. She was also a famed diarist, memoirist and wit. She is k ...

Works

* 1826 - ''Notices sur la littérature et les beaux arts en Suède'' * 1830 - ''Notice biographique sur monsieur de Leopold, secrétaire d'état''

References

* Österberg, Carin et al., ''Svenska kvinnor: föregångare, nyskapare'' (Swedish women; Predecessors, pioneers). Lund: Signum 1990. ()
Mariana Maximiliana Christiana Ehrenström
* Mariana (Marianne) Maximiliana Christiana Carolina Lovisa Ehrenström, f. Pollet, urn:sbl:16725, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av H. Schuck. Med bidrag av 8. Walin.), hämtad 2016-10-07. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrenstrom, Marianne 1773 births 1867 deaths Swedish classical pianists Swedish women pianists 18th-century Swedish writers 19th-century Swedish writers 18th-century Swedish singers 19th-century Swedish singers 18th-century Swedish painters 19th-century Swedish painters Swedish ladies-in-waiting Swedish maids of honour Swedish memoirists Women memoirists 18th-century Swedish women writers 19th-century Swedish women writers 19th-century Swedish women artists 18th-century Swedish women artists 18th-century keyboardists Gustavian era people 18th-century Swedish musicians 19th-century Swedish musicians 18th-century Swedish women musicians Women classical pianists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts