Christiane Friederike Wilhelmine Herzlieb, known as Minna (22 May 1789 – 10 July 1865) was the foster-daughter of the German publisher Carl Friedrich Ernst Frommann (1765–1839).

Life

Her father was a superintendent in her birthplace of Züllichau, Lower Silesia. Orphaned in infancy, she was brought up in the house of the publisher Carl Friedrich Ernst Frommann in

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

. In 1807 she came to Weimar, where she met

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

, who presented her with some

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

s. She also served as an inspiration for the character of "Ottilie" in his '' Elective Affinities''. In 1821 she married professor but it was not a love match and may have contributed to her mental breakdown and death in a mental hospital in

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

in 1865.

External links

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Biographical notes
@ Internet Archive
Goethezeit Portal

@ Odyssee Theatre 1789 births 1865 deaths People from Sulechów German publishers (people) People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg Johann Wolfgang von Goethe {{publish-bio-stub