Sophie Ritter von Scherer (5 February 1817,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

- 29 May 1876,

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

writer.

Life

Sophie von Scherer, née Sockl, was born in Vienna, the daughter of the master cabinet-maker and inventor, Johann Gottlieb Sockl and Sophie, née Shurer von Waldheim. Among her siblings was the painter and photographer

Theodor Sockl Theodor Benedikt Sockl (15 April 1815 – 25 December 1861) was an Austrian painter and photographer. Early life Stockl was born in Vienna on 15 April 1815, the son of the master cabinet-maker and inventor, Johann Gottlieb Sockl and Sophie, n� ...

. In her youth she was a painter, but later turned to writing. Sophie married Anton Ritter von Scherer in 1841 and was the mother of the well-known

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

religious law Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Different religious systems hold sacred law in a greater or lesser degree of importance to their belief systems, with some being explicitly antinomian whereas others ...

professor Rudolf Ritter von Scherer (1845-1918).Kronthaler, Michaela: ''Prägende Frauen der steirischen Kirchengeschichte''. – In: ''Kirche und Christentum in der Steiermark'', Bd. 5. – Kehl am Rhein, Echo-Buchverlag, 2000, p. 30–31 In 1848, she published her 3 volumes educational work, a novelty in the form of an epistolary novel. On the one hand, there was practical parenting advice for women of the middle and upper classes, and on the other hand Sophie wrote about the specific obligations of women, defined primarily as wives and mothers. Even though she was against the

Revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

, she supported social reforms, such as financial and social improvements in the status of the domestic servants, old-age insurance, kindergartens, measures of child care and child support for socially vulnerable families.B. Zaar: ''Scherer, Sophie von; geb. Sockl''. In: ''

Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950 The ''Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950'' (''ÖBL''), ''Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815-1950'', is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Austria, published by the Austri ...

(ÖBL)''. Volume 10. Published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1994, , p. 88. In the autumn of the year 1848, in the context of the recently granted freedom of the press, in an open letter dated 17 November 1848, she made an appeal "in the interest of the Catholic faith" at the first German bishops' conference in Würzburg. As a devout Catholic loyal to Rome, she opposed this emerging group of German Catholics and presented her ecclesiastical reform considerations, such as the worship simplification by omitting litanies and prayers not directly related to the Catholic faith, the introduction of the vernacular German in worship or the abolition of celibacy in order to overcome the gap between the priests and laity. While the church ignored it, the letter triggered a family dispute. Her brother, the Catholic Viennese painter

, attacked her in a subsequent open letter, accusing her of Protestant convictions. In her turn, she invalidated her brother's arguments in a public reply (this would be her last publication).

Significance

Sophie von Scherer is considered a remarkable woman, ahead of her times, who acknowledged and advocated the necessity of a legal framework for social security and state family support about 100 years before their introduction.

Works

*''Bildungs- und Erziehungs-Werk. Erfahrungen aus dem Frauenleben zum Selbststudium für Frauen, Mütter, Töchter'' (Education and educational work. Lessons from the life of a woman for the self-study of wives, mothers, daughters), Gratz, 1848 * Two open letters concerning reforms in the Catholic church: ::- ''Offenes Sendschreiben an den Congress der hochwürdigsten Erzbischofe und Bischöfe zu Würzburg…'' Gratz, 17 November 1848, published by J.A. Kienreich. It is kept a
Steiermärkische Landesbibliothek
Booknumber: A4Z211, Katzoom-Zettel Nr. 183966. ::- ''Erwiederung auf den an mich gerichteten offenen Brief meines Bruders über mein offenes Sendschreiben an den Congreß…'', Gratz 1848, published by J.A. Kienreich. The location of this letter is currently unknown.

References

External links

Digitalized: Bildungs- und Erziehungswerk Erfahrungen aus dem Frauenleben. 3 Volumes, 1848

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scherer, Sophie von 1817 births 1876 deaths Writers from Vienna Writers from Graz Writers from the Austrian Empire Writers from Austria-Hungary 19th-century women writers

Life

Significance

Works

References

Further reading

External links