Christine Enghaus,

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of Johanne Louise Christine Engehausen, (9 February 1815 in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

– 29 June 1910 in

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

) was a German

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and wife of the German playwright

Friedrich Hebbel Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist. Biography Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the ''Gelehrtenschule des Johanneu ...

Early years

Christine Engehausen was born in

, and grew up under poor circumstances in a large family. She had work early to contribute to the living of the family, because her father died before she turned seven. On the initiative of her mother, she was sent to the children's ballet at the state theatre at Braunschweig (Braunschweiger Hoftheater) at the age of seven. Due to her artistic talent she soon had little roles in plays and was finally discovered and supported by K. Köchy.

Breakthrough

Starting in 1829, Enghaus belonged to the

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * Ensemble (album), ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the ...

of the state theatre in Braunschweig. She had her breakthrough in 1833 when she played

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

in Bremen and was immediately hired to play in this city. Soon after she played in the city theater of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

where she was first spotted on stage by her later husband, Friedrich Hebbel. In 1840, already famous, she was engaged to play at the Burgtheater and belonged to the ensemble until 1875.

Marriage to Friedrich Hebbel

Christine Enghaus and Friedrich Hebbel married in Vienna on 26 May 1846. After the marriage, Enghaus stayed in Vienna but also played in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

and mostly personified

tragic Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ...

female characters from her husband's plays. She had two children: Emil (1846–1847) and Christine (1847-1922). She died in

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

at the age of 95.

Nachleben

The importance of Christine Enghausen (amongst other things, a safe source of money for her husband) can also be seen in the fact that two novels exist with her as the leading character (see literature section).

Literature

* Waldemar Augustiny: ''Elise und Christine. Die beiden Frauen im Leben Friedrich Hebbels.'' Heide: Boyens 1986 *

Else Hoppe Else Hoppe was a figure skater who competed in pair skating for Czechoslovakia. With her husband Oscar Hoppe, she won the bronze medal at the 1927 World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure ...

: ''Die Ebenbürtigen. Christine Engehausens Ehe mit Friedrich Hebbel'', Braunschweig 1943 * Garzmann, Schuegraf, Pingel: ''Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon - Ergänzungsband'', Braunschweig 1996 * Hans Knudsen: Hebbel, Christine. In: NDB Bd. 8, S. 159 f. {{DEFAULTSORT:Enghaus, Christine 1817 births 1910 deaths German stage actresses Actresses from Vienna Actors from Braunschweig People from the Duchy of Brunswick 19th-century German actresses 19th-century Austrian actresses Austrian stage actresses