Margaret Ebeling
Travel journalism was one of the most popular forms of literature in the early nineteenth century. Because it was so widely read, it affected many people and therefore had significant historical impact. In addition, it was one of the few literary genres that women were allowed to participate in. Elisa von der Recke (born 1754) was one of the first females to take advantage of this publically acceptable genre. Although her work includes poetry, an exposé and other writings, her travel journals play a central role in her literary and journalistic production. As a part of the Sophie Project, an effort to rediscover the marginalized female authors in the German language, my project centered on making the importance and impact of Recke’s journals clear to interested readers by co-authoring the introduction to Recke’s travel journals in Volume II of a Collected Works of Elisa von der Recke.
In order to prepare this critical introduction to Recke’s travel journals, I spent a semester working closely with my mentor to gather relevant information about Recke’s journals and the genre of travel journalism here at Brigham Young University. In addition to my deep study of Recke’s travel journals, I read her biography in order to become more familiar with her and life her personality. I began extensive research on the genre of travel journalism in order to be able to analyze the types of observations Recke makes, and be familiar with the current academic discussion on the subject. Finally, I began the cultural and historical context of her works, so that I could explain how they affected Recke’s writing.
In order to more fully understand the cultural and historical context of Recke’s work, I traveled to Vienna in order to experience elements of Recke’s world first hand. In addition to gaining an improved understanding of her environment, I was able to access a wealth of information in the Nationalbibliothek, which provided unique and invaluable insight into the history and culture of the time that would have been unavailable in the United States.
Armed with the necessary background knowledge, I approached Recke’s journals for the second time to discover their importance. Fall semester 2009 and winter semester 2010 I made use of German 315 and 415, pro-seminars which are set up for mentored research. Working one on one first with Professor Brewer and then with Professor James, I attended weekly meetings where I received important feedback on my paper. The project is essentially complete. I will have the polished paper finished by the end of this semester, winter 2010, ready for publication in Recke’s Collected Works Volume II that is scheduled for early next year.
One of the striking elements I was able to observe in my analysis of Recke’s journals, was the incredible influence of the Enlightenment on Recke in her writing. Enlightenment thinkers were extremely concerned with order and classification as they systematically analyzed the world around them. Recke assumes a somewhat “masculine” tone of distance and methodical analysis as she carefully analyzes each city, state, and country that she encounters, and yet includes intimate cultural details that a man would probably leave out.
In addition to a unique perspective on the Enlightenment, Recke’s travel journals give readers a priceless look at the private vs. the public spheres from a woman’s perspective. From Recke’s will I learned that she burned many of her personal documents before her death to ensure her perhaps too honest criticisms ever reached the public light. Intrigued by this self-censorship I compared the travel journals she published herself to Mein Journal – a travel journal that was found and published after Recke’s death. In Mein Journal, Recke writes about her deep love admiration for her friends, but also includes specific, cutting critiques of the people that surround her. The critiques she records in her personal records far exceed the strict limits on feminine criticism of the time. In her self-published travel journals on the other hand, Recke keeps her critiques either fairly non-specific or distanced and removed, assuming the role of a neutral observer instead of that of a judge. When combined with her self-effacing tendency, as she excuses any deficiencies in her writings with her poor health and addresses her writings solely to her fellow women, Recke becomes a prime example of precautions that women were forced to take if they wanted to retain a positive image and reputation and also participate in the literary sphere. The contrast in Recke’s writings thus show both sides of her critical analysis – the side that she rigorously censored for publication, versus her true thoughts and opinions in Mein Journal. Thus, Recke’s writing offers the reader a unique dual perspective on the life of a woman during the Enlightenment period – the hidden passions and strong opinions, the careful censoring, and behind veiled words two sides of the feminine perspective on the world she encountered.
Overall, this project allowed me to develop stronger academic skills, particularly in the areas of research, writing, and literary analysis. Each of these abilities have already helped me immensely in my studies as a German literature major, which also correlates strongly with my ultimate career goal of obtaining a PhD in German. In addition, my research has given me a fuller understanding and appreciation of the German/Austrian history and culture as I have explored and understood the Enlightenment and its effects on Western civilization. Most importantly, I have come to appreciate the women who were ground breakers in publishing their writings. It has opened a whole new field of interest for me into the significance of German women’s literature, as I learn to read behind the self-censorship and understand their true legacy.