him, she thought she must inflict upon him a
profound pain. Such exaltation and unnaturalness proves what an abyss
threatens even the noblest woman when she once leaves the path of the
normal. But to the Young Germans Charlotte Stieglitz became the heroine
of the movement in which she had part. Theodor Mundt (died 1861) became
the principal exponent of that unsound movement in Berlin. He was an
author of repute, but is to us more important as the husband of the
celebrated authoress Luise Muhlbach, a serene, active, inspiring
hostess, whose house became in the forties a centre of literary
sociability in Berlin. She was also the writer of many historical
novels, all of which are of great interest, though some are of doubtful
value.

How confused the moral code of that time was appears, for instance, from
Gutzkow's recommendation of a reform. He says: "Be not ashamed of
passion, and do not take morality as an institution of the State!... The
sole priest who shall bind the hearts, shall be a moment of rapture, not
the Church with its ceremonies and well-groomed servants...."

Saint-Simonism carried those licentious maxims to the extreme. Thus, the
legitimate aspirations of woman to be freed from the fetters of the
Middle Ages were, from the beginning, severely injured by lack of
moderation. Instead of a claim for a systematic raising of the standards
of education, impossible demands were made: immediate admission of women
to the universities (without preparatory training), political equality
with men, participation in the administration of the state, and even
abolition of the fetters of marriage. Of course, opposition arose
everywhere, and has neutralized or delayed even rightful claims to this
day. The aspirations for material independence on the basis of free work
succeeded to a certain extent: women entered many walks of life hitherto
closed to them.

The most thoughtful and impressive champion of a reasonable emancipation
of woman was Fanny Lewald. High moral earnestness and a clear
intelligence pervade her writings, which are, however, lacking in poetic
feeling. But she is a truly patriotic German woman who sees the need of
a practical evolution of woman's education and activity in the interest
of the entire nation. Her doctrine is the assurance that the spread of
culture will wipe out all artificial differences of caste, religion, and
sex, and thus solve all the questions of a genuine, legitimate
emancipation.

C