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Christiana Mariana von Ziegler: Moralische und vermischte Send-Schreiben. An einige Ihrer vertrauten und guten Freunde gestellet. Leipzig, bey Joh. Friedrich Brauns sel. Erben (VD18 14779447-001).

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: From the perspective of European Enlightenment feminism, this is Ziegler's most important collection. In the programmatic preface, the author situates the one hundred essayistic letters—addressed to anonymous male and female recipients—within the tradition of French moralist epistolary writing, particularly that of Anne-Thérèse de Lambert (most notably the Lettres sur la véritable éducation, Amsterdam 1729). The letters are thematically closely aligned with Johann Christoph Gottsched's journal Die vernünfftigen Tadlerinnen (1725/26), in which Ziegler herself contributed under various pseudonyms. Across the collection, Ziegler adopts the role of advisor and confidante, as well as social, linguistic, and cultural critic. The letters address topics traditionally coded as feminine: education, marriage, but also aesthetic and social debates, such as the status of opera, where she openly challenges Gottsched's views. Some letters also reflect a distinctly female adaptation of the contemporary cult of friendship. Despite their thematic variety, the letters revolve around a central concern: women's enlightenment through study and reading. As a perceptive observer of the pan-European Querelle des femmes, Ziegler kept abreast of the latest natural-law debates on gender equality, especially as they were conducted within Gottsched's circle. For her, women's education was a rational and useful goal, one that could be harmonized with both the ideals of marriage and the Protestant bourgeois ethos of work.
Source: FDAT
DOI: 10.57754/fdat.kgvvp-7xy71
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7084383836
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