Charlotte von Kalb

Kalb, Charlotte von (Waltershausen, 1761-1843, Berlin), originally a Fräulein Marschalk von Ostheim, was married in 1783 to Heinrich von Kalb, a German officer in French service, garrisoned at Landau. Separated from her husband (whom she in any case did not love) by French military custom, she made Schiller's acquaintance in Mannheim in May 1784, and a close friendship developed between them. In December of that year she rendered Schiller an appreciable service by bringing him to the notice of Duke Karl August of Weimar, then on a visit to Darmstadt. The intense and passionate relationship with Schiller was broken by his removal in April 1785 to Leipzig. They met again in 1787 in Weimar, but were on a more distant footing. In 1796 Frau von Kalb was for a time passionately attracted to J. P. Richter (see Jean Paul). A woman of intelligence, but of neurotic temperament, she was unable at any point to stabilize her life, which was subjected to many stresses, including the loss of her fortune and, in age, the loss of her sight. She is the author of a high-pitched and highly-strung novel, Cornelia, and of reminiscences (Erinnerungen) which are in places barely intelligible. Both were published posthumously, in 1851 and 1879 respectively.

Frau von Kalb appears to have been in her youth a beautiful woman. Schiller's poem Freigeisterei der Leidenschaft refers to their relationship, and she is the original of Linda in Jean Paul's Titan. She also appears in the novel In Reih und Glied (1867) by F. Spielhagen.