Ida Hahn-Hahn

Hahn-Hahn, Ida, Gräfin von (Tressow, Mecklenburg, 1805-80, Mainz), the daughter of Count Karl Friedrich von Hahn, acquired her hyphenated dual name by marrying a cousin, Count Adolf von Hahn, in 1826. The marriage was dissolved in 1829, and the Countess travelled for some years, visiting the Near East in 1843. She published several volumes of poetry (Gedichte, 1835; Neue Gedichte, 1836; Venezianische Nächte, 1836; Lieder und Gedichte, 1837). These were followed by a series of social novels focused exclusively on the aristocratic society of her time, and dealing especially with passionate, emotionally dissatisfied women: Aus der Gesellschaft (1838), Der Rechte (1839), Gräfin Faustine, Ulrich (both 1841), Sigismund Forster (1843), and Cecil (1844). In 1844 she changed the title of the first to Ilda Schönholm (the name of its heroine) and made Aus der Gesellschaft the title of the whole series, in which some later works were also included. Mention should also be made of the novels Zwei Frauen (1846), Gräfin Clelia Conti (1846), and Sibylle (2 vols., 1846). After the 1848 Revolution (see Revolutionen 1848-9) she amended her critical view of society. In 1850 she adopted the Roman Catholic faith and in 1854 founded a convent at Mainz, in which she lived, though without taking conventual vows, until her death. She justified her conversion in Von Babylon nach Jerusalem (1851), and her later novels (Maria Regina, 2 vols., 1860; Die Geschichte eines armen Fräuleins, 2 vols., 1869; Nirwana, 2 vols., 1875; Der breite Weg und die enge Straße, 1877; Wahl und Führung, 1878) show a strong Roman Catholic influence. She also wrote a religious song-cycle, Unserer lieben Frau (1871). Her collected works (Gesammelte Werke) were published in 21 parts (Teile) in 1851.