Citation

Matthews-Schlinzig MI. Oxford German Studies 2015; 44(1): 30-41.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015)

DOI

10.1179/0078719114Z.00000000073

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Focusing on the case of Carl von Hohenhausen (1816-1834), this article examines the socio-cultural, literary, and educational contexts of writing ego-documents in extremis in the early nineteenth century. The diaries and suicide notes which form the core of Carl's 'Nachlaß' (the personal writings and documents he left behind) reveal how his upbringing and private reading practice, his school training - especially in the art of letter writing - and the model presented by his paternal grandmother's final farewell messages shaped his approach to writing before suicide. To contextualize the 'Nachlaß' and to throw into relief some of the trends in public discourse about suicide in the period, the posthumous publication and reception of Carl's texts is also considered. © W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2015.

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide note; Autothanatography; Education history; Ego-documents; Hohenhausen; Letter writing; Suicide diary; Victor hugo’s le dernier jour d’un condamné