Because of her origins, this woman could shine in high society and lead a luxurious, carefree existence. But Jenny von Westphalen, interesting facts about which are presented in this article, chose a completely different life. Full of suffering, deprivation and hardship. It was this fate, alas, that was prepared for the wife of the great communist theorist Karl Marx.
Origin of Jenny von Westphalen
One fine winter day, a girl named Jenny was born into a we althy family of German aristocrats. Full name - Johann Berta Julia Jenny von Westphalen. Her date of birth is February 12, 1814.
The baby's father had the title of baron and was in the bureaucratic service, where he held a fairly high post. His ancestors were Prussian aristocrats - in particular, Jenny's paternal grandfather served as an adviser, secretary, and then field marshal under Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick. And my grandmother was the successor of a noble noble family of Scotland. Jenny von Westphalen's mother was alsoa hereditary noblewoman, but of a more modest origin.
The elder brother of the future wife of Marx rose to the ministerial title. Most likely, the girl would also expect a bright future. But everything worked out the way it did…
First beauty
Jenny's noble parents tried to give their daughter a good education. In addition to intelligence and scientific abilities, the girl had a bright appearance and was known as the first beauty of the balls of the ancient town of Trier, where she spent her childhood and youth.
Jenny von Westphalen, whose photos have survived to this day, really looked very good. Her face was memorable and stood out from hundreds of others.
Therefore, it is not surprising that admirers constantly curled around the rich heiress and queen of the balls. With one of them - Lieutenant Karl von Panwitz - a young lady at the age of seventeen even managed to get engaged. But this union never became a marriage. Six months later, the engagement was called off.
Meet Karl Marx
Jenny von Westphalen and Karl Marx met when they were children. Their fathers, despite their different positions on the social ladder, were friends. Johann Ludwig von Westphalen was generally a liberal man, and also very well educated. And to some extent prejudices were alien to him. At the age of twelve, Karl begins attending the gymnasium with his brother Jenny and constantly comes to the von Westphalen family home to play.
LaterMarx said that he never imagined and did not want another wife, except for Jenny von Westphalen. As a child, he fell in love with a blooming girl (she was four years older) without memory. And when he grew up, his beloved answered him in return.
The engagement of seventeen-year-old Karl and Jenny, who at that time was twenty-one years old, would certainly shock the bride's parents and the entire high society of Trier. But almost no one knew about her - young people kept their relationship secret. Only Marx's father and sister, and even Jenny's girlfriend, were initiated. Almost immediately after the engagement, Karl left to study. And Jenny was waiting for him.
Thorny path to the wedding
Being far from each other, the young people carried on a passionate correspondence and dreamed of the day when they could finally be together. Marx had already begun his political activities, and he was considered an unreliable student. As a result of persecution, the young man had to change several universities.
These problems did not oust the image of his beloved from his head, and two years after the engagement, Karl made an offer to Jenny, to which the girl's family refused. And the groom's relatives did not welcome this union, since the bride was older.
After the death of Karl's father, the relationship between the two families went wrong and gradually faded away. But this did not affect the love of young Marx and Jenny von Westphalen. They continued to dream about the wedding.
Having graduated from university and received his doctorate in 1841, Marx expectedthat he would be left within the walls of an educational institution where he could get a professorship. But the reputation of the carrier of dubious ideas crossed out these expectations. The position was denied to Karl, and he could not offer his future wife anything. So, the wedding had to be postponed again.
27-year-old Jenny, already known as an old maid, was in despair. And Karla sawed his mother, reproaching him for slovenliness and forcing him to look for a warm place under the sun.
But these difficulties did not separate the lovers. They still got married, in spite of everything and everyone. Jenny von Westphalen was twenty-nine at the time. The mother of the bride provided the newlyweds with a honeymoon trip along the Rhine. They didn't have any money at the time. However, they never existed…
First calls
Already in the first months after the wedding, Jenny realized what kind of person she married. He did not seek to find a simple but stable job. There were always a lot of ideas in his head, half of which looked like science fiction. Marx constantly disappeared in some circles, led some disputes, wrote something … Forgetting to have lunch and earn money for lunch.
Seeing this state of affairs, Carl's mother threatened her son that he would not receive his share of his father's inheritance. And the young Marx went to court. Themis was on the side of the heir, Karl received a fairly tidy sum that could give them financial independence with Jenny. But … This money disappeared instantly. After all, the author of Capital could never boast of frugality.
Exile's Girlfriend
But it was still flowers. Further, the life of the successor of the noble family von Westphalen gave an even greater roll. Her husband was fired from the newspaper where he got a job, and then they began to persecute him altogether. Most of the time, the Marx couple had to spend in exile. First there was France: Paris… Then Belgium. Then back to Paris. And finally, London. When ordering Marx to leave Brussels, the authorities gave him only 48 hours to do so, and the family was forced to abandon their familiar corner and travel virtually without luggage. And it happened that Karl left alone, and Jenny stayed to settle household issues.
Life in general was a heavy burden solely on her fragile shoulders. She tried to help her husband, far from routine, absorbed in journalism and politics, as much as she could. And later, Marx's friends said that if it were not for Jenny, he would never have become what he became.
And how did she endure all this? In constant moving, getting pregnant almost every year, with small children and forever without money … Could the only daughter of the rich have imagined that she would dream of the simplest dress?
Hostage of financial hardships
And the financial situation in the family, indeed, was simply catastrophic. For weeks, Jenny von Westphalen and Karl Marx, along with their children, sat on bread, water and potatoes. The real threat of hunger and homelessness hung over them. There was no housing of their own - the corners were rented. Every day, a mother of many children had to fight with a cloud of creditors and beg the baker for a loan of bread.for the last time … Jenny took everything to the pawnshop - family jewelry, valuables, clothes. Once even the only skirt of the mother of the family became the prey of the moneylender.
It became especially hard when Marx got to the Brussels prison, and it was necessary to carry parcels to him. But Jenny also had children! who wanted to eat. Who were sick…
The long-suffering mother
In the life story of Jenny von Westphalen children – tragic page. For thirteen years (from 1844 to 1857), the Marx couple became parents seven times. But births were followed by deaths. The lack of medicines and normal food proved fatal for this family. Son Edgar died at the age of 8; the second boy, Henry, was less than a year old at the time of his death; at the age of one, little Francis also died out; and the last son left this world before he was given a name.
Children were sick, and parents could not help them. Not like calling a good doctor - they didn’t even have the opportunity to give a bowl of hearty soup. And when little Francis died, mom and dad didn't have the money to bury her. And the coffin was made on credit.
Only three children of Carl and Jenny reached adulthood - these are the daughters Laura, Eleanor and Jenny, named after their mother. And even then … Eleanor took her own life at the age of 43, and Jenny was 39 at the time of her suicide.
Deceived wife
Jenny von Westphalen, interesting facts from whose life became known to the general public not so long ago, survived not only deathchildren, but also adultery. Sometimes it seemed to a woman that all the misfortunes of the world fell on her head.
Even at the dawn of family life, an eleven-year-old girl Lenchen settled in the Marx house, taking care of the house, and then the children of the couple. Over time, the housekeeper became Jenny's best friend. Marx liked to play chess with her.
When Lenchen was seventeen, a love affair arose between her and the owner of the house, the result of which was a boy named Freddie.
Karl carefully concealed his secret life from his wife. And he even asked his friend Engels to cover him. Everyone around believed that Freddie was his son, and Lenchen was his common-law wife. Most likely, Jenny guessed everything… But she did not show it.
By the way, this case was not the only one. Biographers write that already at a fairly mature age, Marx had an affair with his niece, who was 19 years younger than him.
Literary Mentor
But, despite all the trials, Jenny von Westphalen, whose biography began in a family of aristocrats, held firm. And until the last breath she loved her husband, helping him in everything.
Jenny's role in his journalistic and writing success is invaluable, as a well-educated woman was actually a literary editor and mentor of her husband. Jenny read all of Marx's writings, made notes and corrections, and rewrote her husband's scribbles in normal handwriting. Otherwise, publishers refused to take them. Marx's wife had a real literary talent, who served the classics well.
Last years of life
Only almost at the very finish line, Jenny got the opportunity to at least a little realize her writing talent. She took up journalism, covering the cultural life of London. Readers loved Mrs. Marx's pun.
It is a pity that the creative flight was interrupted so early … In 1878, a woman was diagnosed with liver cancer, and in 1881, the biography of Jenny von Westphalen ended. Photos of recent years eloquently indicate that life has pretty battered the daughter of aristocrats. It was the hardships and experiences that most likely caused such a terrible disease.
And yet, the steadfast Jenny had no regrets. Her last words were words about love for her husband. And he was simply crushed with grief and until the end of his days he carried in his jacket pocket a photo of his wife, whom he survived by only two years. The ashes of the spouses, who have passed a thorny, but full of passionate love path, rest in one grave. And… their maid Lenchen Demuth is also buried here.
