Absolute Error

The strange sacrifice of Charlotte

Charlotte Stieglitz (Hamburg, 1806 – Berlin, 1834). Model of a romantic suicide and marital self-sacrifice. Believing that her presence could become a hindrance to the development of her husband’s artistic genius, the German poet Heinrich Stieglitz, and that with her death she would help him progress in his career by perhaps providing him with new themes and emotions, she plunged a dagger into her chest at only 28 years old. We do not know if the supreme sacrifice of this sensitive young woman, gifted in the arts, produced the desired effects on the young widower. (Diccionario del suicidio, Carlos Janín)

Ironically, Charlotte's peculiar suicide made her so much more famous than her husband and her poems are still read in Germany. The quote above omits that she was sick and in suffering and that we know her motivations for a letter she wrote before taking action.

This is one of her poems, "translated" (poetry cannot be really translated) below using ChatGPT and DeepL.

Ein andrer Liebhaber zum Hackebrett

Wär’ ich doch ein großer Walfisch,
O Du meines Lebens Lust,
Jeden Tag ‘nen Wasserschwall frisch
Brächt’ ich, Kühlung Deiner Brust.

Wär ich nur ‘ne kleine Katze,
O Du Herzens-Sonnenschein,
Strecktest Du nach mir die Tatze,
Blinzt’ ich mit den Äugelein.

Ja, zugleich wär’ Bär und Basse,
Katz und Maus ich, Seel’ und Leib,
Wünschtest Du mich so zum Spasse,
So zum süssen Zeitvertreib.

Another Lover To The Hammered Dulcimer

If only I were a large whale,
O You joy of my life,
Every day a gush of fresh water
I would bring to cool your chest.

If I were just a little cat,
O you sunshine of my heart,
If you stretched your hand towards me,
I would blink my little eyes

yes, I would be both bear and bass,
Cat and mouse, I, soul and body,
If you wish me like that just for fun,
To sweetly pass the time.

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