By virtue of its origin, this woman could shine in high society and lead a luxurious, carefree existence. But Jenny von Westfalen, interesting facts about which are presented in this article, chose a completely different life. Full of suffering, hardship and hardship. It was such a fate, alas, that was destined for the wife of the great theorist of communism Karl Marx.
Genesis von Westfalen
One fine winter day, a girl named Jenny was born in a wealthy family of German aristocrats. Full name is Johann Bert Julia Jenny von Westphalen. Her date of birth is February 12, 1814.
The baby's father bore the title of baron and was in the civil service, where he held a fairly high post. His ancestors were Prussian aristocrats - in particular, paternal grandfather Jenny served as an adviser, secretary, and then field marshal under the Duke Ferdinand of Braunschweig. And grandmother was a successor to a noble family of Scotland. Mother Jenny von Westphalen was also a hereditary noblewoman, but of more modest origin.
The elder brother of the future wife of Marx rose to the ministerial title. Most likely, the girl would also have a bright future. But everything turned out as it happened ...
First beauty
Noble parents of Jenny tried to give her daughter a good education. In addition to her mind and ability to science, the girl had a bright appearance and was known as the first beauty of the balls of the old town of Trier, where her childhood and youth passed.
Jenny von Westfalen, whose photo has been preserved to this day, really looked very good. Her face was memorable and stood out from hundreds of others.
Therefore, it is not surprising that fans constantly curled around the rich heiress and queen of balls. With one of them - Lieutenant Karl von Panwitz - a young lady at the age of seventeen even managed to enter into an engagement. But this union never became a marriage. Six months after the conclusion, the engagement was terminated.
Meet Karl Marx
Jenny von Westfalen and Karl Marx met as children. Their fathers, despite the different positions on the public ladder, were friends. Johann Ludwig von Westfalen was generally a liberal person, and besides, he was very well educated. And to some extent, prejudice was alien to him. At the age of twelve, Karl begins to attend gymnasium with his brother Jenny and constantly comes to the von Westfalen family home to play.
Marx later 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 flowering girl (she was four years older) without memory. And when he grew up, his beloved reciprocated.
The engagement of seventeen-year-old Karl and Jenny, who at that time was twenty-one years old, would certainly shock the parents of the bride and the whole high society of Trier. But almost nobody knew about her - young people kept their relationship secret. Only Marx's father and sister, and even Jenny's girlfriend, were dedicated. Almost immediately after the betrothal, Karl left to study. And Jenny was left to wait for him.
The thorny path to the wedding
Being away from each other, young people had a passionate correspondence and dreamed about the day when they could finally be together. Marx already began his political activity, and he was considered an unreliable student. As a result of the persecution, the young man had to change several universities.
These problems did not crowd out the image of the beloved, and two years after the engagement, Karl made Zhenny an offer, to which the girl's family refused. And the relatives of the groom did not welcome this union, since the bride was older.
After the death of Karl's father, the relationship between the two families completely went wrong and gradually came to naught. But this did not affect the love of young Marx and Jenny von Westphalen. They continued to dream of a wedding.
After graduating from university and receiving a doctorate in 1841, Marx hoped that he would be left in the walls of the educational institution, where he could get a professor's place. But the reputation of the bearer of doubtful ideas crossed out these expectations. Karl was denied the position, and he could not offer anything to his future wife. So, the wedding again had to be postponed.
The 27-year-old Jenny, whom everyone had already called the old maid, was desperate. And Carla sawed his mother, reproaching sloppiness and forcing him to look for a warm place in the sun.
But even these difficulties did not separate the lovers. Nevertheless, they got married, contrary to everything and everyone. Jenny von Westphalen at that time was twenty nine years old. The honeymoon of the bride provided the honeymoon on the Rhine. They themselves did not have money at that time. However, they never were ...
First calls
Already in the first months after the wedding, Jenny realized what kind of person she had married. He did not seek to find a simple but stable job. He always had a lot of ideas in his head, half of which looked fantastic. Marx constantly disappeared in some circles, led some disputes, wrote something ... Forgetting to have lunch and make money for lunch.
Seeing this state of affairs, Karl'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 round sum, which could give them financial independence with Jenny. But ... This money disappeared instantly. After all, the author of Capital could never boast of economy.
Exile girlfriend
But these were still flowers. Further, the life of a successor to a noble family, von Westfalen, gave an even greater inclination. Her wife was fired from the newspaper, where he was settled, and then they started to harass at all. The Marx couple should have spent most of their time in exile. First was France: Paris ... Then Belgium. Then again Paris. And finally - London. When ordering Marx to leave Brussels, the authorities gave him only 48 hours to do this, and the family was forced to abandon their familiar corner and drive virtually without baggage. But it happened that Karl was leaving alone, and Zhenny was left to settle everyday issues.
Life in general fell heavily on her fragile shoulders. She tried to help as much as she could to her husband, who was far from routine, absorbed in journalism and politics. And later, Marx's friends said that if not for Jenny, he would never have become what he became.
And how did she stand all this? In constant moving, getting pregnant almost every year, with young children and forever without money ... Could the only daughter of the rich imagine what she would dream of the simplest dress?
Hostage to financial hardship
And the financial situation in the family, indeed, was simply disastrous. For weeks, Jenny von Westfalen and Karl Marx, together with their children, sat on bread, water, and potatoes. Above them hung a real threat of hunger and homelessness. There was no housing - the corners were rented. Every day, a mother with many children had to fight with a cloud of creditors and beg the baker for a loan 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 difficult when Marx went to Brussels prison, and he needed to carry gear. But there were also children on Jenny! Who wanted to eat. Which hurt ...
Long-suffering mother
In the life story of Jenny von Westphalen, children are a tragic page. For thirteen years (from 1844 to 1857), the Marx couple became parents seven times. But birth followed death. Lack of drugs and normal food proved fatal for this family. Son Edgar died at the age of 8; the second boy, Henry, was not even a year old at the time of death; at the age of one, little Francis 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 that it was possible to call a good doctor - they could not even give a bowl of hearty soup. And when little Francis died, mom and dad did not have the means to bury her. And the coffin was made in debt.
Only three children Karl and Jenny reached adulthood - these are the daughters of Laura, Eleanor and Jenny, named after her mother. And then ... Eleanor took her own life at the age of 43, and Jenny was 39 at the time of suicide.
Cheated wife
Jenny von Westfalen, whose interesting facts from life became known to the general public not so long ago, survived not only the death of children, 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, the eleven-year-old girl Lenchen settled in the house of Marx, taking care of the house, and then the children of the couple. Over time, the housekeeper became Jenny's best friend. Marx loved to play chess with her.
When Lenkhen turned seventeen, between her and the owner of the house there was a love affair, the result of which was a boy named Freddy.
Karl carefully concealed his secret life from his wife. And even asked a friend of Engels to cover him. Everyone believed that Freddie was his son, and Lenkhen was his common-law wife. Most likely, Jenny guessed everything ... But she didn’t show her mind.
By the way, this case was not the only one. Biographers write that already at a fairly advanced age, Marx began an affair with his niece, who was 19 years younger than him.
Literary mentor
But, despite all the trials, Jenny von Westfalen, whose biography began in the family of aristocrats, held steady. And until the last breath she loved her husband, helping him in everything.
The role of Jenny 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 the works of Marx, made comments and corrections, and also rewrote her husband's scribbles in normal handwriting. Otherwise, the publishers refused to take them. The wife of Marx had a real literary talent, who served a great service to the classics.
last years of life
Only almost at the very finish of Jenny had the opportunity to at least slightly realize her writing talent. She took up journalism, covering the cultural life of London. Readers liked Mrs. Marx's sharp word.
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 Westfalen ended. Photos of recent years eloquently indicate that life was badly battered by the daughter of aristocrats. It was deprivations and experiences that most likely caused such a terrible disease.
And yet, persistent Jenny did not regret anything. Her last words were words about love for her husband. And he was simply crushed by grief and, until the end of his days, carried in his jacket pocket a photo of his wife, whom he only survived for two years. The ashes of spouses who have gone through a thorny, but full of passionate love, rest in one grave. And ... their servant Lenchen Demut is buried here.