Carl Hauptmann
Carl Hauptmann (1858-1921) was a German author known for his transition from the sciences to literature, reflecting a deep exploration of the human experience. Born into a family with artistic influences, he initially pursued a career in scientific studies, earning his doctorate in morphology. However, after years of dissatisfaction with the scientific method, he shifted his focus to writing in 1896, believing that art could better reveal the meaning of life.
Hauptmann's works were often inspired by personal relationships, including those with family, friends, and acquaintances, showcasing a blend of his life experiences and artistic ambitions. His first collection of stories, "Sonnenwanderer," draws from his time spent in Switzerland and reflects significant personal connections. Throughout his life, he maintained close ties with notable figures in the arts, including his brother Gerhart Hauptmann, a fellow writer.
Carl Hauptmann's literary legacy is characterized by his personal quest for understanding the human soul, a pursuit that is often regarded as more impactful than his individual works. His unique background and experiences contribute to a rich narrative that invites readers to explore the depths of human emotion and creativity.
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Carl Hauptmann
- Born: May 11, 1858
- Birthplace: Ober-Salzbrunn, Germany
- Died: February 4, 1921
- Place of death: Schreiberhau, Germany
Biography
Carl Hauptmann was the third of four children born to Robert Hauptmann, an innkeeper, and his wife Marie, née Straehler. His maternal grandmother was very interested in the theater, and his maternal aunt Julie was a talented amateur actress, pianist and singer. Hauptmann used her as the model for Aunt Rosa in his first play, Marianne.
Despite early exposure to the arts, Carl spent the first thirty-five years of his life in the sciences. He had delicate health as a child, and read extensively in his father’s library. From 1872 to 1880, he lived away from home in order to attend the Am Zwinger highschool in Breslau. In the autumn of 1873, his landlady became ill and died. Hauptmann later referred to this event in his sketch “Der erste Abschied” (the first departure), written in 1894.
From 1880 to 1883, Hauptmann studied morphology under Ernst Haeckel at the University of Jena. His doctoral dissertation was his first publication. With interruptions for service in the military reserve, Hauptmann continued studying philosophy and biology under Richard Avenarius and Auguste Forel at the University of Zürich. For his thesis, he planned to refine the scientific method. However, the more rarefied his scientific pursuits, the less they satisfied him. In 1896, he abandoned science for literature, having decided that only art can reveal the meaning of life and delve into the human soul.
The three Hauptmann brothers, Georg, Carl, and Gerhart, married three of the five Thienemann sisters from Hohenhaus, near Dresden. Carl married the youngest, Martha, on October 6, 1884. She was educated by the Moravians. After twenty-two years of marriage, Carl built Martha a house nearby, divorced her, and on October 17, 1908, married Maria Rohne, a young painter he had met in the artists’ colony Worpswede. Carl and Maria then went on a lecture tour through the United States. Their daughter Monona, born in early September, 1910, is named after Lake Monona in Wisconsin.
Much of Hauptmann’s writing was inspired by people he knew. His first collection of stories, Sonnenwanderer (1897) (wanderers in the sun), refers to sunny days he spent with the Polish philosophy student Josepha Krzyzanowka in Andermatt, Switzerland, in 1889. The book is dedicated, though, to Paula Cohn, with whom Hauptmann had a brief infatuation. Likewise, the main character in Einhart der Lächler (Einhart the smiler) is based on the expressionist painter Otto Mueller, who had ties to Hauptmann’s family.
Hauptmann had a long-lasting friendship with the composer Anna Teichmüller who set some of his poems to music, and he benefitted from discussing art with the painter Otto Modersohn. His closest artistic association, however, was with his younger brother Gerhart. In 1891, the two Hauptmann families moved together into a large house in Schreiberhau, in the Sudeten Mountains.
Hauptmann chose to write in the early morning hours, when he could block out the external world and be more receptive to his visions. The verdict both of his contemporaries and of posterity is that the example of his life, with his personal quest for the human soul, is more significant than any of his works.