Ina Seidel
Ina Seidel was a German writer born in 1885 in Halle, known for her contributions to literature, particularly as a novelist. Coming from a family rich in artistic and scholarly traditions, her early life was marked by encouragement in the arts. Following the tragic suicide of her father when she was twelve, her family moved through various cities, eventually settling in Munich, where they engaged with intellectual and artistic communities. Seidel married her cousin Heinrich Seidel in 1907 and had two children, but her postnatal depression led her to poetry and writing.
Her literary career began in earnest with her first published collection of poems, but she gained prominence as a novelist, exploring themes of family tradition and the resilience of women. Notable works include "Das Wunschkind," set during the Napoleonic Wars, and "Lennacker," which chronicles twelve generations of Protestant clergy. Despite her initial support for the Nazi regime, Seidel later distanced herself from it, particularly after her husband's resignation in protest. After a long hiatus from writing during the war years, she returned to her craft in 1954 and received several literary honors throughout her life, including the Goethe Medal in 1932. Seidel passed away in 1974, leaving behind a legacy that reflects the complexities of her time and experiences.
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Subject Terms
Ina Seidel
Writer
- Born: September 15, 1885
- Birthplace: Halle in der Saale, Germany
- Died: October 2, 1974
- Place of death: Schlaeftlarn an der Isar, Bavaria, Germany
Biography
Ina Seidel was born to a long line of writers, doctors, and ministers of religion. Her father, Hermann Seidel, was a doctor and a scholar. Her mother, Emmy Loesevitz, came from a family of merchants, who also had artistic and scholarly leanings. Seidel was born in 1885 in Halle in northern Germany. Soon afterward, the family moved to Braunshweig (Brunswick). She had a sister, Annemarie, who became an actress, and a brother, Willy, who also became a writer. The children were encouraged in the arts from an early age.
Ina had a close relationship with her father, which was abruptly broken by his suicide when she was twelve. her mother moved the family to Marburg, then Munich in southern Germany, where her family lived. They moved in the intellectual and artistic circles of the vibrant city. In 1907, she married her cousin, Heinrich Seidel, a Protestant minister and writer, moving to Berlin, the capital. In 1908, their daughter was born, but the birth left Ina incapacitated and depressed. She turned to poetry writing, encouraged by Agnes Miegel, a poetess and later a friend.
During World War I, they lived in the village of Eberswald, and were largely untouched by it. Their son, Georg, was born there in 1919. He later also became a writer and critic. In 1923, they moved back to Berlin. In 1934, her husband resigned his ministry in protest at the increasing political takeover of the church under the Nazis, although Ina, herself, was at first supportive of Hitler. They moved to Upper Bavaria, where Heinrich died in 1945. Seidel had turned to writing novels in 1917, but fell silent under the Nazi regime and did not write again until 1954. She died in 1974.
Her first published book was her Gedichte (poems), but it was mainly as a novelist that Seidel made her reputation. Her main themes were generational family, tradition, and the fortitude of women. Four novels form a series focusing on these themes: Das Labyrinth (The Labyrinth), Das Wunschkind (The Wish Child), Lennacker: Das Buch einer Heimkehr, and Das unverwesliche Erbe. Her masterpiece is reckoned to be Das Wunschkind, which was actually started in 1914, set in the Napoleonic wars. The heroine first loses her husband in the fighting, then her son. Lennaker, however, was actually the most successful of the novels, being the story of twelve generations of Protestant clergymen. It gained her the reputation of being a Protestant writer. Later novels were more inward looking, seeking the childhood relationships she once enjoyed.
She received a number of honors, including the Goethe Medal in 1932; the Vienna Grillparzer Prize of 1941; the Brunswick Wilhelm Raabe Prize of 1948; and the Rhine-Westphalia Great Art Prize of 1958.