Therese Huber
Therese Huber was a notable figure in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, recognized for her unconventional approach to life and literature in a society that valued traditional roles for women. Born into an academic family as the daughter of the classical philologist Christian Gottlob Heyne, she married ethnologist Georg Forster in 1785 but later found herself unhappy in that union. Following Forster's death, Huber married Ludwig Ferdinand Huber, who had been an associate of the couple. Throughout her life, she had ten children, though only six survived to adulthood.
Despite adhering to certain societal norms, Huber subtly challenged these conventions through her prolific writing, which included novels, novellas, and travelogues. She often published under her husband's name initially, but through perseverance, she eventually asserted her identity as an author. Huber's work is viewed as both reflective of and critical of the limited roles available to women in her time, earning her a place as a figure of interest in feminist literature and gender studies. Her correspondence with prominent writers and artists of her day further highlights her influence and the duality of her literary voice, making her a significant subject for modern literary analysis.
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Subject Terms
Therese Huber
Writer
- Born: May 7, 1764
- Birthplace: Göttingen, Germany
- Died: June 15, 1829
- Place of death: Augsburg, Germany
Biography
An unconventional woman living in a time when conventionality was valued, Therese Huber subtly defied her society’s expectations for women through both her works and her lifestyle. The favorite daughter of her father Christian Gottlob Heyne, a famous classical philologist, Huber was raised in an academic and literary environment. She first married the ethnologist Georg Forster in 1785 but by several reports was unhappy in the marriage. She may even have taken a lover, Ludwig Ferdinand Huber, who was a boarder and associate of the couple. Huber, ultimately, became Therese’s second husband.
It was during divorce plans that Forster died and Huber was able to marry again in 1794. After Ludwig’s death in 1804, Huber lived with her unmarried daughter Claire until she moved to Stuttgart in 1816. Huber produced ten children between her two marriages, but only six survived to maturity.
Today, Huber is touted as a feminist hero because she successfully lived her life on her own terms, despite the “bourgeois ideal of the sentimental family which arose during the late eighteenth century and relegated women to the private sphere and domestic roles,” according to Christine Manteghi. Certainly the restrictive milieu Huber lived and worked in, it is claimed, forced her to carefully gauge her actions between propriety and the assertion of feminine power.
In her writing, Huber preserved and promoted a conservative female role that manifests devotion to domestic and familial duties. However, she subtly undermined this role by obliquely criticizing it and those who are consumed by such a limited personal view and life plan. In fact, Manteghi asserts that Huber’s “outspoken conformity to the norm allowed her to simultaneously circumvent that norm and maintain a career as a freelance writer.” Thus, Huber appears now to be a subversive writer who challenged the very social structure she ostensibly seemed to support.
Huber’s major works—she was indeed prolific—comprise novels, novellas, and travelogues. She also worked as an editor for a reputable newspaper aimed at the educated classes. Writing more than forty-five hundred letters, in this position, she corresponded with significant contemporaries, writers, and artists. Interestingly, Huber originally had to publish under her husband Ludwig Huber’s name but eventually was able to publish under her own name through quiet perseverance.
Two recent studies of Huber’s stories identify this duality of her work that creates a voice for women while avoiding overt attack on the prevailing patriarchal social structure. Therefore, Huber’s work, it appears, will increase in interest for modern readers and literary analysts because it continues to provide relevance not only for the study of the evolution of women’s literature but for gender studies as well.