Friedrich Gottlob Wetzel
Friedrich Gottlob Wetzel was a German novelist, journalist, and author of autobiographical fiction, born in the late 1770s in Bautzen, Germany. He emerged posthumously as a significant literary figure when Franz Schultz uncovered his authorship of *Die Nachtwachen des Bonaventura*, previously attributed to philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling. Wetzel faced financial difficulties throughout his life, which forced him to abandon his medical studies at the University of Jena in 1803 and led him to become an itinerant writer. His most notable work, *Die Nachtwachen des Bonaventura*, consists of sixteen narratives where a first-person narrator, claiming to be the devil’s offspring, reflects on the cruelty and meaninglessness of existence through the lens of various human experiences.
Wetzel also contributed to journalism and published several satirical pieces, though these have mostly fallen into obscurity. After obtaining his doctorate in 1805 and marrying Johanna Heuäcker, he took on an editorial role at the *Fränkischer Merkur* until his death in 1819. Despite the challenges he faced, Wetzel's legacy lives on primarily through his dark and thought-provoking writings, with *Die Nachtwachen des Bonaventura* being regarded as his most revered work.
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Subject Terms
Friedrich Gottlob Wetzel
Writer
- Born: September 14, 1779
- Birthplace: Bautzen, Germany
- Died: July 19, 1819
- Place of death: Bamberg, Germany
Biography
Friedrich Gottlob Wetzel, novelist, journalist, and author of autobiographical fiction, attained a place among German writers ninety years after his death when his name was attributed to the work Die Nachtwachen des Bonaventura, which up to that point in time was believed to have been written by German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling. Until the research by Franz Schultz that revealed Wetzel’s authorship, Wetzel was an unknown writer.
Wetzel, born in the late 1770’s, was the son of an impoverished clothier. He attended local schools until he was awarded a small scholarship that enabled him to enroll at the University of Leipzig. He studied medicine there for two years before he transferred to the University of Jena. However, Wetzel was forced to abandon his studies in 1803 due to financial destitution.
Wetzel spent the following several years of his life as an itinerant, earning a pittance from his anonymous writings. It was during these dismal wanderings that he purportedly composed his greatest work, Die Nachtwachen des Bonaventura. In this collection of sixteen vigils, Wetzel asserts that all of existence is cruel and meaningless. Using a first-person narrator, Wetzel’s main character is the purported offspring of the devil who supports himself as a masochistic night watchman. This job environment becomes the stage for the main character’s observations of the despair of many different humans, a despair arising from the lies that each human invents to avoid truth. The lies, which the narrator mocks, are identified as religion, art, love, reason, justice, and the worship of nature.
In 1805, Wetzel managed to obtain his doctorate degree. He then married Johanna Heuäcker, whose dowry added an element of stability to Wetzel’s life. He dabbled in medicine before beginning a career in journalism. His work appeared in Dresdner Abendzeitung, Phöbus, and Berliner Abendblätter. In 1809, Wetzel took the position of editor for the Fränkischer Merkur where he remained employed until his death.
Wetzel published a number of satires: Sieben Briefe des Mannes im Monde an mich, (seven letters of the man in the moon to me), written in 1808; Fischers Riese von Leitpzig nach Heidelberg im Herbst 1805 (Fisher’s journey from Leitpzig to Heidelberg in the fall of 1805), written in 1808; Rinocereos: Ein lyrisch-didaktisches Gedicht in einem Gesange, written anonymously in 1810; and Prolog zum Grossen Magen (prologue to the great stomach), written in 1815. However, none of these works have been reprinted and Die Nachtwachen des Bonaventura, the original dark tome, has proven to be his best-remembered and revered work.