A Marriage Rooted in Reason

Chapter six presents a case study of one of the most famous and influential academic couples of the era: Johann Christoph and Luise Adelgunde Viktorie Gottsched. In addition to Frau Gottsched’s successful career as an author, she was also an avid amateur musician. For much of her life, keyboard and lute playing served as a means of expressing optimism that human beings could improve themselves and the world around them by cultivating their unique rational faculties. In later years, as her relationship with her husband began to fray, her faith in rationalist philosophy suffered, and she endured a crisis of both body and spirit. This chapter presents an account her musical activities within the framework of her courtship and marriage. Though Bach was a neighbor and collaborator, the Gottscheds seem to have preferred the music of other composers.