Varvara-Juliana de Vietinghoff

Entry by Elena Gretchanaia, 2004

Varvara-Juliana Krudener was born on the 11 [22] November 1764 in Riga (Russian Empire), to the Baron Otto Hermann de Vietinghoff, first counselor of the State and senator, and his wife, Anna (née Countess of Munich). In 1776 she traveled throughout Europe with her parents. In 1782 she married Baron Burchhard Alexis Constantin de Krudener (1744-1802), a Russian diplomat with whom she had a son, Paul (1784-1858), a future diplomat himself, and a daughter Juliette (1787-1865). In 1798 Varvara-Juliana gave birth to an illegitimate son, Philippe Hauger, conceived during her affair with Claude-Hippolyte Terray. Between 1784 and 1789 she lived in Venice, then in Copenhagen with her husband, who was at that time ambassador. From 1784 onwards she kept an intimate diary in French in which she reveals a strong inclination to introspection. In 1789 she settled in Paris with her children, where she met Bernardin de Saint-Pierre who encouraged her to write. It was in Switzerland, however, between 1796-98, that she wrote her first literary texts, which reveal the extent of Saint-Pierre's influence. At the end of 1799 she rejoined her husband in Berlin, where he would occupy the post of minister of Russia from the end of the following year. In September 1801, Mme de Krudener met Mme de Staël at Coppet. They met again in Paris during 1802, when she also encountered Chateaubriand, B. Constant and several other French authors. Following the death of her husband in June 1802, she left for Geneva and began work on her novel Valérie ou Lettres de Gustave de Linar à Ernest de G...On October 1, 1802 her Pensées et maximes appeared in the Mercure de France with an introduction by Chateaubriand. As for Valérie, published between 1 and 7 December 1803, the novel was successful throughout Europe (four editions were printed in 1804 and translations into other languages followed).

Early in 1804 Mme de Krudener returned to Riga, and shortly afterwards, as a result of a spiritual crisis, she joined the cult of the Moravian Brothers. Over the following years, under the influence of pietism, she preached for an interiorized 'New Church', free from confessional restraints. She addressed her preaching to the poor, which aroused suspicion in the eyes of state authorities, despite the fact that the Queen of Prussia, Louise, the Queen of Holland, Hortense de Beauharnais and the Princess of Bade, Stephanie were amongst her adepts. In 1808-1809, Mme de Krudener wrote a novel on early Christianity, Othilde. In June 1815, she met the Czar of Russia, Alexander I, at Heilbronn. She became the Czar's spiritual guide and followed him to Paris in July. Once there she published Le camp de vertus exalting the Russian victory over Napoleon, the figure of the Anti-Christ. Mme de Krudener is credited with a certain influence over Alexander's political decisions in this period, notably in the conclusion of the Holy Alliance. During the following years, she preached her "mission" in Switzerland and Germany, but driven out of these countries she returned to Riga in May 1818 and then to her domain of Kosse, in Livonia. In 1821 she resided in St. Petersburg, where she was appreciated by Russian society until her support for the Greeks in their struggle against the Turks sparked an invitation to leave the capital. In May 1824 she left for the Crimea (home to many German colonies) accompanied by her daughter, son-in-law and Princess Anna Golitsyna. She died on 13 [25] December 1824 at Karassoubazar in the Crimea (Bielogorsk, Ukraine).

The personality and writing of Mme de Krudener were subject to contradictory judgments during her lifetime, many of which were denigrating. Since her death this view has been revised owing largely to Sainte-Beuve. Today she is considered to be an emblematic figure of late eighteenth-century European literature. As a cultivated woman she testified to the ambitions of her counterparts. As a writer, she is especially appreciated for Valérie, an autobiographical novel which investigates the theme of impossible love, offering a snapshot of the most fashionable literary trends of the period. In Valérie, the culture of Sensibility and German romanticism are moderated by a typically French aristocratic reserve. This opposing of two cultures, those of the North and the South, prefigures Corinne by Mme de Staël.

(translated by Cathy McClive

Works

Selected bibliography

Selected bibliography of images

Reception