The Autobiographical Novel: A Window into the Life of the Reformer Lina Morgenstern, 1830–1909

Between the 1860s and her death in 1909, Lina Morgenstern shaped, and in some cases led, innumerable reform projects in Berlin related to women’s education, prison reform, infant mortality, poverty, early childhood education, child protection, employment conditions for women workers and maidservants, consumer prices, food quality, nutrition, prostitution, domestic hygiene, peace movements, and maternity homes. She authored thirty-two books and was involved in the founding of twenty-three organizations. Lina became best known for her People’s Kitchens that offered nutritious and low-cost food to millions in Berlin.

Lina Morgenstern has received attention in works by Maya Fassmann and a self-published study by Reinhold Kruppa in 2008. Yet considering her role in so many cutting-edge efforts in Berlin, it is surprise that more scholars have not examined her life and achievements. The lack of archival sources has created one hurdle to a full consideration of her impact. The limited records of her life are scattered across many archives making it more difficult to gain a sense of her influence and legacy.

This paper takes up a unique source that sheds light on Lina Morgenstern and her early life, her autobiographical novel Love and Suffering [Liebe und Leid], first published in 1869. In that book, written many years after the events described, Lina changes her names and the names of and all but one of her sisters, which leads to interesting questions about how it should be used to understand Lina’s life. In my paper, I will compare Lina’s novel to other autobiographical novels of this period, for example Eduard Lasker’s Experiences of a Man’s Soul [Erlebnisse einer Mannesseele]. In this panel, I examine the problems and benefits of this kind of source. I consider how it can offer insights into social and cultural history, as well as the history of emotions.