Mein Engel - mein alles - mein Ich
(My angel - my everything - my self)
Exactly 214 years ago today, Ludwig van Beethoven began writing one of the most famous love letters in history.
He wrote it in Teplitz, deeply moved by an unexpected meeting with his beloved in Prague on the night of July 3–4, 1812. The letter almost certainly never reached its recipient. However, the text makes it clear that Beethoven had intended to send it, presumably to Franzensbad.
By now, the literature on the letter’s content and its recipient fills entire libraries. One detail, however, is repeatedly overlooked: Still caught up in the euphoria of their long-awaited night of love, Beethoven begins his passion-filled letter with something that seems like a triviality. He tells his most deeply beloved what is obvious anyway—namely, that he is putting his words down on paper in (her) pencil.
So apparently, he had received a writing implement from her earlier. But why is this detail actually so important to him? Why mention it in such a prominent place, and even emphasize it with the phrase “namely”? (Just a few words today, written in pencil (with yours)).
Aside from the fact that he could easily have written with ink and a quill in his lodgings—in a manner befitting the occasion—he also always had a pencil on hand for sketches and notes. And yet he went out of his way to add “with yours”—squeezed in between the lines afterward.
The tradition of giving writing instruments as gifts has a long history. At first glance, this may seem like a trivial gesture, but it actually holds profound layers of meaning and symbolism. In an era when letters were the primary means of communication, writing instruments were often given as particularly intimate expressions of love.
As a tender gift, they expressed both the desire and the promise to remain emotionally close to one another.
As a gift from a woman to a man, they signaled a shared intellectual connection and appreciation for his intellect.
As a tool for preserving thoughts and feelings, they serve as a vehicle for a deep intellectual and emotional exchange.
And finally, passion and eroticism could be subtly expressed through the symbolic form and texture of a pen … “with yours” - - -
Appreciations 🎶 Ludovina VB • FB@Ludwig van Beethoven Group
