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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Femininity and the Salon

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This chapter concerns Salon Culture and its role as a distributor of philosophy at the beginning of the nineteenth century, marking the importance of the mostly unacknowledged contribution by female thinkers. The salon presents the space between private and profession in which the participants could try out new roles and change old ones. Thus, the establishment of sentimental circles such as the Tugendbund around Henriette Herz, the extensive net of communication and representation established by Rahel Varnhagen, the opportunity to publish under either pseudonyms or hidden behind a male editorship used by writers such as Dorothea Schlegel may all count as first attempts to form a role as salient members of an enlightened community—to not only be seen, but to be able to see themselves. But it is foremost the salon which thus became an important stage for individual character development, enabling women to make their new role visible. And with that, the salon also contributed to a new understanding of the various roles as German citizens.