Charlotte Buff

Charlotte Buff (11 January 1753, Wetzlar – 16 January 1828, Hanover) was a youthful acquaintance of the poet Goethe, who fell in love with her. She rejected him and instead married Johann Christian Kestner, vice-archivist and privy councillor to the Hanoverian court. The character of Charlotte, in Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, is partly based on her.[1][2] Their relationship was characterized by heartiness and lack of constraint. Goethe bought the wedding rings for her and Kestner, in Frankfurt am Main.[2] Charlotte and Kestner had four daughters and eight sons, among them August Kestner.

Charlotte Buff
Charlotte Buff-Kestner by
Johann Heinrich Schröder
Born(1753-01-11)11 January 1753
Died16 January 1828(1828-01-16) (aged 75)

Appearances in modern culture

References

  1. "Charlotte Buff-Kestner". FemBio. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  2. Mandelkow, Karl Robert (1962). Goethes Briefe. Vol. 1: Briefe der Jahre 1764-1786. Christian Wegner Verlag. pp. 590–592

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