Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved Letters

After the death of the legendary composer, Ludwig van Beethoven, three mysterious letters were found amongst his belongings. These letters were very romantic in nature and addressed to a woman referred to as my Immortal Beloved. It was apparent by the content of these letters that Beethoven and the unnamed woman had been in love, but even those close to Ludwig did not know who she was. If Beethoven ever confided to anyone the identity of his beloved, they never disclosed the secret.

It is said that during his lifetime Beethoven had a knack for falling in love with women who were forbidden to him. Indeed, in the Immortal Beloved letters, Ludwig writes of his despair that “you are not wholly mine, I not wholly thine.” It is evident by these letters that there was some obstacle and that the relationship that he hoped for was unattainable. Beethoven tells his Immortal Beloved that “No one else can ever possess my heart-never-never.” Ludwig was known for his passion when it came to women, but it seems he may have been sincere. Perhaps he did love her that deeply for he never married.

Ludwig van Beethoven clearly expresses in these letters that the women he loved was ill at the time and that he is sorry that he cannot be with her. He mentions several times that he will be happier when they can live together. This obviously never came to pass, but his outpourings of affection make it clear that he wished it. It can also be assumed by his unabashed statements that his Immortal Beloved felt the same way. In the letters he calls her “My angel, my all, my very self,” “my dearest creature” and, of course “my Immortal Beloved.” He asks her “Is our love truly a heavenly structure, and also as firm as the vault of heaven?”

The Immortal Beloved letters were most likely written in the summer of 1812, which should have given Ludwig’s friends a clue who the recipient was. However, they were never able to ascertain her identity. Some still consider her identity a complete mystery. Others believe she was Antonie Brentano. If this is so then the reason that they were unable to marry is clear, Antonie was a married woman. If she was not Antonie then it is possible that she was an aristocrat, and thus out of Beethoven’s humble reach.

It is hard to imagine that the man who can be seen scowling in all of his portraits is responsible for the romantic and eloquent Immortal Beloved letters. Despite having obviously been a hopeless romantic, Beethoven was known for his grumpy disposition in later years. In fact the Heilingenstadt Testament (a letter to his brothers), which was found with the Immortal Beloved letters, was essentially an apology/explanation for his behavior.

The identity of the woman who moved Beethoven to write so passionately of his love is still being debated nearly 200 years later. Regardless of whom she was, she clearly had an effect on the composer. He died a bachelor fifteen years after the letters were written and he had kept them safe all that time.

Sources

Streisand, Betsy, Immortal Befuddled, retrieved 7/1/09, usnews.com/doubleissue/mysteries/immortal.htm

Lane, William (2006), Beethoven: The Immortal, retrieved 7/1/09, lucare.com/immortal