PAOLI, Betty.

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Gedichte ("Poems"). First edition of the Viennese poet's first book. A significant female figure of the Biedermeier movement, her poetry adapted the Weltschmerz tradition into a distinctly feminine mode: "My misfortune can be summed up in two words: I was a woman and fought like a man!" (p. 64, our translation).The popularity of Gedichte secured Paoli (1814-1894) an invite to the prestigious salon of the philanthropists Josef and Henriette von Wertheimer, eventually leading to a role as an official companion to Princess Maria Anna Schwarzenberg. Paoli later became a theatre critic for the Hofburg and a translator of French plays. She was often compared to Byron and Nikolaus Lenau, the latter of whom was the dedicatee of this work. "Weltschmerz poetry in the tradition of Byron and Lenau contains conflicting concepts of masculinity that could only be transferred to the poetry of a female poet with modifications... For Betty Paoli, the ability to produce Weltschmerz poetry that could be adapted to fluctuating role expectations laid the foundation for her existence as a freelance writer and journalist, dependent on publishers and public taste" (Wozonig, pp. 72 & 88, our translation).

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