Authoring Amity: Sophie von La Roche’s Fanny und Julia and the Question of Female Friendship in Eighteenth-Century Germany

Abstract

This article focuses on the conceptualization and literary representation of female friendship in eighteenth-century Germany. It identifies obstacles women faced when trying to define the genuine character of their amicable relationships, discusses the important role female friendship played in women’s emancipation at the time, including encouraging female authorship, and considers the function of female friendship in relation to heterosexual marital relationships. Sophie von La Roche’s 1801 novel Fanny und Julia shows, I argue, that homo-emotional bonds between women, rather than being positioned in opposition to marriage, were understood as its complement, serving as a propaedeutic and providing emotional stability.