Beethoven's fantasy life
I have recently read some really interesting information and speculation about beethoven and his so-called 'fantasy life' in which he played out the fantasies associated with a 'nobler' upbringing. Beethoven as a child was deluded into believing he was younger than he really was (b. 1772 instead of 1770) and this was apparently something that he hung onto tenuously for many years. One could think that this was an attempt to confirm his own virtuosity, his own eminence.
More interesting, though, is this speculation by M. Solomon that Beethoven harbored a 'Family Romance', a Freud-identified state where one's current family situation was embellished or downright 'corrected' by fantasies of a more respectable family relationship by the person nurturing these fantasies. It seems Beethoven had the occasional rumor about him being descended from royalty, rumors that B. never refuted. It is possible, according to Solomon, that B. enjoyed these rumors as they helped cultivate his 'improved family' fantasy and allowed him to create more pleasant filial attachments to his father, who would've been the parental figure replaced (by royalty) in his fantasy. If this is true, this helps bring a more human aspect to Beethoven's childhood, and reinforces the idea that his childhood was not very happy. What do you think of this?
More interesting, though, is this speculation by M. Solomon that Beethoven harbored a 'Family Romance', a Freud-identified state where one's current family situation was embellished or downright 'corrected' by fantasies of a more respectable family relationship by the person nurturing these fantasies. It seems Beethoven had the occasional rumor about him being descended from royalty, rumors that B. never refuted. It is possible, according to Solomon, that B. enjoyed these rumors as they helped cultivate his 'improved family' fantasy and allowed him to create more pleasant filial attachments to his father, who would've been the parental figure replaced (by royalty) in his fantasy. If this is true, this helps bring a more human aspect to Beethoven's childhood, and reinforces the idea that his childhood was not very happy. What do you think of this?
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