WOMEN IN GEOSCIENCES: CLEMENTINE HELM BEYRICH

Clementine Helm Beyrich (1825–1896), The Unusual Case Of A Woman Popularizer Of The Geosciences During The Nineteenth Century In Central Europe

Clementine Helm Beyrich (9 October 1825, Delitzsch – 26 November 1896, Berlin) was a widely read author of books for children and young adults who published her works during the period of the German Empire.[1][2]

Clementine Helm was born near Leipzig, as the daughter of the merchant Karl Helm (1785 - 1839) and his wife Henriette (née Schmidt 1794 - 1831). Since both of her parents died during her childhood, two of her maternal uncles successively took care of her. 

After having spent a few years at Merseburg, with the paedagogue Christian Weiss, Clementine Helm moved to Berlin, where she lived with the family of the brother of her former guardian, Christian Samuel Weiss, who was a well-known professor of Mineralogy.

Clementine moved to Berlin to obtain a teaching diploma at the "Königliche Luisenstiftung", a private school offering higher education to girls (see also: Höhere Mädchenschule). Afterwards, she taught at a school for girls for several years. In 1848 she married Heinrich Ernst Beyrich, at the time a student of her uncle's who later became a renowned geologist and palaeontologist, as well as a professor at Berlin University. 

The couple had no children of their own, but adopted Clementine's nieces, Anna (1846 –1906) and Elly (1848–1917), after the death of her sister Wilhelmine Louise in 1851. Letters and diaries confirm that the two girls inspired her foster mother as a writer. In 1896, Clementine Helm died at the age of 71, only one month after her husband had passed away.

Besides scientists, associated with Ernst Beyrich, the families' circle of friends also included a number of novelists like Theodor Fontane and Otto Roquette, as well as the art historian Friedrich Eggers, who knew each other from the Rütli (literary group).

Clementine Helm started her career as an author with the publication of songs for children in 1861. She was the author of more than 40 books, many of which were printed in several editions. Besides books she also published many short stories as well as fairy-tales and was the publisher of various anthologies. In 1895, just a year before her death, she started publishing the annual „Junge Mädchen. Ein Almanach“ together with Frida Schanz who continued publishing it until 1904.

Translations of her works are available in English, French, Dutch and various Scandinavian languages. Her most successful book „Backfischchens Leiden und Freuden“, is an example of the German genre Backfischroman, published in 1863.

Clementine's Legacy

Clementine Helm frequently made use of autobiographical episodes in her writing. Besides that her influence as a teacher was also present. Since she had obtained the highest form of education open to girls in the time of the German Empireone of her aims was to pass some of her knowledge on to her readers. As she was interested in science and biology - and had obviously read the works of Charles Darwin - she specifically made a point to mention his work On the Origin of Species in her novel Dornröschen und Schneewittchen. At the time favourable mention of Darwin's thoughts on evolution were very unusual content for a girls’ novel. Besides the reference to Darwin, the fact that religious topics were largely avoided, indicate that Helm was not particularly pious. On the whole Helm's books were ahead of their time by offering protagonists who were not just well-educated but often interested in natural sciences.

During the nineteenth century the role of women was very much restricted. In the geosciences, women were not able to study and thus even less able to publish. Here the work of one female writer is presented who, due to her upbringing in an intellectual family with close connections to the most celebrated scientists in Prussia/Germany, such as Alexander von Humboldt, the mineralogist Christian Samuel Weiss, Ernst Haeckel and many others, was aware of scientific progress and the discussions of the times. 

Based on her unusual education by teachers and scientists and her intellectual abilities, and knowledge acquired through marriage to a well-established geoscientist, she wrote popular juvenile literature that included geological and palaeontological content. This scientific content was typically woven into fairy tales or novels for adolescent girls and served as a way to spread geoscientific knowledge to a large audience.

Mohr, Barbara A.R. "CLEMENTINE HELM BEYRICH (1825-1896), THE UNUSUAL CASE OF A WOMAN POPULARIZER OF THE GEOSCIENCES DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY IN CENTRAL EUROPE." Earth Sciences History, vol. 40, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 84+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A662784433/AONE?u=anon~b9d8b4b9&sid=googleScholar&xid=1b244e18. Accessed 13 Nov. 2021.


Publisher URL: https://meridian.allenpress.com/esh/article/40/1/84/464291/CLEMENTINE-HELM-BEYRICH-1825-1896-THE-UNUSUAL-CASE

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-40.1.84