Meta Wellmer

Meta Wellmer (born Margarethe Wirth; 18 December 1826/1832 – 1 August 1889), who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Wirth, was a German writer, teacher, and activist whose work addressed women's rights, vegetarianism, and animal welfare. She taught in several European cities and wrote poetry, fiction, and essays on education and nutrition; she contributed to the periodical Vereinsblatt der Freunde der natürlichen Lebensweise ("Association Journal for Friends of the Natural Way of Life") and published Die vegetarische Lebensweise und die Vegetarier ("The Vegetarian Way of Life and the Vegetarians"; 1877). She corresponded with Thomas Carlyle and his family, wrote to Friedrich Nietzsche in 1875, and spent much of her life in Ebersdorf, Reuss, where she died in 1889.

Margarethe Wirth was born in Leonrod, Kingdom of Bavaria, either on 18 December 1826 or in 1832.^[1][2] Her mother was Eva Margaretha Wirth, an unmarried weaver and the daughter of the mayor of Leonrod, who married Johann Geck in Deberndorf in 1830. Meta Wellmer later identified Michael Ludwig Wellmer (de) the Royal Bavarian District Judge and City Commissioner who died in Munich in 1859, as her father; however, it is uncertain whether he was her biological father, as he was not listed on her baptismal certificate.^[3] Through him, she received a thorough education in the sciences, modern languages, and music.^[4]

Wellmer became a teacher at the age of 17.^[4] She taught in Germany, Switzerland, Paris, London, Madrid, and Rome. During her career, she gained prominence as a writer, publishing multiple collections of poetry and short stories, along with numerous articles on topics such as education, nutrition, and women's rights in both domestic and international journals.^[5]

Wellmer became a vegetarian in 1869 and was extremely active in the vegetarianism and animal welfare movements.^[4] She was one of the early female contributors to the Vereinsblatt der Freunde der natürlichen Lebensweise ("Association Journal for Friends of the Natural Way of Life"). Her contributions included a poem in 1872 and a piece titled "Two Days of Travel" in Switzerland from a vegetarian perspective in 1874. She was one of the few women who regularly wrote for the journal during the late 19th century.^[6]

Wellmer also published independent works focused on animal welfare. Additionally, she authored the book Die vegetarische Lebensweise und die Vegetarier ("The Vegetarian Way of Life and the Vegetarians"; 1877).^[6]

Wellmer was a correspondent of Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, and his family.^[7]

Wellmer wrote to Friedrich Nietzsche in 1875, enclosing a copy of her book Geistergeschichten aus neuerer Zeit ("Ghost Stories from Modern Times"). In the letter, she discusses her admiration for Schopenhauer's philosophy, particularly the moral and ethical implications it has on daily life. In the letter, she expresses admiration for Schopenhauer's philosophy and discusses its moral implications for daily life. She writes that she adopted vegetarianism, which she regarded as the only moral and humane way of living, and proposes establishing a society of Schopenhauer’s followers to promote his teachings on equality, kinship, and mutual support.^[8]

Wellmer was a feminist and spiritualist.^[9]

Wellmer spent most of her life in Ebersdorf, Reuss.^[5] She died there on 1 August 1889, at the reported age of 62.^[10]

• Geistergeschichten aus neuerer Zeit [Ghost Stories from Modern Times]. Nordhausen. 1875.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Theophile: Eine Erzählung [Theophile: A Story]. Halle. 1876.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Deutsche Erzieherinnen und deren Wirkungskreis [German Female Educators and Their Sphere of Influence]. Leipzig. 1877.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Die vegetarische Lebensweise und die Vegetarier [The Vegetarian Way of Life and the Vegetarians]. Göthen. 1877.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Das Verhältniss des Kindes zur Thierwelt: ein Beitrag zur Gemüthsbildung [The Relationship of the Child to the Animal World: A Contribution to the Formation of the Emotion]. Munich. 1878.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Gemüthsbildung und Thierschutz [Emotional Education and Animal Protection]. Munich. 1882.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Gedichte [Poems]. Zürich. 1883.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Ludwig Richters Lebenserinnerungen [Ludwig Richter’s Memoirs]. 1886.
• Hellsehen und Irrwahn. Ernst und Scherz in der Mystik [Clairvoyance and Delusion. Seriousness and Joke in Mysticism]. 1886.

• Publications of Meta Wellmer
• Vereinsblatt der Freunde der natürlichen Lebensweise
• "The Wellmer Correspondence", letters of Thomas Carlyle and family to Meta Wellmer
• Letters to and from Meta Wellmer of the Carlyle family