ABSTRACT
Marian Evans arrived in Berlin, many of the salon-mistresses and their guests were of advanced age. In 1854, her literary salon was one of only two remaining, politically liberal salons. A synergy of political, economic, cultural and social factors had produced conditions in Prussia in which literary salons could emerge in Berlin. Rahel Levin, her friend and the daughter of a wealthy jewellery merchant, in 1790 went a step further and, although an unmarried woman of twenty, started her own literary salon in the reception rooms of the family house in Jagerstrasse. Perhaps as a consequence, musical salons, where talk was kept to a minimum, had become fashionable. Undeterred, Rahel proceeded to create her second literary salon. Rahel's second literary salon, like her first, became an important feature in Berlin's cultural life. Varnhagen's forbearance was grounded not only in remembrance of Rahel's friendship with her, but also in respect for Bettine's past political engagements and her contacts with Goethe.
