HIPPEL, THEODOR GOTTLIEB VON

born Jan. 31, 1741, Gerdauen, Prussia [now Zheleznodorozhny, Russia] died April 23, 1796, Knigsberg [now Kaliningrad, Russia] German writer of the late Enlightenment and a disciple of the philosopher Immanuel Kant. Although he was a minor writer of his time, his works have enjoyed an unusually long-lasting popularity and can now be seen to have foreshadowed the novels of Jean Paul (Johann Friedrich Richter). Hippel studied law and theology. In 1780 he was appointed mayor of Knigsberg, becoming president of the town in 1786. The influence of the author Laurence Sterne can be seen in his largely autobiographical novel Lebenslufe nach aufsteigender Linie (1778-81; "Careers in an Ascending Line"), which contains elements both of pietism (in its melancholy contemplations of death and morality) and of rationalism. His second novel, Kreuz- und Querzge des Ritters A bis Z (1793-94; "The Knight's Crisscrossing Journeys from A to Z"), portrays the prejudice and pride of the nobility in the misadventures and ultimate reconciliation with society of a quixotic hero. Hippel's two essays ber die Ehe (1774; "On Marriage"), a praise of marriage, and ber die brgerliche Verbesserung der Weiber (1792; "On the Civic Betterment of Women") attracted much attention with their emphasis on the emancipation of women. He also published two comedies in his youth; a number of legal, Masonic, and moral works; and hymns.