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#1: Relationships: Wanda & Friedel Author: Róisín, Location: Ireland

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:00 pm
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Let's talk (however briefly you like Wink

) about Wanda and Friedel as a couple. Wanda von Eschenau is The Pretty Girl of the Chalet School, where she was a pupil from the age of 16. She is Austrian, Catholic and of nobility. Friedel von Gluck is a soldier in her father's regiment. We don't know when they met but they marry soon after Wanda has finished school and settle in Vienna where they have two children - Kurt and Maria Ileana. They are not rich, but fairly comfortable, because Wanda has been left an inheritance from a great-aunt.

Wanda and the children spend the war in the USA but return to Guernsey when the school settles there. Friedel escapes from a concentration camp and joins her there. They move to England and have a daughter - Emmie Joanna. They move to the USA again before returning to Austria some years later. In these years, Wanda has Hildegaard and Joletta, who die young, and Josefa, Olida and Maurus.

Some quotes relating to this couple:

From Headgirl

Quote:

“But yes; it was very nice, and Wanda had on a new gown of white satin. There was a great feast and many speeched, and Wanda’s Brautigam has send chocolate for us all. I had a new frock, too – blue silk, and we were very merry. Mamma made Wolfram and me go to bed two hours before the end, for she said it was not fitting we should stay up all that time; but it was very nice. Wanda had many betrothal gifts, and she is very happy. They will be wedded in July, and Paula and I are to be her maids. Wanda wants as many of us to be there as possible. She and Friedel will come to see us next term.”
...
Herr Hauptmann Friedel von Gluck came in for a very second share of the interest, though Marie had assured the girls that he was very amiable, and handsome as a prince out of the Marchen."
...
Herr Hauptmann Friedel von Gluck was a tall, dark young man, with a pleasant face and a merry laugh, and it was obvious that he adored his lovely Wanda, who looked more like a fairy-tale princess than ever in her white frock and big shady hat. Jo made up her mind that he was nice; and while Wanda and Grizel went on ahead with Paula and the other two English girls, she and Marie escorted him over the meadowland and through the dark pines, chattering away all the time. The newly arrived pair received quite a little ovation when they reached the picnic ground, and then everyone sat down to milk and cakes, while Wanda heard all the school news, and he was presented to various people of whom he had heard.

#2: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 9:02 pm
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I know that the books are meant to be about a school and not about Austrian social history, but I'd love to have heard more about Wanda and Friedel ... in a lot of ways they really both seem to belong to the world of pre-First World War Habsburg Vienna, even though neither of them would've been old enough to remember it, or at least to the inter-war world of the Austrian aristocracy as depicted in The Sound of Music Very Happy

, and their lives just took a totally different path to what they would have expected.

A "spin-off" book telling us more about Wanda, Marie, Gisela, Frieda and their families and how they coped with the aftermath of the Anschluss would've been really interesting ...

Sorry, that's got nothing to do with Wanda and Friedel's relationship Embarassed

#3: Author: Mona, Location: Hertfordshire

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:39 am
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I agree Alison, that would have been fascinating.

As far as Wanda and Friedel's relationship is concerned, I don't feel I know anything about it from the books. All the lead up to their engagement happens off-stage, and we only hear about it from Marie. I don't get any sort of sense of Friedel's personality from his introduction to the school. He seems to be there purely to give Wanda someone to marry, and is never fleshed out as anything more than a 'suitable' type of man for a girl of Wanda's status.

#4: Author: Fiona Mc, Location: Bendigo, Australia

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:52 am
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Wanda and Friedel are one couple I've actually considered writing about purely because I think the few words given about what happens to them is extraordinarily tragic and sad. For starters Wanda is in America with Marie when her husband goes missing to a Concentration camp which would have been terrifying for Wanda and hard for her to find out anything, secondly she has two children which die and I can only imagine how the changes in Friedel from being in a concentration camp would actually affect him and their marriage together. It must have been so difficult for her without much time to relax and just have fun because there is a line in Reunion which she says she felt like she had got her girlhood back for while she was there.

The other thing I thought was interesting was Wanda wanted to cut her hair and Friedel makes her promise not to. I wonder if she was sick of the fairy princess title and just wanted to be known as herself not as a fairy princess.

#5: Author: Róisín, Location: Ireland

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:09 pm
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I wonder how they met? Friedel was a soldier in Wanda's father's regiment but he must have been a highranking one or some kind of officer to be invited to his captain's (captain?) home. Did he invite many soldiers home - would there have been parties? - or did Graf von Eschenau pick out Friedel especially because he liked him and maybe had him in mind for Wanda?

Where is it said that Friedel didn't want Wanda to cut her hair? I don't remember that bit Very Happy

#6: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:24 pm
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I sort of imagine them meeting at a ball to which officers would have been invited - think Pride and Prejudice and that sort of thing, or the fundraising balls in Gone With The Wind- which is why I said that Wanda and Friedel always seem to me to belong to an earlier era!

#7: Author: Liz K, Location: Bedfordshire

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 2:42 pm
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Didn't Friedel take charge of the search for Cornelia when she went off to look for the salt caves?

#8: Author: Mia, Location: London

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 3:39 pm
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I like how Friedel appears to dispense chocolate and cake wherever he goes.

#9: Author: JayB, Location: SE England

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:24 pm
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Róisín wrote:

I wonder how they met? Friedel was a soldier in Wanda's father's regiment but he must have been a highranking one or some kind of officer to be invited to his captain's (captain?) home. Did he invite many soldiers home - would there have been parties? -

If the Graf von Eschenau was a senior officer in the regiment - maybe the Colonel, or its equivalent - it was probably considered part of his duty to entertain the younger officers to dinner or an evening party from time to time. I think we're told Friedel's rank somewhere, aren't we? He was probably the equivalent of a lieutenant or captain.

Presumably he found himself in the same situation as Captain von Trapp - ordered to report for duty under the Nazi regime.

#10: Author: macyrose, Location: Great White North (Canada)

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 5:49 pm
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I was trying to find out what Hauptmann means and found this from Wikipedia:

Quote:

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies.

So it looks like he was a Captain.

#11: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 9:37 pm
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Yes, Army Captain though, not Naval - so nothing like the rank of Captain von Trapp (Army equivalent Colonel)

#12: Author: Fiona Mc, Location: Bendigo, Australia

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 7:29 am
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Róisín wrote:

Where is it said that Friedel didn't want Wanda to cut her hair? I don't remember that bit Very Happy

I think its in Exploits and Marie mentions it when the quartet realise Simone is growing her hair. Joey says its a ghastly idea as Wanda wouldn't be so beautiful with short hair

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