Side note on Spock. As loathe as I am to be one of those “x killed my childhood” guys, I do feel a little sad at retroactively giving Spock siblings, as growing up he was that extremely rare example of ‘only child representation’ on TV for me 😕
Many great artists are basket cases in their personal lives! I have no problem separating the art from artist. What I learned from Beethoven is that as a creative person you should be open to reinventing yourself.
And who knows everything that was going on in Karl’s mind? It was the era of Goethe’s Werther. He shot himself twice and basically missed both times—it was probably a cry for help more than anything—then went on to a stable married life as a military man.
He stayed by Beethoven’s bedside during his last illness, and Beethoven left his entire estate to him. I’m sure Beethoven was overbearing, insensitive, and demanding with him, and custody battles are tough for kids, but it’s a complex, messy story.
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