Karl Marx: From Poetry to Revolution and Duels
Bonn University had set aside a small one-room prison to punish drunken students. Marx was also imprisoned in the room for 24 hours by university authorities. But Karl Marx’s friends somehow got there and they played cards and drank beer all night. When Karl Marx was released 24 hours later, he was not changed at all. Marx missed Trier because his beloved Jenny lived there. She had green eyes and auburn hair. Karl Marx began writing poems for her. He also promised to marry Jenny. But Marx soon dropped the poetry and took up arms. He joined a revolutionary organization.
During Marx’s time, many student groups operated in German universities. Some of them supported the government while others were revolutionaries. One such powerful government supporter student group was Corps Borussia. This group often attacked revolutionaries. Karl Marx and his organization were also targeted. So Marx kept a pistol for his security. He also instructed his comrades to keep weapons for self-defense. There was also an incident that very few people know about today. A member of the Borussia Corps challenged Marx to a duel. It was a custom in Europe that opposing people settled their disputes in that way.
Duels were fought with revolvers and swords. Only one person could survive a duel in the end. You must have watched such duels in Western movies. These two people face each other with pistols. Karl Marx had to fight his duel with a sword. His opponent was trained in combat so Marx’s life was in danger. The duel took place but fortunately, no one was hurt. Karl Marx’s left eye was wounded, but the spectators intervened and ended the fight soon.
The Troubled Life of Karl Marx: From Dueling to Revolutionizing Philosophy
So Karl Marx survived by chance. However, when his father found out about the duel he was angry. He condemned Marx in his letter and ironically remarked if the duel was somehow related to philosophy. He advised Marx not to repeat the stupidity because this would be harmful to him and his parents. But Marx didn’t listen to his father’s advice and continued his activities as before. Marx once went to the city of Cologne. He also had his pistol with him. Police recovered the pistol from him and now he was in gross legal trouble. Police took Marx into custody and produced him in court.
If the case was properly handled, Marx could have faced long imprisonment. But Marx’s father rescued his son. Heinrich Marx was a successful lawyer, he had access to the top level officials. When he found out about his son’s arrest. He acted quickly. He tracked the judge who was hearing Marx’s case. He then wrote a letter to the judge and requested him to pardon his son. The judge read the letter and dropped off charges against Marx. Karl Marx’s 1st year at Bonn University was very troubling for him and his family. Marx’s father thought that Marx kept the bad company at Bonn University that would ruin him.
So he recalled Marx from Bonn University and sent him to Berlin. Marx was transferred from the University of Bonn to the University of Berlin. In Berlin, Marx dropped his bad habits but now he was fully committed to revolution. Now he was beyond the age of a young man and wanted to do something big. He wanted a system that would benefit all of humanity. But he had yet to discover its basic features.
The Forest Law that Sparked Karl Marx's Revolutionary Spirit
His first challenge was to determine the role of religion in human society. The 2nd challenge was to end media censorship in Germany. Maintaining a free press in Germany was not easy. The 3rd challenge was to determine the role of the working class in an ideal society. He didn’t know where the working class would fit in society. But Marx’s immediate challenge was to find a job after university. His father had died while Marx was still studying. Now his mother had assumed financial responsibilities for the family. She wanted Marx to find a job and earn money. Karl Marx had also promised to marry his beloved Jenny.
Jenny’s father had asked Marx to complete his doctorate before marriage. So now Marx had to face all these challenges. Marx found both challenges difficult because he was an average student and didn’t like to work for capitalists. How did Karl Marx overcome these challenges? why did he leave his country Germany? We will talk about all this in the next episode of this series. This beautiful forest is one of many in the Rhineland. Around 1843 most of these forests were private property.
The poor people could not cut wood from these forests. However, they were allowed to pick fallen branches as firewood. But in the early 1840s, a forest law was passed. According to the law, commoners were forbidden from picking the fallen wood. This was a very painful law for the poor. The poor needed woods to keep their homes warm. They violated the new rules and thus fell victim to the black law of the jungle. Some died others suffered. But the law of the jungle gave birth to Karl Marx out of Dr. Marx.
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