200 DOC.
200
MARCH
1916
200. To
Mileva Einstein-Maric
[Berlin,] Sunday,
[12
March
1916][1]
D[ear] M[ileva],
I
had
not
answered
the letter
before
your
last
one
yet
because
I
am
quite
overwhelmed
with
work
on
various
manuscripts.
You
don’t
need to
worry
at
all.
For
you
it
involves
a mere
formality,
for
me, however,
an
imperative
duty.[2]
Try
to
imagine yourself
in
my position
for
once.
Elsa has
two daughters,
the
elder of
whom
is 18
years old,
that
is,
of
marriageable
age.[3]
This
child,
who
is
anyway
seriously disadvantaged by
the
loss
of
one
eye,
must suffer from the
rumors
that
are
circulating
with
regard
to
my relationship
with her mother. This
weighs
on
me
and
ought
to be redressed
by
a
formal
marriage.[4]
You
gain
from this formal
change
as well,
to
the
extent
that
in
this
way your
rights
are
clearly
established. I wish
to
do
even more
than
I
had
obligated myself
to
before:[5]
1)
5,600
M
yearly money
for
your
disbursement.
2)
Deposit
of
my
Prague
money[6] as
well
as 6,000
M
savings
made here for
the
benefit of
our
children
at
a
place agreed
on
by
both
of
us.
3)
Deposit
of
at
least
3,000
M
annually
to create
the
previously planned
reserve
fund.[7]
By making myself
such
a
frugal
bed of
straw,
I
am
proving
to
you
that
my boys’
well-being
is
closest to
my
heart,
above all
else
in
the
world.
I
am
also
there
personally
for them in
the
first
place.
Our divorce has
nothing
to do with
my
relationship
to
the
boys.
That
is
a
very peculiar
interpretation of
yours. However,
I also want to
make
one
condition
on
my
part
that
no one can
take
as
unjustified.
I want
the
right,
when
peace
has
returned, to
have
my
children
not
only
on
trips
but
also in
my
apartment
during
the
short
period
I
am
granted
to
be
together
with
them;
there
they
are
alone with
me
and
not
exposed
to
outside
influences.[8]
For
I
shall
never give
up
the
state of
living alone,
which has manifested itself
as
an
indescribable
blessing.
Something
else I
had
forgotten
above.
4)
In
case
of
my
death the
pension
will
be
guaranteed
to
you
in such
a
way
that
you
would be
guaranteed
to
receive it
even
in
case
of
Else’s
death
from her
pension capital.
And
finally
5)
The
new
marriage
will
be
arranged to
keep
the
properties completely
separate,
thus
amounting
to
no
material
loss
for
you.
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