372
DOCS.
497,
498 DECEMBER
1913
really
fiendish mother-in-law. When
she
stays
with
us,
the
air
is
full
of
dynamite.
Ach,
and Miza
is
the
most
sour
sourpuss
that
ever
existed.
I
shudder
at
the
thought
of
seeing
her
and
you
together.
She will writhe like
a worm
if she
sees
you
even
from
afar!
At
any
rate,
we
will not
meet in
my
icy
home,
but rather outside
or
at
your
place.[4]
It
gets
to me, too;
I cannot feel
at
ease
at home,
not
even
if
you are
present.
Yet
she
herself
is
the
one
who suffers
most,
and
she does
not
understand that
she
herself
causes
the
graveyard
atmosphere.
Day
and
night
she thinks
about
how to
protect
herself
from
your
persecution.
My
mother
again
did
a
tactless
thing,
producing tears
and
anger.
She writes
to
me
alone
now,
yet
she sent
a
Christmas
present
to
the children
via
Maja.[5]
Miza
took
this
as an offense,
sent
the
things
back,
and
wrote
a raving
letter
saying
that
from
now
on
she
and the children
will have
nothing to
do with
her. If
I
were
not
so
firmly
ensconced
in
my
skin,
I would have
to
jump
out
of
it.
But
I
am
not
doing
it,
out
of
prudence....
But
one thing
is
clear
to
me,
namely
that both
are
to
be
blamed for the
miserable
relationship.
My
mother
is
also
very
perfidious
in
her hatred.
Example:
In
the last
letter that
she
addressed
to Miza
as
well,
she wrote
about the
Hochbergers:
"You
cannot
imagine
the
conviviality
that
prevails
there."[6]
No
wonder that the
love
of
science
thrives under these
circumstances,
for it lifts
me
impersonally,
and
without
railing
and
wailing,
from
the
vale
of
tears
into
peaceful spheres.
But I
hope
that
you
will
bring
me
back down to
earth
a
little,
even
if
not
exactly
by means
of
a
currycomb
and
toothbrush,
if I
may
ask
you
so,
but
with
a friendly
look and
cozy
chatter.
Now I
must
go
on sweating over my manuscript.[7]
With
a
cheerful hand
kiss,
still
from
a
disinfecting, sterilizing
etc.
distance, your
Albert
I couldn't
care
less
about the
apartment
business.
Let her
go
herself
and find
one
that
suits
her
taste.[8]
If
you try
to
help,
there'll
be
the
devil
to
pay.
Dear
Haber[9]
has
no
idea about real
diplomatic
difficulties....
My
address
is "Physikgebäude," not "Polytechnikum."
498. To
Elsa Löwenthal
[Zurich,
27
December
1913-4
January
1914][1]
Dear
Elsa,
Didn't
I
tell
you
that
all hell will
break
loose?[2] I
am
washing
my
hands
in
innocence,
as
in
that
notorious
case,
and watch with
perfect
calm how
the wretched
folks
are
coping
with
each other.
Miza
is
by
nature
unfriendly
and
mistrustful.
If
one
deals
with
her
accordingly,
she feels
persecuted.
Until
now
she
practically
never
had
any
dealings
with
anyone
else but
me, poor
devil. So
now
for
once
I
can
be
an
onlooker!
You
showed
her
kindness.
But
she
obviously
distrusts
you.
I
don't
know how
she
answered
your
letter,
but
she
probably
did not
accept
your
help.
As
far
as
Miza's