A Young Girl's Diary

Ada is only 13 not 14 like Dora, and the parish priest makes a tremendous fuss because she’s not confirmed yet. Her mother is going to bring her to be confirmed soon. We are not...

December 23rd. I have still a frightful lot to do for Christmas, but I must write to-day. There was a ring at the front door this morning at about half past 11. I thought it mus...

June 19th. There was a letter from Dora to-day. I’m furious. Not a word about my sisterly affection, but only: “Many thanks for your trouble.” It’s really too bad; _he_ is quite...

December 5th. We are in such a funk: Hella and I and Edith Bergler have taken the Krampus which we bought for Frau Doktor M. and put it on her doorstep. Edith Bergler knew where...

October 1st. It was my turn in Natural History to-day I worked frightfully hard and _He_ was splendid. We are to look after the pictures and the animals _all through the term_....

October 10th. I’m in a great funk, I missed my gymnastic lesson yesterday. I was upstairs at Hella’s and without meaning it I was so late I did not dare to go. And Hella said I...

August 2nd. In my letter I did not say anything to Ada about our having been ennobled, or as Dora says _re-ennobled_, since the family has been noble for generations; she will f...

July 30th. Thank goodness this is my 14th!!! birthday; Olga thought that I was 16 or at least 15; but I said: No thank you; to _look_ like 16 is _quite_ agreeable to me, but I s...

Now that I have copied the letter, I really can’t see why Hella wants me to tear it up. There’s nothing so very dreadful in it. But there is one thing I shan’t be able to do for...

April 22nd. We’ve begun school again. Dora and I generally walk to school together since she does not go to the Latin lesson now because it was too great a strain for her. The s...

May 29th. On June 10th or 12th, Mother and Dora are going to Frazensbad, because they both have to take mud baths. Besides, Father says that a change will give Dora new thoughts...

September 9th. There was a frightful rumpus this morning; the great uncle, the people here call him “kutya mog” or however they spell it, and it means _mad dog_, well, the great...

February 15th. I simply can’t write my diary because Hella and I spend all our free time together. Yesterday we got our reports. Of course Hella has not got one. Except in Geogr...

After all, one can’t help one’s _thoughts_, and we shall be more careful in future as to the persons to whom we talk about _that sort of thing_. Here’s another thing I forgot to...

August 12th. I can’t write every day for I spend most of my time with the Warths. Oswald can’t stand Robert, he says he is a cad and a greenhorn. What vulgar phrases. For three...

THE best preface to this journal written by a young girl belonging to the upper middle class is a letter by Sigmund Freud dated April 27, 1915, a letter wherein the distinguishe...

June 12th. It is awful; just when I did not want to think any more about _such_ things, there comes an affair of that very sort! I’m in a frightful mess through no fault of my o...

December 16th. Owing to Mother’s illness I’ve had simply no time to write anything about the school, although there has been a _great deal_ to write about, for example that Prof...

September 19th. School began to-day; unfortunately, for _she_ has gone. And what was the Third is now the Fourth, and that is detestable, to sit in the classroom without _her_....

February 12th. We got our reports to-day. I have not got any Satisfactories, only Praiseworthy and Excellent. Father and Mother are awfully pleased and they have given each of u...

January 1 5th. The girls in our class are frantically jealous. We did not say in so many words that we, alone among them all, had been invited to see her, but Hella had brought...