Caroline Lucretia Herschel (1750–1848)

Abstract

Caroline Herschel could truly be regarded as a real-life Cinderella, in fact her fate had been sealed against her will. She had nothing to look forward to but being a kitchen maid at the service of her family, but not at the behest of the stepmother as in the tale, but for that of real mother herself, who thought it was useless that she be educated, as the father instead had wished. Carolina had not been favored by nature from the aesthetic point of view. She was not handsome, and suffered from a disease that delayed her body development and growth, so that for the rest of her life she remained of short height. Adding the fact that she had no dowry to offer meant a sure future as a maid. Luckily, a virtual prince charming came along when she moved away to be with her brother William, who was in England to pursue his musical career. This freed the young Caroline from a life of domestic duties and allowed her to also take up a career in music, in which she became a promising soprano. Later, the passion of William for astronomy took the upper hand on his musical interests and, thanks to the salary granted by the king in support of his research, he was able to totally devote himself to science.His sister was dragged into his new adventure and, eclectic as she was, she not only adapted to it, but also pushed herself into it with passion and commitment till the end of her life.

Eight comets for herself