Karl Marx: A biography by David McLellan

PARIS (^103)
pondent of the Rheinische Zeitung. Ruge's account of his tour of the
salons is a catalogue of one misunderstanding after another.'^9 Each group
thought the other a century out of date. Amazed that he appeared so
little versed in communism, the French were equally surprised by his
being an advocate of atheism and materialism, watchwords of pre-178 9
French thought. For his part, Ruge could not understand how the French
could be so attached to religion, which German philosophy had spent
such long and involved efforts in neutralising.
Lamartine at first described the conception of the Deutsch-Franzosische
Jahrbiicher as 'holy' and sublime, but later declined to contribute on
learning of its revolutionary nature. Leroux was occupied with inventing
a new printing machine. Cabet was shocked by Ruge's atheism and lack
of commitment to communism. Considerant was also alienated, suspecting
that the review would advocate violence. Proudhon was not in Paris.
Thus in spite of every effort the Deutsch-Franzosische Jahrbiiche appeared
without a single French contribution. By November, Ruge began to be
anxious even about the number of his German contributors: Herwegh
was honeymooning; and Bakunin was leading an errant life after expulsion
from Zurich. Their absence was offset by Heine who (having been increas-
ingly sympathetic to socialist ideas during his stay in Paris) agreed to
contribute some poems, and also by Ferdinand Bernays (recently expelled
from Bavaria after being the editor of the Mannheimer Abend-Zeitung).
Marx himself arrived in Paris at the end of October 1843. Jenny,
already four months pregnant, came with him. They first lodged at 23
rue Vaneau, a quiet side-street in the St Germain area of the Left Bank
where many other German immigrants were concentrated. The 'office'
of the Deutsch-Franzosische Jahrbiicher was on the ground floor of No. 22
and Ruge had rented two floors of No. 23 where Germain Maurer, a
leading German socialist writer, was already living. Ruge had written to
Marx outlining his project of a 'phalanstery' along Fourierist lines: he
invited the Marxes, the Herweghs and the Maurers to join him and his
wife in an experiment in community living. Each family would have
separate living quarters, but there would be a shared kitchen and dining
room; the women would take turns with the domestic duties.^40 Emma
I lerwegh summed up the situation at a glance and refused immediately:
'I low could Ruge's wife, a little Saxon woman, nice but characterless, hit
it off with Mrs Marx who was very intelligent and still more ambitious
and far more knowledgeable than she? How could Mrs Herwegh, the
youngest of the three women and so recently married, take to this commu-
nal life?'^41 Marx and Jenny did not stay long either: within two weeks
they had moved to No. 31 and then in December finally settled at 38
rue Vaneau where they stayed for the rest of their time in Paris.