Included with the examination certificate was a “Certificate of Matricu-
lation into the University” issued to Severinus Aabye Kierkegaard; it was
written in Latin and personally signed by university rector J. W. Horne-
mann. Four days later, on November 4, 1830, yet another document ar-
rived, this one bearing a blood-red seal at the bottom. This was a “Certifi-
cate of Discharge on Grounds of Unsuitability,” in which the head of the
Royal Life Guard, Johan Heinrich Hegermann-Lindencrone, attested that
after threedays inthe guardand pursuantto aphysician’s evaluation aswell
as to his “own request,” Kierkegaard had been declared unfit for service
and his name had therefore been stricken from “the Guard’s roll.” Three
days as a “member of the Seventh Company of His Majesty the King’s Life
Guard” had apparently been plenty for Søren Aabye, who in later years
likewiserefusedtobepressuredtojoinranksandmarchinstepwithevery-
one else.
We can get a little glimpse into the domestic life of the Kierkegaard
homeduringthisperiodbyreadingtheletterssentbytheRudelbachsisters,
Juliane andChristiane, to theirbrother Andreas,who in 1828had accepted
a clerical post in the small industrial town of Glauchau in Saxony. Juliane
and Christiane supported themselves by teaching at a school for young la-
dies,buttheywerealsoaninspiredpairofenergetic,spinsterishgossipmon-
gers who would have fit in perfectly with today’s tabloid press. They were
regular callers at number 2 Nytorv, from which they reported on the great
andthepettyeventsofdailylife.“Theyareblessed,Christian-spirited,hon-
est,anduprightoldfolks”wastheirassessmentofMr.andMrs.Kierkegaard,
whose “goodness and charity,” as well as their generous table, with “wine
and cakes” they praised quite audibly. Two days after Søren Aabye’s eigh-
teenth birthday, Juliane, who usually did most of the writing, sent her
brother the following sketch of the general atmosphere, which also reveals
a typically romantic soft spot for the newly graduated “doctor”: “We spent
the evening in their company, and the party also included their daughter
and son-in-law. I found the Doctor much more handsome than the first
time I saw him, and he is certainly a worthy and godly young man. At the
table it pleased me to hear him cut his somewhat conceited brother and—
I dare say—stupid brother-in-law down to size for their arrogant and dull
remarks. But he did it with so much good nature and gentleness that the
brother-in-law, at least, never even understood him.”
Thestupid brother-in-lawwas surelyJohan ChristianLund. Andas time
passed,theconceited brotherwasgettingsomethingtobe conceitedabout.28 {1813–1834}