Editing Bertha von Suttner (section)

== Arthur and Bertha von Suttner ==
Arthur and Bertha von Suttner were largely socially isolated in Georgia; their poverty restricted their engagement with high society, and neither ever became fluent speakers of [[Mingrelian language|Mingrelian]] or [[Georgian language|Georgian]]. To support themselves, both began writing as a career. While Arthur's writing during this period is dominated by local themes, Suttner's was not similarly influenced by Georgian culture.<ref>Hamann, p. 37</ref>

In August 1882, Ekaterine Dadiani died. Soon afterwards, the couple decided to move to [[Tbilisi]]. There, Arthur took whatever work he could (in accounting, construction and wallpaper design), while Suttner largely concentrated on her writing. She became a correspondent of [[Michael Georg Conrad]], eventually contributing an article to the 1885 edition of his publication ''Die Gesellschaft''. The piece, entitled "Truth and Lies", is a polemic in favour of the naturalism of [[Émile Zola]].<ref>Kempf, pp. 15–16</ref><ref>Hamann, pp. 40–41</ref> Her first significant political work, ''Inventarium einer Seele'' ("Inventory of the Soul"), was published in [[Leipzig]] in 1883. In this work, Suttner takes a pro-disarmament, progressive stance, arguing for the inevitability of world peace due to technological advancement; a possibility also considered by her friend Nobel due to the increasingly deterrent effect of more powerful weapons.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

In 1884, Suttner's mother died, leaving the couple with further debts.<ref name="Hamann, pp. 42-43">Hamann, pp. 42–43</ref> Arthur had befriended a Georgian journalist in Tbilisi, M,<ref>Suttner could not recall the journalist's full name when writing her memoirs, and his identity is unknown.</ref> and the couple agreed to collaborate with him on a translation of the Georgian epic ''[[The Knight in the Panther Skin]]''. Suttner was to improve M.'s literal translation of the Georgian to French, and Arthur to translate the French to German.<ref name="Hamann, pp. 42-43"/> This method proved arduous, and they worked for few hours each day due to the distraction of the Mingrelian countryside around M.'s home. Arthur published several articles on the work in the Georgian press, and [[Mihály Zichy]] prepared some illustrations for the publication,<ref name="Hamann, pp. 42-43"/> but M. failed to make the expected payment, and after the [[Bulgarian Crisis (1885–88)|Bulgarian Crisis]] began in 1885 the couple felt increasingly unsafe in Georgian society, which was becoming more hostile to Austrians due to Russian influence. They finally reconciled with Arthur's family and in May 1885 could return to Austria, where the couple lived at [[Burgschleinitz-Kühnring|Harmannsdorf]] Castle in [[Lower Austria]].<ref>Hamann, p. 45</ref>

Bertha found refuge in her marriage with Arthur, of which she remarked that "the third field of my feelings and moods lay within our married happiness. In this was my peculiarly inalienable home, my refuge for all possible conditions of life, […] and so the leaves of my diary are full not only of political domestic records of all kinds, but also of memoranda of our gay little jokes, our confidential enjoyable walks, our uplifting reading, our hours of music together, and our evening games of chess. To us personally nothing could happen. We had each other – that was everything."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Memoirs of Bertha Von Suttner: The Records of an Eventful Life. Authorized Translation|last=von Suttner|first=Bertha|publisher=Nabu Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1147075816|location=Charleston|pages=340}}</ref>