Theosophy: History of a Pseudo-Religion

The Background of Madame Blavatsky

Helena Petrovna Hahn was born in 1831 at Ekaterinoslaw. She was the daughter of Colonel Peter Hahn and the granddaughter of Lieutenant General Alexis Hahn von Rottenstern-Hahn, whose family was of Mecklenburg origin and had settled in Russia. Her mother, Helena Fadeeff, was the daughter of Privy Councilor Andrew Fadeeff and Princess Helena Dolgorouki. The future Madame Blavatsky was never to forget her noble origins, which nevertheless contrasted strangely with the slovenly and even coarse manners she affected. From childhood onward, she behaved intolerably, flying into violent rages at the slightest frustration; despite her intelligence, this made it impossible to give her a serious and sustained education. At fifteen, in the words of her friend Olcott himself, she “swore enough to scandalize a trooper,” and she retained the habit throughout her life. At sixteen, she was married to General Nikifor Blavatsky, who was very old. She left with her husband for the province of Erivan, of which he was vice-governor, but at the first reprimand she left the marital home. It has been said that the general died shortly after her departure, but we think this is not so and that he lived for at least another fifteen years, for Madame Blavatsky stated that she saw him again at Tiflis in 1863 and then spent several days with him; this point is, moreover, of rather secondary importance.