As might have been expected, Karl’s widow, who was the daughter of a rich citizen, contested his right to the control of the boy, and began legal proceedings to obtain possession of him.  This was the advance-guard of a series of troubles that began to close in on him at this period, ending only with his life.  Years of litigation followed, the issue being at times in favor of one side, then of the other, the boy meanwhile being in charge of the successful party.  The new responsibility, assumed with scarcely a thought as to consequences, not only interfered with the bachelor habits of a lifetime, but the mental disturbance occasioned by the lawsuits which ensued, seriously interrupted his work, so that for some years very little was accomplished in the way of new compositions.  “The higher a man is,” said Goethe (Conversations with Eckermann), “the more he is under the influence of daemons, and he must take heed lest his guiding will counsel him to a wrong path.”  Could he have foreseen how this adoption of the child would interfere with his cherished work, he might have paused to consider the matter, before binding himself irrevocably by his promise to his brother.

With never a fixed habitation, no sense of the value of money, giving it away to those in need as readily as if it had no value, often enduring privation himself in consequence; with a mode of life so simple that the entire menage was frequently transported elsewhere on slight provocation, this ascetic was now to encounter housekeeping problems, make money, save it (most difficult of all), employ servants, in short undertake in middle-age and in impaired health, duties the nature of which he could not even form an estimate.

The plan of adopting the boy might not have been such a visionary one, could Beethoven have been in entire control from the start.  While the litigation went on, discipline was out of the question.  There were occasional victories for the mother, who then had the boy under her absolute control until such time as Beethoven was able to get the decision of the Court reversed.  Even when the boy was under the uncle’s charge, the mother managed at times to gain access to him in order to poison his mind against the uncle.  Her influence whenever she was able to exert it was naturally adverse.  That there should be a stronger affinity between mother and son, than between uncle and nephew is not surprising.  She had had entire control of him up to his tenth year.  She was lax in discipline and saw to it that the boy had a better time while with her than he was likely to have when under his uncle’s care.  That the boy began to show a preference for being with the mother can be easily understood, and it was a bitter trial to the master.

It was not alone mother-love which actuated Madame Beethoven in her extraordinary efforts to gain possession of the boy; money considerations entered into the question to some extent, as some money had been set aside for his support by the father, which she wanted to get hold of.  The simple straightforward Beethoven was no match for the wiles of this woman of the world, who generally managed in one way or another to circumvent him, even to the detriment of the child.  The boy was sharp enough to take advantage of the situation, and was spoiled long before the uncle was privileged legally to adopt him.