For the writers Charlotte von Stein, Marianne von Willemer, and Bettina von Arnim, Goethe was not only a common feature of their biographies but also a joint poetological element. All three engage with him in their writings, systematically referring to Goethe as a man and a writer in their own texts. The present study discusses this appropriation of Goethe in all its facets, indicating the way the struggle for personal identity in these three very different authors becomes discernible in their poetic engagement with Goethe and his works.