Arthur Schnitzler
Encyclopedia
Dr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian
author
and dramatist.
and Luise Markbreiter (a daughter of the Viennese doctor Philipp Markbreiter), was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna
, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and began studying medicine at the University of Vienna
in 1879. He received his doctorate of medicine in 1885 and worked at the Vienna's General Hospital
, but ultimately abandoned medicine in favour of writing.
His works were often controversial, both for their frank description of sexuality (Sigmund Freud
, in a letter to Schnitzler, confessed "I have gained the impression that you have learned through intuition — though actually as a result of sensitive introspection — everything that I have had to unearth by laborious work on other persons") and for their strong stand against anti-Semitism
, represented by works such as his play Professor Bernhardi
and the novel Der Weg ins Freie
. However, though Schnitzler was himself Jewish, Professor Bernhardi and Fräulein Else are among the few clearly identified Jewish protagonists in his work.
Schnitzler was branded as a pornographer after the release of his play Reigen
, in which ten pairs of characters are shown before and after the sexual act, leading and ending with a prostitute. The furore after this play was couched in the strongest anti-semitic terms; his works would later be cited as "Jewish filth" by Adolf Hitler
. Reigen was made into a French language film in 1950 by the German-born director Max Ophüls
as La Ronde
. The film achieved considerable success in the English-speaking world, with the result that Schnitzler's play is better known there under Ophüls' French title.
In the novella, Fräulein Else (1924), Schnitzler may be rebutting a contentious critique of the Jewish character by Otto Weininger
(1903) by positioning the sexuality of the young female Jewish protagonist. The story, a first-person stream of consciousness narrative by a young aristocratic woman, reveals a moral dilemma that ends in tragedy.
In response to an interviewer who asked Schnitzler what he thought about the critical view that his works all seemed to treat the same subjects, he replied, "I write of love and death. What other subjects are there?" Despite his seriousness of purpose, Schnitzler frequently approaches the bedroom farce
in his plays (and had an affair with one of his actresses, Adele Sandrock
). Professor Bernhardi, a play about a Jewish doctor who turns away a Catholic priest in order to spare a patient the realization that she is on the point of death, is his only major dramatic work without a sexual theme.
A member of the avant-garde group Young Vienna
(Jung Wien), Schnitzler toyed with formal as well as social conventions. With his 1900 short story Lieutenant Gustl, he was the first to write German fiction in stream-of-consciousness narration. The story is an unflattering portrait of its protagonist and of the army's obsessive code of formal honour. It caused Schnitzler to be stripped of his commission as a reserve officer in the medical corps — something that should be seen against the rising tide of anti-semitism of the time.
He specialized in shorter works like novellas and one-act plays. And in his short stories like "The Green Tie" ("Die grüne Krawatte") he showed himself to be one of the early masters of microfiction. However he also wrote two full-length novels: Der Weg ins Freie
about a talented but not very motivated young composer, a brilliant description of a segment of pre-World War I Viennese society; and the artistically less satisfactory Therese
.
In addition to his plays and fiction, Schnitzler meticulously kept a diary from the age of 17 until two days before his death, of a brain hemorrhage in Vienna. The manuscript, which runs to almost 8,000 pages, is most notable for Schnitzler's casual descriptions of sexual conquests — he was often in relationships with several women at once, and for a period of some years he kept a record of every orgasm. Collections of Schnitzler's letters have also been published.
Stanley Kubrick
's last film Eyes Wide Shut
(1999) was based on Schnitzler's 1926
novella Dream Story
(Traumnovelle).
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
author
Austrian literature
Austrian literature is the literature written in Austria, which is mostly, but not exclusively, written in the German language. Some scholars speak about Austrian literature in a strict sense from the year 1806 on when Francis II disbanded the Holy Roman Empire and established the Austrian Empire...
and dramatist.
Biography
Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann SchnitzlerJohann Schnitzler
Johann Schnitzler was a Hungarian-Austrian Jewish laryngologist who was a native of Nagy Kanizsa...
and Luise Markbreiter (a daughter of the Viennese doctor Philipp Markbreiter), was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and began studying medicine at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
in 1879. He received his doctorate of medicine in 1885 and worked at the Vienna's General Hospital
Vienna General Hospital
The Vienna General Hospital is the University medical center of the city of Vienna, Austria. The AKH is the largest hospital of Austria and Europe, the second largest hospital in the world, and at 85-m high is one of the tallest hospital buildings in the world...
, but ultimately abandoned medicine in favour of writing.
His works were often controversial, both for their frank description of sexuality (Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
, in a letter to Schnitzler, confessed "I have gained the impression that you have learned through intuition — though actually as a result of sensitive introspection — everything that I have had to unearth by laborious work on other persons") and for their strong stand against anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, represented by works such as his play Professor Bernhardi
Professor Bernhardi
Professor Bernhardi is one of the best known plays written by the Viennese dramatist, short story writer and novelist Arthur Schnitzler...
and the novel Der Weg ins Freie
Der Weg ins Freie
Der Weg ins Freie was published by Arthur Schnitzler in 1908 and is one of only two novels by this Viennese author better known for his short stories and plays Der Weg ins Freie (translated as "The Way into the Open" and most often "The Road into the Open") was published by Arthur Schnitzler in...
. However, though Schnitzler was himself Jewish, Professor Bernhardi and Fräulein Else are among the few clearly identified Jewish protagonists in his work.
Schnitzler was branded as a pornographer after the release of his play Reigen
La Ronde (play)
La Ronde is a 1900 play by Arthur Schnitzler. It scrutinizes the sexual morals and class ideology of its day through a series of encounters between pairs of characters . By choosing characters across all levels of society, the play offers social commentary on how sexual contact transgresses...
, in which ten pairs of characters are shown before and after the sexual act, leading and ending with a prostitute. The furore after this play was couched in the strongest anti-semitic terms; his works would later be cited as "Jewish filth" by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. Reigen was made into a French language film in 1950 by the German-born director Max Ophüls
Max Ophüls
Maximillian Oppenheimer — known as Max Ophüls — was an influential German-born film director who worked in Germany , France , the United States , and France again...
as La Ronde
La Ronde (1950 film)
La Ronde is a 1950 film directed by Max Ophüls and based on Arthur Schnitzler's 1897 play of the same name. The title means "the round-dance".The film was nominated for two Academy Awards; for Best Writing and Best Art Direction...
. The film achieved considerable success in the English-speaking world, with the result that Schnitzler's play is better known there under Ophüls' French title.
In the novella, Fräulein Else (1924), Schnitzler may be rebutting a contentious critique of the Jewish character by Otto Weininger
Otto Weininger
Otto Weininger was an Austrian philosopher. In 1903, he published the book Geschlecht und Charakter , which gained popularity after his suicide at the age of 23...
(1903) by positioning the sexuality of the young female Jewish protagonist. The story, a first-person stream of consciousness narrative by a young aristocratic woman, reveals a moral dilemma that ends in tragedy.
In response to an interviewer who asked Schnitzler what he thought about the critical view that his works all seemed to treat the same subjects, he replied, "I write of love and death. What other subjects are there?" Despite his seriousness of purpose, Schnitzler frequently approaches the bedroom farce
Bedroom farce
A bedroom farce or sex farce is a type of light comedy, centered on the sexual pairings and recombinations of characters as they move through improbable plots and slamming doors...
in his plays (and had an affair with one of his actresses, Adele Sandrock
Adele Sandrock
Adele Sandrock was a German actress. After a successful theatrical career, she became one of the first German film stars....
). Professor Bernhardi, a play about a Jewish doctor who turns away a Catholic priest in order to spare a patient the realization that she is on the point of death, is his only major dramatic work without a sexual theme.
A member of the avant-garde group Young Vienna
Young Vienna
Young Vienna was a society of fin de siècle writers who met in Vienna's Café Griensteidl and other nearby coffeehouses from 1890 until 1897...
(Jung Wien), Schnitzler toyed with formal as well as social conventions. With his 1900 short story Lieutenant Gustl, he was the first to write German fiction in stream-of-consciousness narration. The story is an unflattering portrait of its protagonist and of the army's obsessive code of formal honour. It caused Schnitzler to be stripped of his commission as a reserve officer in the medical corps — something that should be seen against the rising tide of anti-semitism of the time.
He specialized in shorter works like novellas and one-act plays. And in his short stories like "The Green Tie" ("Die grüne Krawatte") he showed himself to be one of the early masters of microfiction. However he also wrote two full-length novels: Der Weg ins Freie
Der Weg ins Freie
Der Weg ins Freie was published by Arthur Schnitzler in 1908 and is one of only two novels by this Viennese author better known for his short stories and plays Der Weg ins Freie (translated as "The Way into the Open" and most often "The Road into the Open") was published by Arthur Schnitzler in...
about a talented but not very motivated young composer, a brilliant description of a segment of pre-World War I Viennese society; and the artistically less satisfactory Therese
Therese (novel)
Therese. Chronik eines Frauenlebens is a novel by Arthur Schnitzler first published in 1928....
.
In addition to his plays and fiction, Schnitzler meticulously kept a diary from the age of 17 until two days before his death, of a brain hemorrhage in Vienna. The manuscript, which runs to almost 8,000 pages, is most notable for Schnitzler's casual descriptions of sexual conquests — he was often in relationships with several women at once, and for a period of some years he kept a record of every orgasm. Collections of Schnitzler's letters have also been published.
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's last film Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut
Eyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama film based upon Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle . The film was directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, and was his last film. The story, set in and around New York City, follows the sexually-charged adventures of Dr...
(1999) was based on Schnitzler's 1926
1926 in literature
The year 1926 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is founded in Middlebury, Vermont....
novella Dream Story
Dream Story
Rhapsody: A Dream Novel, also known as Dream Story, is a 1926 novella by the Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler. It details the thoughts and psychological transformations of Doctor Fridolin over a two-day period. In this short time, he meets many people who give a clue to the world Schnitzler is...
(Traumnovelle).
Plays
- Anatol (1893), a series of seven acts revolving around a bourgeois playboy and his immature relationships.
- Flirtation (Liebelei - 1895), also known as The Reckoning, which was made into a filmLiebelei (film)Liebelei is a German film directed by Max Ophüls. The film, based on a play of the same name by Arthur Schnitzler, describes an ill-fated love affair.-Plot:...
by Max OphülsMax OphülsMaximillian Oppenheimer — known as Max Ophüls — was an influential German-born film director who worked in Germany , France , the United States , and France again...
and adapted as DallianceDalliance"Dalliance," by Tom Stoppard is based on the play "Liebelei," by Arthur Schnitzler. "Dalliance" was first performed at the Lyttelton Theatre, London, on May 27, 1986.-Plot summary:...
by Tom StoppardTom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
(1986) and Sweet Nothings by David HarrowerDavid HarrowerDavid Harrower is a Scottish playwright who lives in Glasgow.His agents are Casarotto Ramsay.-Career:...
for the Young Vic in 2010. - Fair Game (Freiwild - 1896)
- Reigen (1897), more usually called La RondeLa Ronde (play)La Ronde is a 1900 play by Arthur Schnitzler. It scrutinizes the sexual morals and class ideology of its day through a series of encounters between pairs of characters . By choosing characters across all levels of society, the play offers social commentary on how sexual contact transgresses...
and also known as Hands Around, is still frequently presented. Max OphülsMax OphülsMaximillian Oppenheimer — known as Max Ophüls — was an influential German-born film director who worked in Germany , France , the United States , and France again...
directed the first movie adaptation of the play in 1950; Roger VadimRoger VadimRoger Vadim was a French screenwriter, director, and producer as well as a journalist, author and actor, who launched Brigitte Bardot's career in the film And God Created Woman.-Early life:...
directed a second version in 1964, and Otto SchenkOtto SchenkOtto Schenk is an Austrian actor, and theater and opera director.-Life and career:Schenk was born to Catholic parents. His father, a lawyer, had Jewish roots and therefore lost his job after the Anschluss in 1938...
a third version in 1973. In 1998, it was reworked by British playwright David HareDavid Hare (dramatist)Sir David Hare is an English playwright and theatre and film director.-Early life:Hare was born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex, the son of Agnes and Clifford Hare, a sailor. He was educated at Lancing, an independent school in West Sussex, and at Jesus College, Cambridge...
as The Blue Room. - Paracelsus (1899)
- The Green Cockatoo (Der grüne Kakadu - 1899)
- The Lonely Way (Der einsame Weg - 1903)
- Intermezzo (Zwischenspiel - 1904)
- Der Ruf des Lebens (1906)
- Countess Mizzi or the Family Reunion (Komtesse Mizzi oder Der Familientag - 1907)
- Living Hours (1911)
- Young Medardus (Der junge Medardus - 1910)
- The Vast Domain (Das weite Land - 1911). The play was adapted as Undiscovered CountryUndiscovered CountryUndiscovered Country is a 1979 Tom Stoppard play first produced at the Olivier Theatre in London. The play is an adaptation of Das Weite Land by the Austrian playwright Arthur Schnitzler, which focuses on 1890s Viennese society, demonstrating the effects of upper class codes of behavior on human...
by Tom StoppardTom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
(1979). Two film versions of this play have been made, the first by Peter Beauvais in 1970 with O. W. FischerO. W. FischerOtto Wilhelm Fischer was an Austrian actor. A leading man of German cinema, he began his career with Max Reinhardt's stage company....
as Hofreiter, the second one in 1986 by Luc Bondy and starring Michel Piccoli. - Professor BernhardiProfessor BernhardiProfessor Bernhardi is one of the best known plays written by the Viennese dramatist, short story writer and novelist Arthur Schnitzler...
(1912) - The Comedy of Seduction (Komödie der Verführung - 1924)
Novels
- The Road Into the OpenDer Weg ins FreieDer Weg ins Freie was published by Arthur Schnitzler in 1908 and is one of only two novels by this Viennese author better known for his short stories and plays Der Weg ins Freie (translated as "The Way into the Open" and most often "The Road into the Open") was published by Arthur Schnitzler in...
(Der Weg ins Freie - 1908) - Therese. Chronik eines FrauenlebensTherese (novel)Therese. Chronik eines Frauenlebens is a novel by Arthur Schnitzler first published in 1928....
(1928)
Short stories and novellas
- Dying (Sterben - 1895)
- None but the Brave (Leutnant Gustl - 1900)
- Berta Garlan (1900)
- Blind Geronimo and his Brother (Der blinde Geronimo und sein Bruder - 1902)
- The Prophecy (Die Weissagung - 1905)
- Casanova's Homecoming (Casanovas Heimfahrt - 1918)
- Fräulein Else (1924)
- Rhapsody- also published as Dream StoryDream StoryRhapsody: A Dream Novel, also known as Dream Story, is a 1926 novella by the Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler. It details the thoughts and psychological transformations of Doctor Fridolin over a two-day period. In this short time, he meets many people who give a clue to the world Schnitzler is...
(Traumnovelle - 1925/26), later adapted as the film Eyes Wide ShutEyes Wide ShutEyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama film based upon Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle . The film was directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, and was his last film. The story, set in and around New York City, follows the sexually-charged adventures of Dr...
by American director Stanley KubrickStanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
) - Night Games (Spiel im Morgengrauen - 1926)
- Flight into Darkness (Flucht in die Finsternis - 1931)
- The Death of a Bachelor
Nonfiction
- Youth in Vienna (Jugend in Wien), an autobiography published posthumously in 1968
- Diary, 1879-1931
- Comedies of Words and Other Plays (1917)
Publications
- Theodor ReikTheodor ReikTheodor Reik was a prominent psychoanalyst who trained as one of Freud's first students in Vienna, Austria. Reik received a Ph.D. degree in psychology from the University of Vienna in 1912. His dissertation, a study of Flaubert's Temptation of Saint Anthony, was the first psychoanalytic...
Arthur Schnitzler als Psycholog (Minden, 1913) - H. B. Samuel Modernities (London, 1913)
- J. G. Huneker Ivory, Apes, and Peacocks (New York, 1915)
- Ludwig LewisohnLudwig LewisohnLudwig Lewisohn was an outspoken critic of American Jewish assimilation, novelist and translator, known for his novel The Island Within. He wrote several autobiographies, translated German literature and wrote the preface to the first English language edition of Otto Rank's seminal work Art and...
The Modern Drama (New York, 1915)
External links
- PushkinPress.com English editions of works by the author
- Additional works by Arthur Schnitzler (eLibrary Projekt - eLib)
- Schnitzler Archive, a research institution at the german Freiburg University which holds a copy of Schnitzler's literary estate such as drafts of his works and some unpublished works