Ludwig Anzengruber
Encyclopedia
Ludwig Anzengruber was an Austria
n dramatist, novelist and poet. He was born and died in Vienna
.
in Upper Austria
. Ludwig's grandfather, Jakob Anzengruber, was a farm-worker on the Obermayr estate at Weng near Hofkirchen an der Trattnach
. His father, Johann Anzengruber, left the family home at an early age and moved to Vienna, where he found work as a bookkeeper in the treasury of the Austrian crown lands. In 1838 he married Maria Herbich, the daughter of a petit bourgeois pharamacist. It is not surprising that the social standing of his parents - his father, from peasant stock, and his mother, a petty bourgeois - regularly played an important role in Ludwig Anzengruber's later works.
Ludwig's greatest influence in becoming a dramatist was his father who himself had been a secret poet in the style of Friedrich Schiller
, but without success. Only one of his plays, on the subject of Berthold Schwarz
, was produced, and probably only because of the spectacular explosion at the end; his other works gathered dust in the drawer of his desk.
of 166 guilder
s and 40 kreuzer
s. In 1854 when Ludwig’s grandmother, who had been supporting her daughter and grandchild substantially, died, his home and living arrangements became even worse. Financial emergencies drained their savings, but Ludwig's mother was ready to make any sacrifice (including taking up work as a seamstress) so that he could study at the Paulaner elementary school from 1847 to 1850 and then at the Piarist
high school from 1851 to 1853. In 1855 he dropped out of school due to increasingly bad grades and from 1856 to 1858 he was an apprentice at the Sallmeyer bookstore. During his employment at the bookstore he was able to read a great deal, but after disagreements with his master his apprenticeship
came to an abrupt end.
At the age of 19, after a severe bout of typhoid, Ludwig decided to become an actor. Over the next ten years he tried his luck as a professional actor, travelling with different acting troupes throughout the provinces of Austria. He worked as a supporting actor in many a second-rate theatre, without, however, displaying any marked talent, and he never made the breakthrough to success, although his stage experience later stood him in good stead. One thing that hindered him was the dialect
that he spoke, a dialect he was never able completely to get rid of. From 1866 he returned to live in Vienna again. During this time he wrote several drama
s and some short stories
, but these were unsuccessful.
, and its premiere on November 5 was a great success. Heinrich Laube
, the head of the Burgtheater
, wrote an enthusiastic review and through this Ludwig struck up a friendship with Peter Rosegger
. His overnight success meant that the police official (4th class) could step off the career ladder of the civil service and devote himself entirely to literature, which saved him from conflict between being a poet and his duty to his office.
In 1873, despite his mother's warnings, Anzengruber married the 16-year-old Adelinde Lipka (1857-1914). His young bride, the sister of his childhood friend Franz Lipka, was not up to the demands of practical life, and thus there were repeated crises in their marriage, although Ludwig's considerable debts and very close relationship with his mother were often also to blame for this. Despite their three children, divorce was inevitable, and in 1889 the couple separated officially.
The following years were very successful for Anzengruber. His plays were produced throughout Europe, though his mother was never able to fully share in his success, as she had died in 1875. From April 1882 until May 1885 he was the editor of the Viennese paper Die Heimat (The Homeland), in May 1884 he became a contributing editor of Le Figaro
and in August 1888 he became the editor of the Wiener Bote (Vienna Messenger).
In September 1888 he was given the position of dramaturg for the Volkstheater Wien in Vienna, which opened on September 14, 1889 with his piece Der Fleck auf der Ehr (The Stain on Honour).
At the end of November, the dramatist, who was only fifty years old, became sick with anthrax
, and not two weeks later died as a result of blood poisoning.
Anzengruber also published various short stories and tales of village life collected under the title Wolken und Sunn'schein (1888).
Short biography in German
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n dramatist, novelist and poet. He was born and died in 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...
.
Origins
The Anzengruber line originated in the district of Ried im InnkreisRied im Innkreis
Ried im Innkreis is a town in the state of Upper Austria in Austria, approximately 70 km west of Linz and 60 km north of Salzburg...
in Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
. Ludwig's grandfather, Jakob Anzengruber, was a farm-worker on the Obermayr estate at Weng near Hofkirchen an der Trattnach
Hofkirchen an der Trattnach
Hofkirchen an der Trattnach is a municipality in the district of Grieskirchen in Upper Austria, Austria.-References:...
. His father, Johann Anzengruber, left the family home at an early age and moved to Vienna, where he found work as a bookkeeper in the treasury of the Austrian crown lands. In 1838 he married Maria Herbich, the daughter of a petit bourgeois pharamacist. It is not surprising that the social standing of his parents - his father, from peasant stock, and his mother, a petty bourgeois - regularly played an important role in Ludwig Anzengruber's later works.
Ludwig's greatest influence in becoming a dramatist was his father who himself had been a secret poet in the style of Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, but without success. Only one of his plays, on the subject of Berthold Schwarz
Berthold Schwarz
Berthold Schwarz is a legendary or semi-legendary German alchemist of the late 14th century, credited with the invention of gunpowder in literature of the 15th and 16th centuries....
, was produced, and probably only because of the spectacular explosion at the end; his other works gathered dust in the drawer of his desk.
Early life and career
Ludwig was only 5 years old when his father died in 1844. His mother, who was to become the most important person in his life as the years went on, tried to make ends meet with her meager widow's pensionWidow's pension
A widow's pension is a payment from the government of a country to a person whose spouse has died.Generally, such payments are made to a widow whose late spouse has satisfied the country's requirements, including contribution, cohabitation, and length of marriage.-United States:In the United...
of 166 guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...
s and 40 kreuzer
Kreuzer
The Kreuzer, in English usually kreutzer, was a silver coin and unit of currency existing in the southern German states prior to the unification of Germany, and in Austria.-Early history:...
s. In 1854 when Ludwig’s grandmother, who had been supporting her daughter and grandchild substantially, died, his home and living arrangements became even worse. Financial emergencies drained their savings, but Ludwig's mother was ready to make any sacrifice (including taking up work as a seamstress) so that he could study at the Paulaner elementary school from 1847 to 1850 and then at the Piarist
Piarists
The Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools or, in short, Piarists , is the name of the oldest Catholic educational order also known as the Scolopi, Escolapios or Poor Clerics of the Mother of God...
high school from 1851 to 1853. In 1855 he dropped out of school due to increasingly bad grades and from 1856 to 1858 he was an apprentice at the Sallmeyer bookstore. During his employment at the bookstore he was able to read a great deal, but after disagreements with his master his apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
came to an abrupt end.
At the age of 19, after a severe bout of typhoid, Ludwig decided to become an actor. Over the next ten years he tried his luck as a professional actor, travelling with different acting troupes throughout the provinces of Austria. He worked as a supporting actor in many a second-rate theatre, without, however, displaying any marked talent, and he never made the breakthrough to success, although his stage experience later stood him in good stead. One thing that hindered him was the dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
that he spoke, a dialect he was never able completely to get rid of. From 1866 he returned to live in Vienna again. During this time he wrote several drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
s and some short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, but these were unsuccessful.
Creative period
In 1869 he found his way back into bourgeois society, when he took a job as a clerk (probably because he badly needed money) in the imperial police headquarters in Vienna. In 1870 under the pseudonym "L. Gruber" he wrote what was to be his breakthrough, his anti-clerical drama Der Pfarrer von Kirchfeld (The Priest from Kirchfeld). The play was first produced at the Theater an der WienTheater an der Wien
The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
, and its premiere on November 5 was a great success. Heinrich Laube
Heinrich Laube
Heinrich Laube , German dramatist, novelist and theatre-director, was born at Sprottau in Prussian Silesia.-Life:He studied theology at Halle and Breslau , and settled in Leipzig in 1832...
, the head of the Burgtheater
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater , originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world.The Burgtheater was created in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the...
, wrote an enthusiastic review and through this Ludwig struck up a friendship with Peter Rosegger
Peter Rosegger
Peter Rosegger was an Austrian poet from the province of Styria. He was a son of a farmer and grew up in the forests and fields. Rosegger went on to become a most productive poet and author as well as an insightful teacher and visionary...
. His overnight success meant that the police official (4th class) could step off the career ladder of the civil service and devote himself entirely to literature, which saved him from conflict between being a poet and his duty to his office.
In 1873, despite his mother's warnings, Anzengruber married the 16-year-old Adelinde Lipka (1857-1914). His young bride, the sister of his childhood friend Franz Lipka, was not up to the demands of practical life, and thus there were repeated crises in their marriage, although Ludwig's considerable debts and very close relationship with his mother were often also to blame for this. Despite their three children, divorce was inevitable, and in 1889 the couple separated officially.
The following years were very successful for Anzengruber. His plays were produced throughout Europe, though his mother was never able to fully share in his success, as she had died in 1875. From April 1882 until May 1885 he was the editor of the Viennese paper Die Heimat (The Homeland), in May 1884 he became a contributing editor of Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
and in August 1888 he became the editor of the Wiener Bote (Vienna Messenger).
In September 1888 he was given the position of dramaturg for the Volkstheater Wien in Vienna, which opened on September 14, 1889 with his piece Der Fleck auf der Ehr (The Stain on Honour).
At the end of November, the dramatist, who was only fifty years old, became sick with anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
, and not two weeks later died as a result of blood poisoning.
Dramas
Anzengruber's plays are mostly of Austrian peasant life, and although somewhat melancholy in tone are interspersed with bright and witty scenes.- Der Pfarrer von Kirchfeld (The Priest from Kirchfeld) (folk play with music in 4 acts) - Premiere: Theater an der Wien – 5. November 1870
- Der Meineidbauer (The Perjuring Farmer) (folk play with music in 3 acts) - Premiere: Theater an der Wien – 9 December 1871
- Die Kreuzelschreiber (peasant comedy with music in 3 acts) - Premiere: Theater an der Wien – 12 October 1872
- Elfriede (play in 3 acts) - UA: Carl-Theater – 24. April 1873
- Die Tochter des Wucherers (The Usurer's Daughter) (Play with music in 5 acts) - Premiere: Theater an der Wien – 17 October 1873
- Der G'wissenswurm (The Worm of Conscience) (peasant comedy with music in 3 acts) - Premiere: Theater an der Wien – 19. September 1874
- Hand und Herz (Hand and Heart) (tragedy in 4 acts) - Premiere: Wiener Stadttheater – 31 December 1874
- Doppelselbstmord (Double Suicide) (tragedy in 3 acts) - Premiere: Theater an der Wien – 1 February 1876
- Der ledige Hof (play in 4 Acts) - UA: Theater an der Wien – 27 January 1877
- Das vierte Gebot (The Fourth Commandment) (play in 4 acts) - Premiere: Josefstädter Theater – 29 December 1878
Novels
- Der Schandfleck (The Mark of Shame) - 1st edition: 1877; 2nd edition: 1884
- Der Sternsteinhof (The Sternstein Manor) - 1885
Anzengruber also published various short stories and tales of village life collected under the title Wolken und Sunn'schein (1888).
External links
Texts from Ludwig Anzengruber at Projekt Gutenberg-DEProjekt Gutenberg-DE
Projekt Gutenberg-DE is a collection of German language literary texts, distributed via the web and on CD-ROM. It is run by a small publishing company called Hille Partner, run by Gunter Hille, and its web presence is hosted by the weekly magazine Der Spiegel....
Short biography in German
