Ebner-Eschenbach, Marie Freifrau von geborene Freiin von Dubsky, ab 1843 Gräfin von Dubsky#
b. Zdislavice, Czech Republic (then Zdislawitz bei Kremsier), Sept. 13, 1830, d. Vienna, March 12, 1916. Important Austrian narrative writer, dramatist and aphorist in the period of late Realism. At 18 she married her cousin, later lieutenant field marshal Baron Moritz von Ebner-Eschenbach, and lived alternately at their castle and in Vienna.
Acquainted with F. Grillparzer, F. Halm, F. Hebbel und H. Laube,
E.-E. began her career as a dramatist, but her play "Das
Waldfraeulein" (first performed in 1873) was unsuccessful because it
criticised the aristocracy. E.-E. then turned to prose writing and
became known for the artist novella "Ein Spaetgeborener" (1875); this
was followed by her first great narrative, "Božena" (1876), and
"Dorf- und Schlossgeschichten" (1883), which contains her best-known
narratives ("Der Kreisphysikus", "Krambambuli"). As she was devoted to
the intellectual principles of the late Enlightenment in Austria, she
mostly depicted the fate of outsiders and members of the lower
classes, at the same time sharply criticising aristocratic society.
E.-E. also became known for her witty aphorisms (Weisheit des Herzens,
1948). In 1898 she received the Cross of Honour for Art and
Literature, as well as an honorary doctorate from the University of
Vienna (1900); her monument is the only one dedicated to a woman in
the courtyard of the University of Vienna (main building).
Further works: Zwei Komtessen, 1885; Das Gemeindekind, 2 vols., 1887;
Lotti, die Uhrmacherin, 1889 (first printed in "Dt. Rundschau", 1880);
Unsuehnbar, 2 vols., 1890; Margarethe, 1891; Glaubenslos, 1893; Alte
Schule, 1897; Aus Spaetherbsttagen, 1901; Meine Kinderjahre, 1906
(autobiography). - Editions: Saemtl. Werke, 12 vols., 1928; Gesammelte
Werke, 9 vols., 1961.
Literature#
K. Fliedl, Auch ein Beruf, in: G. Brinker-Gabler (ed.): Dt. Lit. von Frauen, vol. 2, 1988; G. Gorla, M. v. E.-B., 1997; J. P. Strelka (ed.), Des Mitleids tiefe Liebesfaehigkeit, 1997; E. Toegel, M. v. E.-E. Leben und Werk, 1997.