!!!Schnitzler, Arthur

b. Vienna, May 15, 1862, 
d. Vienna, Oct. 21, 1931, epic writer and dramatist; son of Johann  
Schnitzler, father of Heinrich  Schnitzler, grandfather of Michael  
Schnitzler. Came from a Jewish bourgeois family, studied medicine and 
very early developed an interest in psychology (1886 houseman with 
psychiatrist T.  Meynert). From 1890 member of the circle of literary 
figures around H.  Bahr ( Jung-Wien). In 1895 the Burgtheater 
performance of "Liebelei" ("Playing with Love") made him known to a 
wide public. S's image was very much influenced by his cycle of 
one-act plays around the decadent character of Anatol written from 
1888. The two great dramas "Der einsame Weg" (premiere 1904) and "Das 
weite Land" ("The Undiscovered Country", 1911) are written in the 
spirit of Ibsen's social drama and his analysis of human motifs.

\\
Because of his uncompromising depictions of society S. was always 
subject to heavy criticism. The novella "Leutnant Gustl" ("None but 
the Brave",1900), a pioneering work because of its use of interior 
monologue, led to the loss of his rank as officer. The censor 
prohibited the performance of the drama "Professor Bernhardi" (written 
in 1912) until 1918. The one-act play "Der gruene Kakadu" (1899) 
caused heavy protests from court circles and his "Reigen" 
("Merry-Go-Round", 1900) of which he had 200 copies printed at his own 
expense, caused a scandal in the year after its première in 
1920; as a consequence S. forbade further performances.

\\
During the First World War S. never joined in the general enthusiasm 
for the war. In the 1st Republic he was wrongly considered a "writer 
about a lost world" who incessantly repeated the "sweet little girl" 
("suesses Maedel") theme. He was deeply shaken by the suicide of his 
daughter Lili (1928).

\\
Editions: Gesammelte Werke in Einzelbaenden, 6 vols., 1981; Briefe 
1875-1931, ed. by P. M. Braunwarth et al., 2 vols., 1981/1984; 
Tagebuecher 1879-1931, ed. by the Kommission fuer literarische 
Gebrauchsformen, 1987-2000; Das erzaehlerische Werk, 12 vols., 
1992-1995.

!Literature
C. Schorske: S. und Hofmannsthal, 1962; W. H. Rey, A. S., 
1968; R. Urbach, A. S., 1968; H. Scheible, A. S. und die Aufklaerung, 
1977; R. Wagner, Frauen um A. S., 1980; M. L. Perlmann, A. S., 1987; 
H. Tarnowski-Seidel, A. S., Flucht in die Finsternis, 1991; I. 
Lindgren, A. S. im Lichte seiner Briefe und Tagebuecher, 1993; U. 
Weinzierl, A. S., 1994; K. Fliedl, A. S. Poetik der Erinnerung, 1997; 
R. Rothe, A. S. und A. Sandrock, 1997; H. Scheible, A. S. mit 
Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten, %%sup 12/%2000; OeBL.



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