Zweig, Stefan#
b. Vienna, Nov. 28, 1881, d. Petropolis near Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Feb. 23, 1942, (committed suicide together with his second wife), narrative writer, dramatist, poet, essayist, translator. First married to Friderike Maria Zweig. Born into a Jewish bourgeois family; studied philosophy, German and Romance languages and culture at the Universities of Vienna and Berlin.Travelled throughout the world until 1914; during World War I worked at the Vienna War Press Agency; a confirmed pacifist, he moved to Switzerland in 1917 but returned to Austria to live in Salzburg from 1919 to 1934. Went into exile to London in reaction to harrassment during the political unrest of February 1934; became a citizen of Great Britain in 1940; moved to Brazil in 1941.
Z. regarded himself as a cosmopolitan and European but still clung to
the traditional values of pre-Republican Austria. His works are
characterized by a pacifist and humanistic way of thinking. Adhering
to the styles of Viennese Impressionism and New Romanticism, he
achieved his first success with poetry (e.g. "Silberne Saiten", 1901);
influenced by the teachings of S. Freud, he turned to writing novels
on the sexual confusion of the bourgeoisie of that time (e.g.
"Brennendes Geheimnis", 1913; "Amok. Novelle einer Leidenschaft",
1922; "Conflicts" ("Verwirrung der Gefuehle"), 1927). Z. rose to
international fame with his biographic novels which, in contrast to
the then current heroic biographies, underlined the heroism of
characters who adhered to their personal convictions (e.g. "Marie
Antoinette", 1932; "Triumph und Tragik des Erasmus von Rotterdam",
1934; "Maria Stuart", 1935; "Magellan", 1938); the collection of
essays called "The Tide of Fortune" ("Sternstunden der Menschheit"),
written in 1927, became one of the bestsellers of the time.
Further works#
Poetry: Die fruehen Kraenze, 1906; Die gesammelten Gedichte, 1924. - Novels: Beware of Pity (Ungeduld des Herzens), 1939; Rausch der Verwandlung, published posthumously, ed. by K. Beck, 1982; Clarissa. Ein Romanentwurf, published posthumously, ed. by K. Beck, 1992. - Biographies and essays: E. Verhaeren, 1910; Three Masters (Drei Meister. Balzac, Dickens, Dostojewski), 1920; Romain Rolland, 1921; Master Builders (Der Kampf mit dem Daemon. Hoelderlin. Kleist. Nietzsche), 1925; Drei Dichter ihres Lebens, 1928; Joseph Fouche, 1929; Die Heilung durch den Geist, 1931; Castellio gegen Calvin oder Ein Gewissen gegen die Gewalt, 1936; Amerigo, 1944; Balzac, 1946. - Narratives: Der Zwang, 1920; Die Augen des ewigen Bruders, 1922; Angst, 1925; Kleine Chronik, 1929; Schachnovelle, 1941. - Dramas: Tersites, 1907; Das Haus am Meer, 1912; Der verwandelte Komoediant, 1913; Jeremias, 1917; Legende eines Lebens, 1919; Quiproquo, 1928 (with A. Lernet-Holenia); Das Lamm des Armen, 1929. - Autobiographic writings: Begegnungen mit Menschen, Buechern, Staedten, 1937; Die Welt von Gestern, 1944. - Editions: Complete works published in several volumes, ed. by K. Beck, from 1981; Tagebuecher, ed. by K. Beck, 1984; Briefwechsel mit Bahr, Freud, Rilke und Schnitzler, ed. by J. B. Berlin et al., 1987; Briefe, ed. by K. Beck, 4 vols., 1995ff.; Die Monotonisierung der Welt. Aufsaetze und Vortraege, ed. by V. Michels, 1988.Literature#
J. Strelka, S. Z. Freier Geist der Menschlichkeit, 1981; D. A. Prater, S. Z. Das Leben eines Ungeduldigen, 1981; D. A. Prater and V. Michels (eds.), S. Z. Leben und Werk im Bild, 1981; H. Mueller, S. Z., 1988; T. Haenel, S. Z., Psychologe aus Leidenschaft, 1995; I. Schwamborn (ed.), Die letzte Partie. S. Z. Leben und Werk in Brasilien, 1999; S. Schmid-Bortenschlager (ed.), S. Z. lebt, 1999; NOeB.