Page - 125 - in Entangled Entertainers - Jews and Popular Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna

Jewish Spaces of Retreat at the Turn of the Twentieth Century | 125 its contemplative way of life.21 Th is is evident in the short stories by Jewish jour- nalist Julius Löwy (1851–1905) for the Illustrirtes Wiener Extrablatt, which cap- tured everyday life in Vienna and the periphery and which repeatedly align them with Schottenfeld. On March 4, 1900, his essay (“Der Kaiser vom Schottenfeld als eine Wiener Vorstadtgeschichte” (Th e king of Schottenfeld as a tale of the Vi- ennese outskirts) was published,22 and six months later, “Der Kirchtaggeiger vom Schottenfeld” (Th e church festival fi ddler from Schottenfeld), which was termed an “old Viennese character.”23 Old Vienna, the periphery, and Schottenfeld were strongly associated with one another, with Schottenfeld serving as a quasi- synonym for the old Viennese periphery. It was no coincidence that Albert Hirsch wrote a play that referred to Schotten- feld, and by extension to Old Vienna. First, he understood himself as a member of the community of Viennese Volkssänger, which was closely tied to the folk music tradition and the atmosphere of historic Vienna. Additionally, he and his ensem- ble often appeared in the taverns on Maria hilferstrasse, which is in the immediate vicinity of Schottenfeld.24 By explicitly naming this quarter of the city in the title of his piece, Hirsch was able to directly address the surrounding population and advertise his performances. He also did this with the character of the priest, who plays a central role in Th e Apostle of Schottenfeld. Hirsch based his character on Karl Stern, the parish priest of Schottenfeld, who had died in March 1901. He was truly beloved, enjoyed renown beyond his parish, and by virtue of his advanced age of eighty-six years personifi ed a piece of Old Vienna.25 Hirsch thus likely in- tended for his play to benefi t from the reference to the well-known priest. Th e Apostle of Schottenfeld is about a young Jewish couple, Bruno and Esther, who attempt to obtain permission to marry. Esther’s father, a stockbroker named Goldmann, and his wife are against the relationship because Bruno is too inter- ested in sports, and they think his professional plans are pipe dreams.26 He wants to train animals and have them perform at the Ronacher, as well as build a blimp, and therefore needs start-up funds for his ventures. However, he does not have any money, and Mr. Goldmann does not want to give or loan it to him. In the fi rst scene, Mr. and Mrs. Goldmann fi nd their daughter having a ren- dezvous with Bruno. Th e young couple tells Esther’s parents that they cannot live without one other. Bruno concedes that he must seem like a terrible groom, because without a profession and fi nancial means, he cannot provide for Esther. What is more, an improvement in his situation is not foreseeable in the near fu- ture. Yet he is certain that he will ultimately reach his goal. Mr. Goldmann does not share Bruno’s confi dence. Convinced that he will never have any money, he tells Bruno that he may have his daughter’s hand as soon as he produces 1,000 gulden in cash. He then considers the matter settled. Both Esther and Bruno are deeply troubled by this stipulation. A wedding no longer seems to be in the picture. Frustrated, Esther threatens to throw herself into the Danube. Bruno will not be upstaged and voices the same resolution. Mr. This open access edition has been made available under a CC BY 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched.