Description
This volume of short stories was published in 1913.
Short summary from the book's
While a comparison of Guy de Maupassant with Arthur
Schnitzler may at first seem extravagant, still the Austrian
writer has brought his short story to a level high enough
to dare comparison with any modern author. While
de Maupassant's eroticism is very evident, Schnitzler's
is far more delicate, subtle, and not so much on the
surface, and there is in the French author a sameness
of treatment not to be found in Schnitzler. The latter
occupies a place in modern Austrian literature comparable
only with the position held by Sudermann and Hauptmann
in Germany.
Arthur Schnitzler was born in Vienna in 1862. The son of a
physician, he followed his father's career and took his
degree in 1885. His first literary attempt was made the
following year, but it was not until six years later, in 1892,
that he came into prominence with the publication of
"Anatol". This series of episodes, which still enjoys a
great vogue in Europe, has recently attracted wide
attention both in England and the United States with
the publication of Mr. Granville Barker's paraphrase.
Some of these episodes have also been staged by the
Toy Theater of Chicago. Schnitzler's masterful
psychological novelette, "Dying", was also published
in 1892. "Flowers" followed the next year, and
"The Farewell" appeared in 1896. From that time
on short stories, plays, dialogues, and several novels
have come from his versatile pen.
There is a certain grace in Schnitzler's stories and plays
that distinguishes him from most German and Austrian
writers; a grace that is usually incompatible with the
German language. His lines are filled with delicate
nuances, and a subtle, and almost sensuous beauty
breathes forth from his pages.
For Schnitzler the essential is always make-believe of one
sort or another - plaing at love, playing at death, playing
at comedies. His materials are slight, but he uses them
with finesses of artistic grace and charm that give them
dignity and distinction. He voices Vienna and its refinement,
as well as the simpler sentiment of the Austrian people.
In most of Schnitzler's plays and stories the prevailing
question is just how to be off with the old love and on
with the new. It would be hard to imagine any
variation in this large problem that this writer has not
elaborated.
- Flowers
- The Sage's Wife
- Blind Geronimo and His Brother
- Andreas Thameyer's Last Letter
- The Farewell
- The Dead are Silent
Short summary from the book's
While a comparison of Guy de Maupassant with Arthur
Schnitzler may at first seem extravagant, still the Austrian
writer has brought his short story to a level high enough
to dare comparison with any modern author. While
de Maupassant's eroticism is very evident, Schnitzler's
is far more delicate, subtle, and not so much on the
surface, and there is in the French author a sameness
of treatment not to be found in Schnitzler. The latter
occupies a place in modern Austrian literature comparable
only with the position held by Sudermann and Hauptmann
in Germany.
Arthur Schnitzler was born in Vienna in 1862. The son of a
physician, he followed his father's career and took his
degree in 1885. His first literary attempt was made the
following year, but it was not until six years later, in 1892,
that he came into prominence with the publication of
"Anatol". This series of episodes, which still enjoys a
great vogue in Europe, has recently attracted wide
attention both in England and the United States with
the publication of Mr. Granville Barker's paraphrase.
Some of these episodes have also been staged by the
Toy Theater of Chicago. Schnitzler's masterful
psychological novelette, "Dying", was also published
in 1892. "Flowers" followed the next year, and
"The Farewell" appeared in 1896. From that time
on short stories, plays, dialogues, and several novels
have come from his versatile pen.
There is a certain grace in Schnitzler's stories and plays
that distinguishes him from most German and Austrian
writers; a grace that is usually incompatible with the
German language. His lines are filled with delicate
nuances, and a subtle, and almost sensuous beauty
breathes forth from his pages.
For Schnitzler the essential is always make-believe of one
sort or another - plaing at love, playing at death, playing
at comedies. His materials are slight, but he uses them
with finesses of artistic grace and charm that give them
dignity and distinction. He voices Vienna and its refinement,
as well as the simpler sentiment of the Austrian people.
In most of Schnitzler's plays and stories the prevailing
question is just how to be off with the old love and on
with the new. It would be hard to imagine any
variation in this large problem that this writer has not
elaborated.
- Flowers
- The Sage's Wife
- Blind Geronimo and His Brother
- Andreas Thameyer's Last Letter
- The Farewell
- The Dead are Silent