Political Dimensions of Arthur Schnitzler's Late Fiction

This study examines the late narrative works of the Austrian writerArthur Schnitzler (1862-1931), and places them in the context of thedominant political questions of the time. Because Schnitzler locatedthese works in the time and settings of the Hapsburg Monarchy, manycritics have overlooked the possibility that they provide veiledreferences to the establishment of democratic institutions in interwarAustria. Dr. Tweraser combines material from primary sources (forexample Schnitzler's unpublished diaries from 1922 to 1931) with anoverview of the First Republic, to support his twin arguments thatSchnitzler thought deeply about the political aspects of everyday lifeand applied this knowledge to the construction of his works; and thatthe First Republic had elements of continuity with the monarchy. Felix Tweraser is assistant professor of German at Idaho StateUniversity, Pocatello, Idaho.