box 34/4
OmM
31 deFluefte
The Germanic Revieto
02
The context shows that this is the very opposite of the view for which the
critic blames our author, for Schnitzler denies to the husband property rights in love.
In other words, Schnitzler is on the side of youth.
But perhaps the younger generation considers the right of being in addition to
wife and mother also a“woman'’ as something so self-evident that an author who
advocates it is merely carrying coals to Newcastle. At that the sexual problem
would not be solved, but on the contrary complicated a great deal. For at bottom
probably everybody desires for himself an ideal monogamy--at least for the time
being—and for the most modern as for Faust it is a disappointment to find
Ein Mädchen, das an meiner Brust
Mit Augeln schon dem Nachbar sich verbindet.
Therefore the question must arise:“ On what basis can love be made enduring in
a modern society in which the old moral sanctions have lost their meaning?“ Or, to
quote Walther Schneider, where“ Sexualität kein juristisches Problem mehr ist.“
It is into such a world that Schnitzler conducts us. There no one speaks of
divorce, people feel ashamed of jealousy in wedlock, they are tolerant and have
learned to understand. But because they love and appreciate one another, husband
and wife wish to preserve their marriage. The means for achieving this, Schnitzler
would seem to say, are common interests, meeting one another halfway, and an
intuitive understanding. At the present stage of society neglect on the part of
husband or wife must harm the ideal monogamy and bring disappointment to both
parties. One must be able to sense it, says Josefa, “ob man einen allein lassen darf
oder nicht.?
It is scarcely Schnitzler’s intention to preach commonplaces such as the above.
I have merely sought them out and underlined them in answer to the reviewer’s
question: Was gehen uns heute alle diese Dinge nech an?'' In his play Im Spiel
der Sommerlüfte Schnitzler presents us a vivid bit of life in portraying against the
colorful background of old Vienna a marriage of eighteen years’ duration threatened
Dy a crisis, which is averted however through the understanding of both partners.
The Vienna physician allows us glimpses into the hidden depths of che souls of his
characters, and in doing so arrives at an optimistit conclusion, It might be worth
while to point out in passing that the social note is unobtrusively present in most of
Schrtzler’s plays, but is generally overlooked; even in Anatol there is not only a
character study in an artistic and frivolous milieu, but also much delicate satire on
Anatol'the lord of creation.“
In addition to Schnitzler’s profound knowledge of the human soul which makes
it possible for him to create living characters in a few revealing words, we find in
this play also the keenly logical wit so prominent in Professor Bernbardt. Whenthe
Kaplan reports deeply relieved that not only has his brother’s duel endeu without
disaster, but that the latter also haTctained his wish of remaining in Innsbruck
instead of being transferred to Galicia, the young actress Gusti remarks:
GUSTI: So. Also, das ist wirklich viel Glück auf einmal. Es ist ihm zu
Angst darf man natürlich bei
gönnen, dem Herrn Leutnant, nach all der ...
einem Offizier nicht sagen, und bei einem hochwürdigen Herrn doch auch nicht.
KAPLAN: Eine schwere Prüfung war es auf jeden Fall.
GUS7TT (nickt, dann lächelt sie unwillkürlich): Und der Herrgott hat sie wunder¬
bar bestanden.
Who among the younger German dramatists can write such delicate and witty
dialog as Schnitzle. s, so full of nuances and of poetic mood? Just because it has
OmM
31 deFluefte
The Germanic Revieto
02
The context shows that this is the very opposite of the view for which the
critic blames our author, for Schnitzler denies to the husband property rights in love.
In other words, Schnitzler is on the side of youth.
But perhaps the younger generation considers the right of being in addition to
wife and mother also a“woman'’ as something so self-evident that an author who
advocates it is merely carrying coals to Newcastle. At that the sexual problem
would not be solved, but on the contrary complicated a great deal. For at bottom
probably everybody desires for himself an ideal monogamy--at least for the time
being—and for the most modern as for Faust it is a disappointment to find
Ein Mädchen, das an meiner Brust
Mit Augeln schon dem Nachbar sich verbindet.
Therefore the question must arise:“ On what basis can love be made enduring in
a modern society in which the old moral sanctions have lost their meaning?“ Or, to
quote Walther Schneider, where“ Sexualität kein juristisches Problem mehr ist.“
It is into such a world that Schnitzler conducts us. There no one speaks of
divorce, people feel ashamed of jealousy in wedlock, they are tolerant and have
learned to understand. But because they love and appreciate one another, husband
and wife wish to preserve their marriage. The means for achieving this, Schnitzler
would seem to say, are common interests, meeting one another halfway, and an
intuitive understanding. At the present stage of society neglect on the part of
husband or wife must harm the ideal monogamy and bring disappointment to both
parties. One must be able to sense it, says Josefa, “ob man einen allein lassen darf
oder nicht.?
It is scarcely Schnitzler’s intention to preach commonplaces such as the above.
I have merely sought them out and underlined them in answer to the reviewer’s
question: Was gehen uns heute alle diese Dinge nech an?'' In his play Im Spiel
der Sommerlüfte Schnitzler presents us a vivid bit of life in portraying against the
colorful background of old Vienna a marriage of eighteen years’ duration threatened
Dy a crisis, which is averted however through the understanding of both partners.
The Vienna physician allows us glimpses into the hidden depths of che souls of his
characters, and in doing so arrives at an optimistit conclusion, It might be worth
while to point out in passing that the social note is unobtrusively present in most of
Schrtzler’s plays, but is generally overlooked; even in Anatol there is not only a
character study in an artistic and frivolous milieu, but also much delicate satire on
Anatol'the lord of creation.“
In addition to Schnitzler’s profound knowledge of the human soul which makes
it possible for him to create living characters in a few revealing words, we find in
this play also the keenly logical wit so prominent in Professor Bernbardt. Whenthe
Kaplan reports deeply relieved that not only has his brother’s duel endeu without
disaster, but that the latter also haTctained his wish of remaining in Innsbruck
instead of being transferred to Galicia, the young actress Gusti remarks:
GUSTI: So. Also, das ist wirklich viel Glück auf einmal. Es ist ihm zu
Angst darf man natürlich bei
gönnen, dem Herrn Leutnant, nach all der ...
einem Offizier nicht sagen, und bei einem hochwürdigen Herrn doch auch nicht.
KAPLAN: Eine schwere Prüfung war es auf jeden Fall.
GUS7TT (nickt, dann lächelt sie unwillkürlich): Und der Herrgott hat sie wunder¬
bar bestanden.
Who among the younger German dramatists can write such delicate and witty
dialog as Schnitzle. s, so full of nuances and of poetic mood? Just because it has