—
—
box 36/4
Pamphlets Offorints
PAUL H. GRUMMANN
29
and Paul de Kock in the portrayal of sensuousness. Yet it must be ad¬
mitted that this book, especially when it is read in connection with the other
works of this period, is of peculiar value. It divests the erotic relations of
all glamor that might attach to them per sc. The prostitute, the soldier,
the chambermaid, the young man, the young wife, the husband, the’sweet
girlie, the poet, the actress, and the count reveal their psychic reactions
in all their crudeness and banality. The book is a proper reminder that
these characters differ radically from those described in the other dramas
and novels.
In bold contrast with this work The Legacy' (°98) portrays a relation,
which to conventional society is sinful, but is pure from a broadly human
point of view. Adolf Losatti, professor and national representative, has
been a prominent liberal for years. This has involved little danger and
sacrifice, for he has always been punctilious in honoring the conventions.
Wherever the conventions have not interfered, he has felt free to yield to
moral laxness. His wife, originally a woman of some spontaneity, has
gradually learned to suppress her impulses in accordance with his wishes.
His son, Hugo, a man of charming personality, becomes infatuated with
Toni Weber, who falls in love with him so completely that she leaves her
narrow father in order to live with him. A child is born to them, and Hugo
assumes full responsibility for it Hy supporting the two and visiting them
secretly. He is brought home mortally injured by a fall during a horseback
ride. He now reveals his secret to his parents and demands that his child
and its mother be taken into the family. This legacy' is accepted at first,
but when the child dies, Toni is turned out with the result that she com¬
mits suicide. Hugo’s sister, Franziska, shows a deep sympathy for Toni.
She is engaged to a young physician, who has all of the petty virtues of the
self-made philistine. Since he has played an important part in making
this home impossible for Toni, Franziska breaks her engagement with him.
Without the slightest preachment, this drama establishes the validity
of genuine morality in conflict with conventional standards. Losatti, the
illiteral liberal is not at all shocked that his son should have a mistress, but
he is dumbfounded that he should remain true to her. It pains him that his
son could think of rearing this illegitimate child in the very neighborhood
where his family lives. Each act closes with a death scene. This has
been criticized as conventional and weak, but the scenes are so varied and
the climax in the third act is built up so skilfully, that the criticism loses
its validity.
The Wife of the Wise Man' (°98) is a series of five novelettes which
describe episodes in which a man is deceived by his wife, whom he forgives
for her lapses. With rare skill Schnitzler has avoided all dangerof having
4
e
100
800
5
1
—
box 36/4
Pamphlets Offorints
PAUL H. GRUMMANN
29
and Paul de Kock in the portrayal of sensuousness. Yet it must be ad¬
mitted that this book, especially when it is read in connection with the other
works of this period, is of peculiar value. It divests the erotic relations of
all glamor that might attach to them per sc. The prostitute, the soldier,
the chambermaid, the young man, the young wife, the husband, the’sweet
girlie, the poet, the actress, and the count reveal their psychic reactions
in all their crudeness and banality. The book is a proper reminder that
these characters differ radically from those described in the other dramas
and novels.
In bold contrast with this work The Legacy' (°98) portrays a relation,
which to conventional society is sinful, but is pure from a broadly human
point of view. Adolf Losatti, professor and national representative, has
been a prominent liberal for years. This has involved little danger and
sacrifice, for he has always been punctilious in honoring the conventions.
Wherever the conventions have not interfered, he has felt free to yield to
moral laxness. His wife, originally a woman of some spontaneity, has
gradually learned to suppress her impulses in accordance with his wishes.
His son, Hugo, a man of charming personality, becomes infatuated with
Toni Weber, who falls in love with him so completely that she leaves her
narrow father in order to live with him. A child is born to them, and Hugo
assumes full responsibility for it Hy supporting the two and visiting them
secretly. He is brought home mortally injured by a fall during a horseback
ride. He now reveals his secret to his parents and demands that his child
and its mother be taken into the family. This legacy' is accepted at first,
but when the child dies, Toni is turned out with the result that she com¬
mits suicide. Hugo’s sister, Franziska, shows a deep sympathy for Toni.
She is engaged to a young physician, who has all of the petty virtues of the
self-made philistine. Since he has played an important part in making
this home impossible for Toni, Franziska breaks her engagement with him.
Without the slightest preachment, this drama establishes the validity
of genuine morality in conflict with conventional standards. Losatti, the
illiteral liberal is not at all shocked that his son should have a mistress, but
he is dumbfounded that he should remain true to her. It pains him that his
son could think of rearing this illegitimate child in the very neighborhood
where his family lives. Each act closes with a death scene. This has
been criticized as conventional and weak, but the scenes are so varied and
the climax in the third act is built up so skilfully, that the criticism loses
its validity.
The Wife of the Wise Man' (°98) is a series of five novelettes which
describe episodes in which a man is deceived by his wife, whom he forgives
for her lapses. With rare skill Schnitzler has avoided all dangerof having
4
e
100
800
5
1