2. gutlings
box 37/7
Akrnun Scnwirzue's Daamaric Wonk 303
account of its unprecedented freedom in the treatment of the
delicate question of sex, Reigen was not printed for some
years after its production, and then only privately; and in
Germany, is still verboten. There is, however, nothing in¬
trinsically immoral in the book, and we feel that its proserip¬
tion is oniy another manifestation of that crowd psychology
which demands the removal of its paupers, its insane, and
every süggestion of its social cess-pools to that“ Half-Rome??
which is to be shunned by the more fortunate of us.
In Liebelei, one of Schnitzler’s most powerful and far¬
reaching crcations, although the theme is still the cternal
passion of the love which is frowned upon by society, we
see the other side of the shield—the tragie, sombre side—,
and the curtain to the final act is rung down before a new¬
made grave. Fritz, the young aristocrat, is this time in love
with the wife of another man. His friend contrives a meeting
for him with Christine, an innocent and credulous girl of
the middle classes, who conceives a genuine passion for her
destroyer. Fritz is challenged and killed in a diel by the
husband of his former mistress, and Christine takes her own
life. For the time being, Schnit der transcends himself, and
it scems that for once love, in the breast of Christine, is no
longer a toy to be played with for the amusement of an idle
hour, no longer u lovely flower which bursts quickly into
bloom only to wither with the passage of a few short days,
but, in the heart of the simple maiden, it has swelled into a
passion which dominates fate. The undereurrent of brooding
sadness is felt everywhere in the play. Schnitzler’s ever¬
present conscionsness of the transieney of life and love is
emphasized throush every line. There are two striking
passages which express this feeling, and which, in the mouth
of Fritz, make Christine's position pathetic from the start:
We must not speak of forever
•Of course it’s possible that we might not be able to live without
each other, but we can't know about that, can we? We are only
human.“
box 37/7
Akrnun Scnwirzue's Daamaric Wonk 303
account of its unprecedented freedom in the treatment of the
delicate question of sex, Reigen was not printed for some
years after its production, and then only privately; and in
Germany, is still verboten. There is, however, nothing in¬
trinsically immoral in the book, and we feel that its proserip¬
tion is oniy another manifestation of that crowd psychology
which demands the removal of its paupers, its insane, and
every süggestion of its social cess-pools to that“ Half-Rome??
which is to be shunned by the more fortunate of us.
In Liebelei, one of Schnitzler’s most powerful and far¬
reaching crcations, although the theme is still the cternal
passion of the love which is frowned upon by society, we
see the other side of the shield—the tragie, sombre side—,
and the curtain to the final act is rung down before a new¬
made grave. Fritz, the young aristocrat, is this time in love
with the wife of another man. His friend contrives a meeting
for him with Christine, an innocent and credulous girl of
the middle classes, who conceives a genuine passion for her
destroyer. Fritz is challenged and killed in a diel by the
husband of his former mistress, and Christine takes her own
life. For the time being, Schnit der transcends himself, and
it scems that for once love, in the breast of Christine, is no
longer a toy to be played with for the amusement of an idle
hour, no longer u lovely flower which bursts quickly into
bloom only to wither with the passage of a few short days,
but, in the heart of the simple maiden, it has swelled into a
passion which dominates fate. The undereurrent of brooding
sadness is felt everywhere in the play. Schnitzler’s ever¬
present conscionsness of the transieney of life and love is
emphasized throush every line. There are two striking
passages which express this feeling, and which, in the mouth
of Fritz, make Christine's position pathetic from the start:
We must not speak of forever
•Of course it’s possible that we might not be able to live without
each other, but we can't know about that, can we? We are only
human.“