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Anatol
Schnitzler was an Austrian dramatist and novelist. The son of a prominent Jewish Viennese physician, he studied and practiced medicine until he attracted critical notice with his drama Anatol (1893), a cycle of one-act plays concerning a philanderer. He followed a similar format in La Ronde (1900), a cycle of plays about related sexual liaisons, filmed in 1950 by Max Ophuls. His plays, novellas, and novels are distinguished for their sparkling wit and brilliant style, and their clinical observations of the pathological. His concern is with individual happiness, and his dramatic problems are often focused on love and sexual faithfulness.
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1893
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About the author
Arthur Schnitzler
1,019 books542 followersArthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.
The son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter (a daughter of the Viennese doctor Philipp Markbreiter), was born in Vienna in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and began studying medicine at the local university in 1879. He received his doctorate of medicine in 1885 and worked at the Vienna's General Hospital, but ultimately abandoned medicine in favour of writing.
His works were often controversial, both for their frank description of sexuality (Sigmund Freud, in a letter to Schnitzler, confessed "I have gained the impression that you have learned through intuition — though actually as a result of sensitive introspection — everything that I have had to unearth by laborious work on other persons")[1] and for their strong stand against anti-Semitism, represented by works such as his play Professor Bernhardi and the novel Der Weg ins Freie. However, though Schnitzler was himself Jewish, Professor Bernhardi and Fräulein Else are among the few clearly-identified Jewish protagonists in his work.
Schnitzler was branded as a pornographer after the release of his play Reigen, in which ten pairs of characters are shown before and after the sexual act, leading and ending with a prostitute. The furore after this play was couched in the strongest anti-semitic terms;[2] his works would later be cited as "Jewish filth" by Adolf Hitler. Reigen was made into a French language film in 1950 by the German-born director Max Ophüls as La Ronde. The film achieved considerable success in the English-speaking world, with the result that Schnitzler's play is better known there under Ophüls' French title.
In the novella, Fräulein Else (1924), Schnitzler may be rebutting a contentious critique of the Jewish character by Otto Weininger (1903) by positioning the sexuality of the young female Jewish protagonist.[3] The story, a first-person stream of consciousness narrative by a young aristocratic woman, reveals a moral dilemma that ends in tragedy.
In response to an interviewer who asked Schnitzler what he thought about the critical view that his works all seemed to treat the same subjects, he replied, "I write of love and death. What other subjects are there?" Despite his seriousness of purpose, Schnitzler frequently approaches the bedroom farce in his plays (and had an affair with one of his actresses, Adele Sandrock). Professor Bernhardi, a play about a Jewish doctor who turns away a Catholic priest in order to spare a patient the realization that she is on the point of death, is his only major dramatic work without a sexual theme.
A member of the avant-garde group Young Vienna (Jung Wien), Schnitzler toyed with formal as well as social conventions. With his 1900 short story Lieutenant Gustl, he was the first to write German fiction in stream-of-consciousness narration. The story is an unflattering portrait of its protagonist and of the army's obsessive code of formal honour. It caused Schnitzler to be stripped of his commission as a reserve officer in the medical corps — something that should be seen against the rising tide of anti-semitism of the time.
He specialized in shorter works like novellas and one-act plays. And in his short stories like "The Green Tie" ("Die grüne Krawatte") he showed himself to be one of the early masters of microfiction. However he also wrote two full-length novels: Der Weg ins Freie about a talented but not very motivated young composer, a brilliant description of a segment of pre-World War I Viennese society; and the artistically less satisfactory Therese.
In addition to his plays and fiction, Schnitzler meticulously kept a diary from the age of 17 until two days before his death, of a brain hemorrhage in Vienna. The manuscript, which runs to almost 8,000 pages, is most notable for Schnitzler's cas
The son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter (a daughter of the Viennese doctor Philipp Markbreiter), was born in Vienna in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and began studying medicine at the local university in 1879. He received his doctorate of medicine in 1885 and worked at the Vienna's General Hospital, but ultimately abandoned medicine in favour of writing.
His works were often controversial, both for their frank description of sexuality (Sigmund Freud, in a letter to Schnitzler, confessed "I have gained the impression that you have learned through intuition — though actually as a result of sensitive introspection — everything that I have had to unearth by laborious work on other persons")[1] and for their strong stand against anti-Semitism, represented by works such as his play Professor Bernhardi and the novel Der Weg ins Freie. However, though Schnitzler was himself Jewish, Professor Bernhardi and Fräulein Else are among the few clearly-identified Jewish protagonists in his work.
Schnitzler was branded as a pornographer after the release of his play Reigen, in which ten pairs of characters are shown before and after the sexual act, leading and ending with a prostitute. The furore after this play was couched in the strongest anti-semitic terms;[2] his works would later be cited as "Jewish filth" by Adolf Hitler. Reigen was made into a French language film in 1950 by the German-born director Max Ophüls as La Ronde. The film achieved considerable success in the English-speaking world, with the result that Schnitzler's play is better known there under Ophüls' French title.
In the novella, Fräulein Else (1924), Schnitzler may be rebutting a contentious critique of the Jewish character by Otto Weininger (1903) by positioning the sexuality of the young female Jewish protagonist.[3] The story, a first-person stream of consciousness narrative by a young aristocratic woman, reveals a moral dilemma that ends in tragedy.
In response to an interviewer who asked Schnitzler what he thought about the critical view that his works all seemed to treat the same subjects, he replied, "I write of love and death. What other subjects are there?" Despite his seriousness of purpose, Schnitzler frequently approaches the bedroom farce in his plays (and had an affair with one of his actresses, Adele Sandrock). Professor Bernhardi, a play about a Jewish doctor who turns away a Catholic priest in order to spare a patient the realization that she is on the point of death, is his only major dramatic work without a sexual theme.
A member of the avant-garde group Young Vienna (Jung Wien), Schnitzler toyed with formal as well as social conventions. With his 1900 short story Lieutenant Gustl, he was the first to write German fiction in stream-of-consciousness narration. The story is an unflattering portrait of its protagonist and of the army's obsessive code of formal honour. It caused Schnitzler to be stripped of his commission as a reserve officer in the medical corps — something that should be seen against the rising tide of anti-semitism of the time.
He specialized in shorter works like novellas and one-act plays. And in his short stories like "The Green Tie" ("Die grüne Krawatte") he showed himself to be one of the early masters of microfiction. However he also wrote two full-length novels: Der Weg ins Freie about a talented but not very motivated young composer, a brilliant description of a segment of pre-World War I Viennese society; and the artistically less satisfactory Therese.
In addition to his plays and fiction, Schnitzler meticulously kept a diary from the age of 17 until two days before his death, of a brain hemorrhage in Vienna. The manuscript, which runs to almost 8,000 pages, is most notable for Schnitzler's cas
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 3, 2025
Anatol’s ideas of love are thwarted by reality, especially his own unacknowledged fears and vulnerabilities. He’s foolish and rather unpleasant, just like the rest of us.
February 5, 2023
More of my Austro-Hungarian reading. Schnitzler is best known for "Le Ronde" (play, and movies based upon it) and the mid-'70's PBS series "Vienna 1900" (still only on VHS tapes). Written in 1893, because of its sexual content it was not staged unti 1910.
Made up of 7 vignettes about hedonist dandy Anatole's love life. His friend Max appears with him, rather as a juxtapostion, in all of them. They range from 6 to 20 pages long each.
Of varying quality, I am still surprised this has not been restaged at all - it is all rather fun. (And, Yes, he IS a sexist, classist pig...)
Yep, Anatol is an egotistical ass. But Schnitzler presents him as such as well. One of my favorites is the story of the one-true-spiritual love of his life. He is sure it was that way for her as well. But when they meet again, she recognizes him, but cannot remember who he is!
The book itself is kind of sketchy. Listed as a publication of "Timeles Classics", it is a Print on Demand publication, with the look and feel of one (no identifying information on the spine!). And the more than occasional typos in the text (about one every 5 pages or so, in this short, 90 pp book). No idea who the translator is of this work. Maybe B. K. DeFabris, who is listed as "Edited by..."
But yeah, a nice quick, episodic romp in fin de siecle Vienna, and a nice representation of Schnitzler's work.
Made up of 7 vignettes about hedonist dandy Anatole's love life. His friend Max appears with him, rather as a juxtapostion, in all of them. They range from 6 to 20 pages long each.
Of varying quality, I am still surprised this has not been restaged at all - it is all rather fun. (And, Yes, he IS a sexist, classist pig...)
Yep, Anatol is an egotistical ass. But Schnitzler presents him as such as well. One of my favorites is the story of the one-true-spiritual love of his life. He is sure it was that way for her as well. But when they meet again, she recognizes him, but cannot remember who he is!
The book itself is kind of sketchy. Listed as a publication of "Timeles Classics", it is a Print on Demand publication, with the look and feel of one (no identifying information on the spine!). And the more than occasional typos in the text (about one every 5 pages or so, in this short, 90 pp book). No idea who the translator is of this work. Maybe B. K. DeFabris, who is listed as "Edited by..."
But yeah, a nice quick, episodic romp in fin de siecle Vienna, and a nice representation of Schnitzler's work.
July 17, 2023
This is Anatol.
Anatol is a dick.
Don't be like Anatol.
Anatol is a dick.
Don't be like Anatol.
December 14, 2024
"Ich bin stets ein Hypochonder der Liebe gewesen..."
Anatol ist Weltmeister im Hals-über-Kopf verlieben. Er verlangt Liebesschwüre und Treue ab und langweilt sich doch immer. Er traut keiner, ihn nicht zu betrügen, weil er selbst alle betrügt. Kommt ihm eine zuvor beim Schluss machen, ist er empört, auch wenn er sich dasselbe für den Abend vorgenommen hätte.
Kein herausragendes Werk von Schnitzler. Es gibt keinen Spannungsbogen, das Stück besteht aus Episoden, die zwar amüsant sind, aber keine stabile Geschichte bauen. Mehr geht es um die Analyse der Innenwelt und Impulsivität des Hauptcharakters. Er ist weder verabscheuenswert noch gut. Die Dialoge sind wirklich nett und unterhaltsam. Das alternative Ende "Anatols Größenwahn" ist etwas interessanter als "Anatols Hochzeitsmorgen". Anatols Hochzeitsmorgen ist jedoch recht passend.
Kann man lesen.
Anatol ist Weltmeister im Hals-über-Kopf verlieben. Er verlangt Liebesschwüre und Treue ab und langweilt sich doch immer. Er traut keiner, ihn nicht zu betrügen, weil er selbst alle betrügt. Kommt ihm eine zuvor beim Schluss machen, ist er empört, auch wenn er sich dasselbe für den Abend vorgenommen hätte.
Kein herausragendes Werk von Schnitzler. Es gibt keinen Spannungsbogen, das Stück besteht aus Episoden, die zwar amüsant sind, aber keine stabile Geschichte bauen. Mehr geht es um die Analyse der Innenwelt und Impulsivität des Hauptcharakters. Er ist weder verabscheuenswert noch gut. Die Dialoge sind wirklich nett und unterhaltsam. Das alternative Ende "Anatols Größenwahn" ist etwas interessanter als "Anatols Hochzeitsmorgen". Anatols Hochzeitsmorgen ist jedoch recht passend.
Kann man lesen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2024
Anatol jako postać to był taki chuj, ale z drugiej strony momenty kiedy był wdeptywany w podłogę niczym robak były absolutnie cudowne i sprawiały mi niesamowitą satysfakcję🥰💜
April 4, 2014
Tredici atti unici; (prologo compreso), formano un ciclo di "episodi di vita" di un giovane libertino dell'alta società asburgica nel periodo cupo tra fine 800 e primi 900, inizio della decadenza Imperiale. Anatol è un personaggio smarrito e malinconico, che vive la sua esistenza in un mondo personale fatto di illusioni e di autoinganni. Si avvale del suo alter ego Max, che rappresenta la sua parte razionale, ma che non gli servirà granché quando ostinatamente proverà a misurarsi con il pianeta donna, figura ambigua che intimamente teme, data la sua discreta goffaggine unita ad un insicurezza di fondo che lo consuma, utilizzando le armi della gelosia e del sospetto. Alla fine, con l'età che avanza, rassegnato e sereno comprenderà, che certe "regole di vita" non si cambiano, si possono solo accettare.
November 30, 2014
A playful play about a man's quest for the perfect love(r).
More here:
http://inkquilletc.blogspot.in/2014/1...
More here:
http://inkquilletc.blogspot.in/2014/1...
August 20, 2015
Wie werde ich ein Virtuos' der Eifersucht, ein Hypochonder der Liebe in soundsoviel Akten. Ganz schön gut.
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This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2025
«Y ella no era distinta. Y no es que yo haya pasado por alto lo que en ella había, sino que tú viste en ella lo que en ella no había. Del fondo de la rica y hermosa vida de tu alma has sentido tu fantástica juventud y tu ardor en su vano corazón, y lo que brillaba ante ti era luz de tu luz.»
¿Quién no ha sido Anatol en algún momento de su vida? ¿Quién no ha ocupado, alternativamente, el papel de iluso del amor y el de embustero? Esta obra teatral es una magnífica representación de las artimañas que surgen en la farsa del amor. Impulsados por el deseo, nos vemos arrastrados a crear infinitas máscaras para resultar deseables y para desear a su vez. Cuando una relación parece agotada, cuando el tedio se instala y las parejas ya no encuentran emoción en la compañía mutua, la costumbre y el orgullo se alzan como barreras contra la ruptura.
No es casual que Freud estudiara esta obra con profundidad. La relación entre el amor y el "ello" freudiano está magníficamente representada a través de las diversas amantes y situaciones que rodean al joven protagonista. Anatol es un personaje que oscila entre la sensibilidad de Werther y la frivolidad de Andrea Sperelli, encarnando la neurosis inherente al acto narcisista de querer ser amado. Schnitzler desnuda, con ironía y melancolía, la paradoja del amor: anhelamos la autenticidad, pero construimos ficciones para seducir y ser seducidos.
Cada escena funciona como un vignette psicológico donde el diálogo revela no solo lo que se dice, sino todo lo que se oculta tras las palabras. El brillo de la obra reside en cómo Schnitzler expone la soledad detrás de la seducción: Anatol no solo miente a sus amantes; se miente a sí mismo, confundiendo su propio deseo con la realidad del otro.
Es una obra que se lee rapidamente y que a través d elos dialogos se hace muy amena, con un humor cínico genial que se hace presente especialmente en el personaje de Max.
¿Quién no ha sido Anatol en algún momento de su vida? ¿Quién no ha ocupado, alternativamente, el papel de iluso del amor y el de embustero? Esta obra teatral es una magnífica representación de las artimañas que surgen en la farsa del amor. Impulsados por el deseo, nos vemos arrastrados a crear infinitas máscaras para resultar deseables y para desear a su vez. Cuando una relación parece agotada, cuando el tedio se instala y las parejas ya no encuentran emoción en la compañía mutua, la costumbre y el orgullo se alzan como barreras contra la ruptura.
No es casual que Freud estudiara esta obra con profundidad. La relación entre el amor y el "ello" freudiano está magníficamente representada a través de las diversas amantes y situaciones que rodean al joven protagonista. Anatol es un personaje que oscila entre la sensibilidad de Werther y la frivolidad de Andrea Sperelli, encarnando la neurosis inherente al acto narcisista de querer ser amado. Schnitzler desnuda, con ironía y melancolía, la paradoja del amor: anhelamos la autenticidad, pero construimos ficciones para seducir y ser seducidos.
Cada escena funciona como un vignette psicológico donde el diálogo revela no solo lo que se dice, sino todo lo que se oculta tras las palabras. El brillo de la obra reside en cómo Schnitzler expone la soledad detrás de la seducción: Anatol no solo miente a sus amantes; se miente a sí mismo, confundiendo su propio deseo con la realidad del otro.
Es una obra que se lee rapidamente y que a través d elos dialogos se hace muy amena, con un humor cínico genial que se hace presente especialmente en el personaje de Max.
August 29, 2023
"Anatol" es una obra de teatro escrita por Arthur Schnitzler en 1893. La pieza se encuentra enmarcada en el género de la comedia de costumbres y es conocida por explorar las complejidades de las relaciones amorosas y las dinámicas sociales de la época. La trama de "Anatol" sigue las experiencias y desventuras amorosas del protagonista homónimo, Anatol, a lo largo de una serie de escenas independientes. Cada escena presenta un episodio diferente de su vida amorosa, en la que interactúa con diferentes mujeres. La obra aborda temas como la inseguridad, el engaño, la pasión y la incapacidad de Anatol para comprometerse emocionalmente. Sin duda, es importante destacar que la lectura de "Anatol" es entretenida. A pesar de abordar temas profundos y complejos, Arthur Schnitzler logra mantener un tono ligero y ameno a lo largo de la obra. Las situaciones cómicas, los diálogos ingeniosos y las interacciones entre los personajes hacen que la lectura sea atractiva y placentera.
April 14, 2024
Had the feel of a modern sitcom about two male friends. Obviously the times have changed a lot since it was written (19th century Vienna), very much so in regards to women's rights and (we hope!) attitudes to relationships, but it's still a good read. I liked the Farewell Supper chapter best of all and would love to see it acted out. Anatol is a bachelor who keeps falling in love. He is a rather dramatic person but entertaining. Max is his friend and foil and also is capable of barbed comments. One wonders what happened after the book ends. If all ends as it seems - well...even in this case, there could be more adventures of a different nature!
August 21, 2024
A very cool play, definitely feels like an early work in that it comprises several disconnected vignettes.
But I love the deep yet comic musings on love, philandering, the unknowability of and deceptions we do unto others and ourselves.
Makes me very interested to read more Schnitzler, when I imagine he learns to write longer form things and expand further on these themes :)
But I love the deep yet comic musings on love, philandering, the unknowability of and deceptions we do unto others and ourselves.
Makes me very interested to read more Schnitzler, when I imagine he learns to write longer form things and expand further on these themes :)
February 4, 2023
Lehce hořké, lehce úsměvné. Nic víc než vykreslení donjuanovských milostných pletek titulního hrdiny a jeho bezohledného sobectví bych za tím neviděl ani nehledal, není proto myslím třeba náročnějšího rozboru.
November 17, 2025
it’s how i met your mother but raw and 100+ years older. Anatol is literally Ted Mosby.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews