Arthur Schnitzler

Arthur Schnitzler (May 15, 1862 - October 21, 1931) was an Austrian writer and doctor.

Biography

Schnitzler was born in Vienna and began studying medicine at the University of Vienna in 1879. He received his doctorate of medicine in 1885 and worked in Vienna's General Hospital, but ultimately abandoned medicine in favor of writing.

Related Topics:
Vienna - University of Vienna - 1879 - 1885

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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") as well as for their strong stand against anti-Semitism. Schnitzler was branded as a pornographer after the release of his play Reigen, and his works were later cited as an example of "Jewish filth" by Adolf Hitler.

Related Topics:
Sigmund Freud - Anti-Semitism - Adolf Hitler

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Despite his seriousness of purpose, Schnitzler frequently approaches the bedroom farce in his plays. Professor Bernhardi, a play about a Jewish doctor who turns away a Catholic priest, is his only major dramatic work without a sexual theme.

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A member of the avant garde group Young Vienna (Jung Wien), Schnitzler toyed with formal as well as societal conventions. With his 1900 short story "Lietenant Gustl," he was the first to write German fiction in stream-of-consciousness narration. He specialized in shorter works like novellas and one-act plays, and in short short stories like "The Green Tie" (Die grüne Krawatte) he showed himself to be one of the early masters of microfiction.

Related Topics:
Young Vienna - Stream-of-consciousness - Microfiction

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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 casual descriptions of sexual conquests — he was often in relationships with several women at once, and for a period of some years he kept a record of every orgasm. Collections of Schnitzler's letters have also been published.

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