The Correspondence of Arthur Schnitzler and Raoul Auernheimer with Raoul Auernheimer’s Aphorisms COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES ImUNCI Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures From 1949 to 2004, UNC Press and the UNC Department of Germanic & Slavic Languages and Literatures published the UNC Studies in the Germanic Languages and Literatures series. Monographs, anthologies, and critical editions in the series covered an array of topics including medieval and modern literature, theater, linguistics, philology, onomastics, and the history of ideas. Through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, books in the series have been reissued in new paperback and open access digital editions. For a complete list of books visit www.uncpress.org. The Correspondence of Arthur Schnitzler and Raoul Auernheimer with Raoul Auernheimer’s Aphorisms edited by donald g. daviau and jorun b. johns UNC Studies in the Germanic Languages and Literatures Number 73 Copyright © 1972 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons cc by-nc-nd license. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons. org/licenses. Suggested citation: Daviau, Donald and Jorun B. Johns, editors. The Correspondence of Arthur Schnitzler and Raoul Auernheimer with Raoul Auernheimer’s Aphorisms. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1972. doi: https://doi.org/10.5149/9781469657387_Daviau Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Daviau, Donald G. and Johns, Jorun B. Title: The correspondence of Arthur Schnitzler and Raoul Auernheimer with Raoul Auernheimer’s Aphorisms / by Donald G. Daviau and Jorun B. Johns. Other titles: University of North Carolina Studies in the Germanic Languages and Literatures ; no. 73. Description: Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, [1972] Series: University of North Carolina Studies in the Germanic Languages and Literatures. Identifiers: lccn 73150319 | isbn 978-1-4696-5737-0 (pbk: alk. paper) | isbn 978-1-4696-5738-7 (ebook) Subjects: Schnitzler, Arthur, 1862-1931. | Schnitzler, Arthur, 1862 1931 — Correspondence. | Auernheimer, Raoul, 1876-1948 — Correspondence. | Aphorisms and apothegms. Classification: lcc pt2638. n5z543 1972 | dcc 832/ .8 PREFACE The correspondence of Arthur Schnitzler and Raoul Auernheimer is presented as a chapter in the literary history of Austria at the turn of the century, generally recognized as one of the outstanding periods of Austrian literature. The Viennese circle of writers at this time included among others Arthur Schnitzler, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Richard Beer-Hofmann, Hermann Bahr, Felix Salten, and Peter Altenberg, who were often referred to collectively as Jung-Wien, and such younger writers as Raoul Auern­ heimer and Stefan Zweig. These men were all united in varying degrees by personal friendship, by their mutual literary and cultural interests, as well as by similarities of social class, family background, education, and heritage. Because of the close personal ties that existed among these writers, knowledge of their lives and personal opinions provides valuable information for anyone attempting to understand this period. For these men were major contributors to the cultural and artistic renaissance that began in Austria during the 1890s. Their predominant role in the upsurge of the arts can be measured partly by the acceptance of their writings in their own time and to a greater degree by the humanistic tone that they stamped upon their generation. Awareness of the personal relationships of these writers in their own day contributes to a more accurate understanding of the period by enabling one to achieve the perspective of the time. This approach of viewing literary personalities in contemporary terms is important to the literary and cultural historian, for only by means of such information can there be any attempt to arrive at a balanced assessment of the past. In the present instance this correspondence is particularly useful in providing a primary source of information concerning the general views and attitudes of Schnitzler and Auernheimer as well as furnishing a record of their candid evaluations of each other's works. Despite the relatively small number of letters and the lengthy intervals between them - occasionally a year or more - the two men were very good friends. The continuity in the tone of the correspondence indicates vii that they saw each other regularly in the interim periods, obviating the need for writing. It is both evident and unfortunate that most discussions of important social issues and exchanges of artistic ideas took place orally. Nevertheless, the literary historian can be grateful for this correspondence as it exists, for these letters do add another facet to the evolving portrait of Schnitzler as man and writer and will help to create greater under­ standing of Auernheimer's role in the literary world of his day. The importance of Schnitzler both for his literary contributions to his own time and for his enduring value as a writer of major significance is beyond dispute today. Auernheimer's situation is unfortunately quite the reverse. His literary career, which at its peak perhaps approached but never equalled that of Schnitzler in his own time, was brought to a virtual standstill in 1938 when Auernheimer was forced to emigrate to the United States, and he is practically forgotten today. By documenting this friendship with Schnitzler and establishing in some measure his importance as a critic and writer in his own day, it is hoped that Auernheimer's reputation can be restored to proper recognition. To enable the reader to obtain a first haRd impression of Auernheimer's literary style as well as his range of interests and concerns, a selected number of his unpublished aphorisms have been included in this volume. The letters of both men have been arranged chronologically. In each in­ stance the text has been reproduced exactly as the correspondents wrote it. Variations that occur, therefore, in the letterhead, manner of dating, and signature reflect the inconsistencies of the originals. The abbreviation "u." has been changed to "und", and proper names which are indicated by initials have been spelled out in square brackets, for example, W[asser­ mannJ. All other emendations that are editorially supplied are indicated by square brackets. For the most part the orthography has been retained in its original form, and occurrences such as Doctor, Director, Manuscript, and thun have been retained. Irregularities of punctuation have also been left unedited. Where underlined words or phrases occur in the letters, it is indicated by spacing the material in question. Auernheimer's letters that served as the basis for this edition are all handwritten originals, generally written on paper with a printed letterhead in the format that we have reproduced. Of Schnitzler's letters, thirteen were handwritten originals, five were typewritten originals, and the remainder typewritten copies. The typewritten letters regularly employ "ss" in place of "B", a feature that has been normalized in our manuscript, since Schnitzler always uses "B" in his handwritten letters. The editors of this volume express their gratitude and thanks to Dr. Heinrich Schnitzler, who generously gave permission to publish the letters viii of Arthur Schnitzler, and to Mrs. Clara (Auernheimer) Fellner for per­ mission to publish the letters and aphorisms of Raoul Auernheimer. We would also like to acknowledge the cooperation of the Vienna Stadtbiblio­ thek for making available the letters of Schnitzler in its possession. Particularly we wish to thank Dr. Karl Gladt, Senatsrat and Director of the Handschriftenabteilung of the Stadtbibliothek for his assistance in deciphering a number of almost illegible words. In this connection we are also grateful for the contributions of Dr. Herbert Klauser of Vienna and Dr. Gunther Rimbach of the University of California at Riverside. To Dr. Ada Schmidt we are indebted for her careful reading of the manuscript and for numerous beneficial suggestions. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the cooperation of the International Arthur Schnitzler Association, which provided us with a microfilm of the Schnitzler letters. We wish particularly to thank the President of the Association, Dr. Robert 0. Weiss, both for his helpfulness and encouragement. ix CONTENTS Part I The Correspondence of Arthur Schnitzler and Raoul Auern- heimer 1 Introduction 3 The Correspondence 23 Part II Raoul Auernheimer's Aphorisms 75 Introduction 77 In Worten . 87 Was ich sagen wollte 127 Select Bibliography 143 Complete Index of Names and Titles . 153 xi PART I THE CORRESPONDENCE OF AR THUR SCHNITZLER AND RAOUL AUERNHEIMER INTRODUCTION In his autobiography Das Wirtshaus zur verlorenen Zeit (1948) Auern­ heimer presented an eloquent and heartfelt tribute to the importance of Schnitzler's friendship in his life: Meine personliche Beziehung zu Schnitzler gehort zum Besten, was mir das Leben gegonnt hat. Jeder Brief von ihm, jeder seiner Besuche, die sich in gemessenen Abstanden ereigneten, jedes Gesprach, jedes Zusam­ mentreffen oder Beisammensein sind mir ein unverlierbarer Besitz. Als er 50 wurde, durfte ich ihm mit gutem Gewissen schreiben: 'Ich konnte nicht drei Schriftsteller nennen, denen ich so viel zu danken hatte wie Ihnen, und nicht einen, dem ich, was ich ihm verdanke, lieber ver­ dankte.' 1 The tone and content of all of Auernheimer's letters and Feuilletons clearly show that this acknowledgement