Pathologies: Weeks 8/9 group work, Arthur Schnizler, Frau Beate und ihr
Sohn
(Dan, Fran, Melissa)
pp. 3-9
What do we learn about Beate in the opening paragraph, about her view of her
son, her concerns / worries, and her life circumstances?
What atmosphere does Schnitzler evoke with his descriptions of the physical
surroundings – the garden, the bench, the time of year etc.? (p. 3-4)
What did Ferdinand, Beate’s deceased husband, do for a living, and how did his
profession affect the way she viewed him? (p. 4)
What is wrong with Hugo these days? Pay attention to narrative perspective on
the top half of p. 5. What does Beate discover?
What does Schnitzler mean by “das Blut des Vaters”? (p. 6)
What do we find out about Beate’s marriage to Ferdinand, and the circumstances
he was in when they met? (pp. 6-7)
What propels Beate now to leave the house and take action (“der Augenblick der
Tat”, p. 7)?
What characters does Beate meet on her way and what do we find out about her
social milieu through these people? (p. 8/9). Why does she tell a lie about having
to go to the post office, and why is this small act significant? (p. 8)
(Richard, Hamza, Daniel)
pp. 9-14
Beate gets distracted from her path by activity at the train station. What and who
does she see there? How does Schnitzler describe this scene? (p. 9/10)
What significance does the lake seem to have for Beate? (p. 11) See also her
thoughts about swimming on p. 13
Beate makes a further detour on her short journey. Why does she not simply go
directly to her destination? Describe her mood and state of mind (p. 11)
Describe the Baroness Fortunata – her figure and face. Identify Beate’s view of
her (p. 12/13)
What is Beate’s mood once she sits down? (13)
What do we learn about the Baroness’s friend, Fraülein Fallehn, and what
happened in her past? (14) What does this tell us further about the kind of
society Beate lives in?
(Yasmin, Louise, Cyril)
pp. 15-21
What exchange do Beate and the Baroness have, and how does Schnitlzer
present it? Who has the upper hand? (pp. 15-16)
When Beate leaves the Baroness’s house, she wonders who is the “Siegerin”?
Why is this the case? What would she be winning against the Baroness? (pp. 1718)
Beate thinks about the Baroness as she continues on her way; what does she
envisage, and how does she categorise the Baroness? (p. 18)
Describe the group of people that greet her at the Welponer’s villa (pp. 18-19)
Beate thinks of a “gesetzlose Welt”. Why would she think about this, and what
form would it take? (p. 19)
Beate sits down with the group playing Tarock, and a sudden sadness comes
over her. Why is this the case? (pp. 19-20)
How does Beate view the bank director, Herr Welponer? (p. 20)
It transpires that Hugo is in the garden outside, and also that a package has
arrived at the train station for Beate. What is the significance of these
coincidences, especially the arrival of the parcel?
(Thomas, Hannah, Rob)
pp. 21-27
How do Fritz and Hugo appear once they are at home with Beate? How do they
differ from one another, and how does Fritz describe himself? (p. 21-22)
How does Beate compare Fritz and Hugo in her mind? (p. 22)
Chapter 2 narrates a picnic day out of the social group we met in chapter 1. How
does Schnitzler describe the picnic location? Who is Doktor Bertram and how
does he behave towards Beate, and she towards him? (pp. 23-24)
What does this particular social class spend their summers doing? (bottom of p.
23).
Why does Beate suddenly feel alone in the group? (p. 24) But what happens very
quickly after that feeling of sadness?
What kind of mood does the Baumeister spread around the group? (p. 24)
How does Schnitzler convey that Beate does not know everything about Hugo?
(p. 25)
The group encounters the Baron and Baroness Fortunata. How are they
described? (p. 26)
What does Doktor Bertram say about death, and how does Beate react? (p. 27)
What physical sensation does Beate seem to experience on p. 27?
(Kiki, Parvinder, Jack)
pp. 28-33
What is the idle gossip about the Welponers, who have not come on the picnic
today? (28)
In conversation with the Direktor Welponder, whom the group meets on the way
back from the picnic, Welponer speaks about “Jugendmenschen” and
“Altgeborene”. How does he define them, and what does he say about masks? (p.
29)
Why does Beate resent Welponer’s chat about Ferdinand? (p. 29)
Why does she suddenly sense that she is smirking? (p. 29)
She decides to go home early – how does this happen? (p. 30)
How does she feel about the letter from Doktor Teichmann? (p. 30)
And how does that compare with her view of him when she is back in Vienna? (p.
31)
Beate becomes sad again – why is this the case? What vision does she have
towards the end of p. 31 and why does it trouble her? How does Schnitzler
describe the garden?
Beate decides to return to the group – why? (p. 32) How does she arrange her
face (and why), and where is Hugo?
How does Beate explain Fritz’s sudden disappearance from the group to herself?
(p. 33)
(Georgina, Kat, Frances)
pp. 34-39
The group splits up and goes home for the evening.
How does Schnitzler describe the landscape into which they disappear? (top of p.
34)
Why does Beate suddenly feel guilty for Hugo’s absence? (p. 34) Why is so she
convinced Hugo is having an affair with the Baroness?
Beate thinks that every house and every garden has its nocturnal side. What is
the symbolic significance of this image and how might we apply it to Beate and
her milieu? (bottom of p. 35)
How do you explain what happens at the end of chapter 2? (p. 36)
What Beate has learned from Fritz about her deceased husband at the start of
chapter 3? (p. 37)
What significance has the painting of her deceased husband had for her, and how
has its meaning changed in light of what Fritz told her? (pp. 38-39) Pay attention
to the motifs of mask and mirror.
Who is Rudi Beratoner and how does Schnitzler describe him and his effect on
Fritz, Hugo and Beate? (p. 39)
(Rachel, Des, Kathy)
pp. 40-47
What does Beate ask Rudi to do and how does he carry out the task? (p. 40)
Why does she berate herself on p. 41?
There is a shift to the present tense mid-way through p. 41. What is the effect of
this narrative technique and what does it tell us about Beate’s frame of mind?
How does Beate think of Fraülein Fallehn and her companion? (p. 41)
Beate hatches a plan on p. 42-43. What is it and why does she feel it is necessary?
Pay attention to changes in tense here too.
What changes have happened to Beate during this summer sojourn? (bottom of
p. 43)
How does Beate explain these changes on p. 44? How does the narrative
perspective suggest that the reasons might lie elsewhere?
What happened when Doktor Teichmann came to visit recently? (p. 44)
Why has her perspective on Direktor Welponer changed all of a sudden? (p. 4445)
What does she suddenly realise with certainty on p. 46?
What implications for her understanding of her past – and herself – does this
realisation have? (p. 47)
What is the significance of the theme of death (top of p. 44; bottom of p. 47) in
this excerpt and for the work as a whole?
(Killian, Ina, Jenny)
pp. 48-55
Why does Beate take on the habits of the eavesdropper/voyeur on p. 49? What
does she want to hear – or to put it another way: what does she not want to
hear?
What does she hear initially, and why do you think she continues to listen?
(bottom of p. 49)
How does the narrative perspective / tense change again, and to what effect? (p.
50)
What does Fritz recount to Rudi? (p. 51) And why does Beate continue to listen,
even when every word is like a “Peitschenhiebe”? Can you link this scene to the
theme of masochism?
In the end, Beate’s secret comes out – what does she decide to do now? (p. 52)
What version of Hugo does she long for? (p. 53)
How does landscape reflect her mood? (bottom p. 53)
What happens when Beate enters Hugo’s room? What state is he in, and why? (p.
54-55)
(Charlotte, Bethan, Lucy)
pp. 55-61
How does Schnitzler represent the mother/son relationship here? (bottom p. 55)
How does Schnitzler describe the landscape as mother and son go on their walk,
and what significance does this have? (p. 56)
How do they communicate with each other on the walk? (pp. 56-57)
Why does she ask Hugo to tell her what is bothering him? How maternal are her
motives? (p. 57)
How does Schnitzler thematise “Todessehnsucht” here? (pp. 57-58)
What significance does the lake have, and how does Schnitzler describe their
journey to the centre of the lake? (pp. 58-59)
How does Hugo react to Beate’s repeat question and mention of Fortunata’s
name? (59-60)
How would you interpret the closing scene?