Emma Midghall & Beth Caradine
Discuss Schnitzler’s representation of selfhood in this novella. To what
extent does Schnitzler’s novella reflect a psychoanalytical influence?
Freud’s Theories:
The conscious mind includes everything that we
are aware of. This is the aspect of our mental
processing that we can think and talk about
rationally. A part of this includes our memory,
which is not always part of consciousness but can
be retrieved easily at any time and brought into
our awareness. Freud called this ordinary memory
the preconscious.
The unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings,
thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our
conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the
unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such
as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict. According
to Freud, the unconscious continues to influence
our behaviour and experience, even though we
are unaware of these underlying influences.
Freudian theory of dreaming
Freud argued that dreams represent the disguised fulfilment of desires repressed into the
unconscious mind. The functions of dreams are there to protect the dreamer from urges that would
be unacceptable when awake, but also allow the dream to express them. Manifest and Latent
Content (real meaning of a dream) is transformed into a more manifest content (un-harmful form)
which can be interpreted by an analyst. In Freud’s Traumdeutung there is a transformation of
repressed desires into symbols in a dream. These dream symbols are parts of manifest content that
correspond with certain latent content and so have constant meaning.
Wish Fulfilment
The satisfaction of a desire through an involuntary thought process. Wish fulfilment can occur in
dreams or in daydreams. This satisfaction is often indirect and requires interpretation to recognize.
According to Freud, wish fulfilment occurs when Unconscious desires are repressed by
the Ego and Superego. This repression often stems from guilt and taboos imposed by society.
At the end of the novella Else is ‘flying’, in Freud’s Traumdeutung he says that flight is generally
associated with a pleasant feeling in dreams. Also says: Der Fliegetraum hat die Bedeutung der
Sehnsucht: Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär’; andere wurden so nächtlicherweise zu Engeln in der
Entbehrung, bei Tage so genannt zu werden.
Emma Midghall & Beth Caradine
Freud and Schnitzler’s relationship:
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The question of Sigmund Freud's influence on Arthur Schnitzler has received extensive
attention. After the publication of their letters in 1955, the most important letter is that
dated the 14th of May 1922, in which Freud famously called Schnitzler his "Doppelgänger”.
“Ich meine, ich habe Sie gemieden aus einer Art von Doppelgängerscheu. Nicht etwa, daß ich
sonst leicht geneigt wäre, mich mit einem anderen zu identifizieren oder daß ich mich über die
Differenz der Begabung hinwegsetzen wollte...“
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There are similarities but also differences between Freud and Schnitzler, ranging from a
common medical training, to a shared interest in hysteria and hypnosis, along with
Schnitzler's intensive reading of Freud's works, all of which make his literary texts anything
but purely intuitive.
Some regarded Schnitzler as an anticipator of Freud's ideas and psychoanalysis: especially
Weiss, who called Schnitzler a "Freud-less Freudian" by virtue of conclusions similar to, but
independent of, Freud's system.
Freud's Traumdeutung influenced Schnitzler, but not to the degree that some critics have
ascribed to it.
A Freudian reading of Fräulein Else:
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The mountain is first associated with Else's often expressed sexual desire for her cousin Paul.
Upon leaving him after a tennis game, she perceives the ‘erotically laden presence of the
mountain’ (Bellettini) as she notices "wie herrlich der Cimone in den Himmel ragt!" p5. The
mountain symbol is also often linked with Paul himself, whenever Else recalls the expression
he would use to describe the reddening sunset on its peak: "auf dem Cimone liegt ein roter
Glanz; Paul würde sagen: Alpenglühen" p7 .
However, after receiving the telegram from Vienna, which states the connection she has to
make with Dorsday, something happens to the mountain symbol. While still preserving its
erotic connotation, it now gradually acquires a layer of sexual threat. Precisely after Else
reads the telegram, she perceives how "unheimlich, riesig der Cimone [ist], als wenn er auf
mich herunterfallen wollte" p21. Soon, the mountain and Dorsday are linked.
“There is a voyeuristic chain that connects Dorsday's look with his penetratoring desires and
Else's feeling of being violated. The eye of the avid aristocrat is repeatedly characterized as a
penetrating object, ‘seine Augen werden sich in meinen Ausschnitt bohren’”p17 (Bellettini)
Emma Midghall & Beth Caradine
Narrative Technique:
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Else is confronted by a ‘relativizing moment’, by circumstances which question her
personality and behaviour
Martin Swales: Arthur Schnitzler a critical study p81: “Schnitzler demonstrates the
discrepancy between a character’s inward understanding of himself and an outward, morally
critical evaluation of him, and he sees the discrepancy not simply in terms of an obvious lack
of congruity between the two perspectives, but as a deeply ambiguous relationship in which
each set of insights is relativized by the other.”
Else is faced with a crisis point and the inward narration reflects this by giving us her stream
of thoughts making us aware of her psychological confusion
“conscious monologizing” of her character as she faces the situation and thinks over the
implications they may have
As readers we are put in the position of the person being talked to, and the persuasive
appeal of the monologue, the attempt to reach a decision and then to prove that this is the
right one, confronts the reader directly.
Else’s Selfhood: (Creating an individual identity for yourself)
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Sexualised person, but when it comes to actual sexual acts she’s afraid – Which leads her to
keep skipping from extreme to extreme. An example of this is how conscious she is of death
and suicide
She can be viewed as an independent young woman, but is overwhelmed by the
circumstances that she’s been forced into. She’s too young to resolve the problems of her
family
Else imagines/dreams her own funeral and what it would be like: „Wie darf man jemanden
so anschaun, der tot ist! Das ist zudringlich.“ p43 „Wer wird weinen, wenn ich tot bin? O, wie
schön wäre das tot zu sein.” P43
Feels like everything will be better if she’s dead and maybe thinks no one will care if she’s
dead because they have their own problems – but her mind is still filled with thoughts about
her family and their reactions – still weighs heavy on her mind even though she’s ‘dead‘
which is ironic
Psychoanalysis:
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“The use of interior monologue- is the literary correlative of the psycho-analytical method.
They’re both a means of self- understanding.” (Swales)
The difference between Schnitzler and Freud is the difference between artist and
professional psycho-analyst.
“To see a human being as a ‘case’ is to ignore whole areas of his experience, is to create not
a character, but a lifeless guinea-pig. Furthermore, the exclusively psycho-analytical
discussion of characters in works of literature tends to ignore the fact that a work of art has
a form, a structure, that its meaning is greater than its simple content. The form of the work
of art is an integral part of its meaning, whereas the clinical dossier on the patient does not
lay claim to any such formal statement.” (Swales)
Schnitzler as an artist analyses human experience in a way that goes beyond the scientific
determinism of Freud.
Emma Midghall & Beth Caradine
Bibliography
Schnitzler, A. Fräulein Else. Stuttgart. Reclam, 2002
Swales, M: Arthur Schnitzler: A Critical Study. Oxford/London. Clarendon Press, 1971
Freud, S: Briefe" 1873-1939, ed. Ernst L.Freud. Frankfurt, 1960
Weiss, Robert O. The Psychoses in the Works of Arthur Schnitzler. German Quarterly 41.3, 1968
Bellettini, L. Freud’s Contribution to Arthur Schnitzler’s Prose Style. Journal
Nehring, W. Schnitzler, Freud’s Alter Ego?. Modern Austrian Literature 10.3-4. 1977