The Road into the Open [Paperback]

Arthur Schnitzler (Author), Roger Byers (Translator), Russell A. Berman (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 1991

A finely drawn portrayal of the disintegration of Austrian liberal society under the impact of nationalism and anti-semitism, The Road into the Open (Der Weg ins Freie, 1908) is a remarkable novel by a major Austrian writer of the early twentieth century. Set in fin-de-siècle Austria--the cafés, salons, and musical concerts frequented by the Viennese elite--Schnitzler's perceptive exploration of the creative process and the private lives and public aspirations of urban Jewish intellectuals ranks with the highest achievements of Karl Kraus and Robert Musil.
The novel's central character, Baron Georg von Wergenthin, is a handsome young composer whose troubled relations with women, musical collaborators, and representatives of the old social order make Schnitzler's book a revealing investigation of individual psychology and social allegory. In his comprehensive introduction, Russell Berman situates the book within the literary and political history of Central Europe and analyzes its relation to psychoanalysis, Marxism, musical aesthetics, and the legacy of European modernism.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This fascinating novel by one of the most important authors of early modernism in Vienna tells the story of Baron Georg von Wergenthin, an almost decent, almost talented young composer, and his relationship with Anna Rosner, a middle-class girl who bears his child out of wedlock. Georg's half-hearted attempts to fill the empty vessel of his personality with his new responsibilities are portrayed against the background of his social circle, mostly young Jews from good families who all suffer in their own personal ways under the turn of the century's rising anti-Semitism. This insider's view of the decline of the tolerance fostered by 19th-century Austrian liberalism under the onslaught of one of the 20th century's most twisted passions belongs in any fiction collection.
- Michael T. O'Pecko, Towson State Univ., Md.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Of [Schnitzler's] many extraordinary novels and novellas, I recommend "The Road into the Open. The reader is struck by the emotional clarity with which Schnitzler treats autobiograhical material, for the callous, philandering Georg is an aristocratic, de-Semiticized version of himself."--"New York Times Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 314 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (December 19, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520077741
• ISBN-13: 978-0520077744
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #806,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterly evocation of turn-of-the-century Vienna, September 13, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Road into the Open (Paperback)

Ah, Schnitzler. That magnificent chronicler of old Imperial Vienna - the Vienna of sweet young things (usually working- or middle-class), slightly neurotic but charming young men (usually upper-class), and their fleeting love-affairs, terminated so easily once ennui starts to exceed pleasure, the Vienna of walks in the Prater and talks in the cafes (ever so full of interesting artistic types), the Vienna where the nostalgic strains of Johann Strauss provide a suitably bittersweet accompaniment to the beginning (or the ending) of the abovementioned love-affairs ...

All of which occur in The Road into the Open; nevertheless, the Vienna depicted here does not only consist of only the sweetened tableaux so frequently dismissively (and unfairly) attributed to Schnitzler. The easy charm of the Vienna here is extant, but by no means idealised - it masks the artistic impotence that seems to afflict nearly all of its inhabitants, haunted as they are by the sense of being epigonal; grandiose artistic projects are continually being talked about, but never executed, whether because of an aversion to actually setting them down on paper, or simply because of what is commonly called a "lack of inspiration". More sinisterly, it also masks the habitual anti-Semitism of what one of the characters wittily calls those of "indigenous physiognomy"; though written in 1908, there are passages that almost foreshadow the rise of Nazism. Schnitzler subtly intertwines the study of the individual with ruthlessly objective social commentary and evocation of the atmosphere (both artistic and political) of fin de siecle Vienna, to produce a fascinating book highly recommended not only for those with an interest in the period, but also for anyone who fancies a thought-provoking book

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It recreates beautifully the atmosphere of Imperial Vienna., January 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Road into the Open (Hardcover)

Anybody interested in Viennese culture before World War I and between the wars ought to read this book. It portrays the atmosphere of a city that was one of the most influential centers of European culture, where contributions by the Jewish community were epoch-making and masterful. A must for anybody wanting to understand the marvel that was Europe.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Realist Faust, June 5, 2009

By 

William Anderson (Mount Vernon, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Road into the Open (Paperback)

I'm not judging the translation, as I don't know that earlier 1922 translation.

I have few notes on this story, but my impression-- It's a realist Faust!

The girl dies, the boy thrives. Well, does he find the road into the open? It's there at least as a possibility. Either way, the Faust angle seems obvious to me.

Schnitzler is a positivist in the spirit of Ernst Mach. [The Vienna Circle of contemporary positivism was originally founded as the Ernst Mach Society.] Schnitlzer was a doctor, an MD. I find his work takes realism one step further, into the sphere of positivism. (What Varese, Babbitt & Boulez did in music.) Many have pointed out (including Freud), that Schnitler brings to bear upon his characters the observational faculties of a trained physician.

Here's another example--

A short story called *Flowers* can be found in translation in The Dedalus Anthology of Austrian Fantasy. A man's lover dies. Before his lover died, she had arranged to have flowers delivered to him regularly. She dies, the flowers keep coming. The flowers come and he thinks she sees her on the street below his window, but knows he is deluded. A realist ghost story.

I find my note in the margin, page 83--Leo is *naive*; Heinrich is *sentimental*. [AS IN SCHILLER'S NOTION OF NAIVE AND SENTIMENTAL POETRY.] I also note in the margin that Heinrich is like Mann's Naphta [in Magic Mountain]; and so Schnitzler's Heinrich must be Mann's Settembrini. Don't know if I got this right or not... Road Into the Opean is from 1908; Magic Mountain is later--1912!! Well, they're both inventing characters inspired by Schiller's dialectic.

Of course, Freud loved Schnitzler. Schnitzler didn't think of himself as a top-notch writer, but I do.

A must read--Schnitzler's *Fraulein Else*. Set in a Tirolian mountain resort, Fraulein Else's father pressures the young, young lady into rushing into a match with an abhorrent old bastard, for his money. She loses it, has a nervous breakdown. At the height of her distress over this situation, and under the influence of some well-intended drugs, she walks into the hotel lobby naked. [Shocking!!] She later dies of an overdose.