Arthur Schnitzler

Bertha Garlan (Dodo Press) Arthur Schnitzler

Arthur Schnitzler (1862 -1931) was an Austrian writer and doctor. 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 favour of writing. His works were often controversial, both for their frank description of sexuality 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". A member of the avant garde group Young Vienna (Jung Wien), Schnitzler toyed with formal as well as social conventions. He specialized in shorter works like novellas and one-act plays, and in short stories he showed himself to be one of the early masters of microfiction.