Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach | |
|---|---|
 Ebner-Eschenbach about 1900 | |
| Born | Marie Dubský von Třebomyslice (1830-09-13)13 September 1830 |
| Died | 12 March 1916(1916-03-12) (aged 85) |
| Occupation | Novelist, short story writer, essayist |
| Period | 1858–1909 |
| Genre | Drama, narrative, novel, novella,bildungsroman |
| Notable works | Das Gemeindekind,Dorf- und Schlossgeschichten |
Baroness Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach néeCountess Dubsky (Czech:Marie von Ebner-Eschenbachová, German:Marie Freifrau von Ebner-Eschenbach[a]; 13 September 1830 – 12 March 1916) was an Austrian writer and anoblewoman. Noted for herpsychological novels, she is regarded as one of the most importantGerman-language writers of the latter portion of the 19th century.
She was born at the castle of the Dubský of Třebomyslice family in Zdislawitz nearKroměříž inMoravia (presentZdislavice in the Czech Republic), the daughter of Baron (from 1843: Count) Franz Joseph Dubský of Třebomyslice, a nobleman whose family roots are deeply Catholic andBohemian, and his wife Maria Rosalia Therese,née Baroness von Vockel, who came from a noble Protestant-Saxon background.
Marie lost her mother in early infancy, but received a careful intellectual training from two stepmothers, first Baroness Eugenie von Bartenstein, and then her second step-mother, Countess Xaverine vonKolowrat-Krakowsky, who often contributed to her inspiration by taking her to theBurgtheater inVienna periodically. Despite being part of a noble family, and having access to her family's vast libraries, she was never actually formally schooled.[1] However, because of her curiosity, access to information, and educated family, she became auto-didact at a young age, and was taught fluentFrench, German, and Czech.
In 1848 she married her cousin,Moritz von Ebner-Eschenbach, a physics and chemistry professor at a Viennese engineering academy. Later on, he would become an Austrian captain, and promoted to lieutenant field marshal on his retirement. The couple resided first inVienna, then, from 1850, at village Louka (Klosterbruck) nearZnojmo (now part of the town), as the engineering academy had been relocated there, and after 1860 again in Vienna. The marriage was childless to disappointment of both of them.[2] Marie grappled with the domestic tasks. She kept a journal and wrote letters explaining how she felt unsatisfied.[3] It has been speculated that Marie may have suffered from "hysteria" including debilitating headaches and excessive nervousness.[3]
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Marie is also rumored to have had a very close friendship that has been interpreted by some as a one sided romance withMarie von Najmajer on Najmajer's side.[4]
Marie began devoting herself to literary work. In her endeavours she received assistance and encouragement fromFranz Grillparzer andFreiherr von Münch-Bellinghausen. Her first publicized work was the dramaMaria Stuart in Scotland (German:Maria Stuart in Schottland), whichPhilipp Eduard Devrient produced at theKarlsruhe theatre in 1860.[2] Then came a tragedy in five acts,Marie Roland, with several one-act dramas:Doktor Ritter,Violets (German:Das Veilchen), andThe Disconsolate One. Though she was encouraged to keep writing, her relative failure in the field of playwriting had actually become somewhat of a point of an embarrassment to her family.[5]
After these limited successes in the field of drama, she turned to narrative. Commencing withDie Prinzessin von Banalien (1872), she graphically depicts inBožena (Stuttgart, 1876, 4th ed. 1899) andDas Gemeindekind (Berlin, 1887, 4th ed. 1900) the surroundings of her Moravian home, and inLotti, die Uhrmacherin (Berlin, 1883, 4th ed. 1900),Zwei Comtessen (Berlin, 1885, 5th ed. 1898),Unsühnbar (1890, 5th ed. 1900) andGlaubenslos? (1893) the life of the Austrian aristocracy in town and country.[2]
Much of Ebner-Eschenbach's more mainstream success is accredited toJulius Rodenberg due to his publishing Ebner-Eschenbach's work in his popular periodical,Die Deutsche Rundschau.[6] In 1875, her half-sister, composerJulie Waldburg-Wurzach, used her social contacts at Cotta Verlag (today Klett-Cotta Verlag) to market some of Ebner-Eschenbach's work. Ebner-Eschenbach also publishedNeue Erzählungen (Berlin, 1881, 3rd ed. 1894),Aphorismen (Berlin, 1880, 4th ed. 1895) andParabeln, Märchen und Gedichte (2nd ed., Berlin, 1892). Von Ebner-Eschenbach's elegance of style, her incisive wit and masterly depiction of character give her a foremost place among the German women writers of her time. On the occasion of her 70th birthday theUniversity of Vienna conferred upon her the degree of doctor of philosophy,honoris causa. An edition of Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach'sGesammelte Schriften (Collected Works) began to appear in 1893 (Berlin).[2]
Throughout her life, she had never created literature or plays for monetary reasons, and so, in her will, she left, as to aid other writers in their own endeavors, the compensation she had received.[1] She died inVienna,Austria-Hungary.
The Marie Ebner-Eschenbach park inWähring, Vienna, is named after her.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ebner-Eschenbach, Marie".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 843. This work in turn cites:
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