Elfriede Jelinek (born October 20, 1946,Mürzzuschlag, Austria) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, and poet noted for her controversial works on gender relations, female sexuality, and popularculture. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2004.

Jelinek received her education inVienna, where the combination of her academic studies with a rigorous program of musical training at the Vienna Conservatory contributed in part to her emotional breakdown at age 17. It was during her recovery that Jelinek turned to writing as a form of self-expression and introspection. After attending theUniversity of Vienna, she made her literary debut with a collection of poems,Lisas Schatten (1967; “Lisa’s Shadow”), and followed with her first publishednovel,Wir sind Lockvögel Baby! (1970; “We’re Decoys, Baby!”). Using language and the structural interplay ofclass consciousness as means to explore the social and culturalparameters of dependency and authority, she earned critical recognition forMichael: Ein Jugendbuch für die Infantilgesellschaft (1972; “Michael: A Young Person’s Guide to Infantile Society”).

A polemical feminist, Jelinek often wrote about gender oppression and female sexuality. In the satiricDie Liebhaberinnen (1975;Women as Lovers, 1994), she described the entrapment and victimization of women within a dehumanizing and patriarchal society. Her semiautobiographical novelDie Klavierspielerin (1983;The Piano Teacher, 1988) addressed issues of sexual repression; it was adapted for the screen in 2001. In her writings, Jelinek rejected the conventions of traditional literary technique in favour of linguistic and thematic experimentation.

Jelinek’s significant novels included the satiricDie Ausgesperrten (1980;Wonderful, Wonderful Times, 1990),Lust (1989;Lust, 1992), andGier (2000;Greed, 2006). Her most notable plays includedWas geschah, nachdem Nora ihren Mann verlassen hatte; oder, Stützen der Gesellschaften (1980;What Happened After Nora Left Her Husband; or, Pillars of Society, 1994), which she wrote as a sequel toHenrik Ibsen’sA Doll’s House;Clara S.: musikalische Tragödie (1984;Clara S., 1997); andBambiland (2003).