A Marital AusgleichThe Affair of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Anna Nahowski

Between 1875 and 1888 Emperor Franz Joseph conducted an aff air with a young Viennese woman, Anna Nahowski. Th e only record of this alliance is two diaries written by Anna in the period from about 1894 to 1921. Th e documents have been published but have not been analyzed or even properly acknowledged by Habsburg scholars, although the rumor of the imperial parentage of Anna's daughter Helene, later the wife of the composer Alban Berg, has occupied Berg scholars. Th e diaries reveal new details about the emperor's private life as well as depicting the conflicts and complexities that faced Anna as she tried to maintain a balance between her roles as mistress, wife, and mother. Th is article evaluates the relationship of the Emperor and Anna Nahowski from her perspective and examines the issue of spousal abuse in Anna's marriage.