Duality, Duel, Diplomacy: Aesthetics and Politics of Mediation in Arthur Schnitzler's Der Weg ins Freie

The rise of anti-Semitism in conjunction with probing the possibilities of literary narratives makes literature itself a site of negotiation in late imperial Austria. This article reads Arthur Schnitzler's first novel, Der Weg ins Freie (The Road into the Open, 1908), as a text that shows authorial restraint by foregrounding constellations of duality, duels, and their diplomatic mediation, which fail frequently. In doing so, the essay outlines Schnitzler's opposition to his contemporary Theodor Herzl's stronger attempts at executing narrative authority. Three main configurations in Schnitzler's novel are discussed: constellations between genres and opinions, between representation in art and politics (Darstellen and Vertreten), and between voicing and silencing. At stake, therefore, are the narrative strategies employed in the production, representation, and reception of modern literature in times of crisis.