Mediale Repräsentationen der Kaiserin Elisabeth von Österreich: Sissi im Film, Operette und Presse des 20. Jahrhunderts by Nicole Karczmarzyk (review)

The enduring fascination with Empress Elisabeth, or "Sissi," has not diminished even 125 years after her death. Her mythical status has been fueled by countless depictions in popular media. Yet in contrast to the numerous representations of the Empress, few academic studies have undertaken a systematic analysis of those portrayals themselves. Mediale Repräsentationen der Kaiserin Elisabeth von Österreich: Sissi im Film, Operette und Presse des 20. Jahrhunderts fills this gap in scholarship by analyzing changing representations of Elisabeth in the popular media of German-speaking countries from the late 1800s to the present. Focusing in particular on the evolving portrayals in film, on stage, and in the press, Nicole Karczmarzyk demonstrates the ways in which myths are functionalized along with their changing historical and media-cultural context.

The nine chapters of Mediale Repräsentationen are organized chronologically to trace the changing contours of the Sissy myths from her time to today. Chapter 1 begins with a brief discussion of the study's theoretical framework. Karczmarzyk outlines previous research on Empress Elisabeth as a cultural phenomenon and discusses select conceptions of myth, whereby she emphasizes its semantic and narratological functions and its use to mediate between discursive dichotomies. While this brief theoretical overview does little to advance a scholarly understanding of myth, it provides a basic framework for this study and its goal to offer insights into the changing depictions of this specific Austrian icon and into the dynamic formation and functionalization of myths as a whole.

The real strengths of this book lie in the seven chapters following the introduction, which provide an informative, detailed study of representations of Elisabeth in their respective historical and media-cultural context. Chapter 2 focuses on the early formation of myths of the empress from the late i8oos to the end of the Habsburg Empire in 1918. This instructive first analysis is foundational for later chapters, as it details key qualities that will recur in varying forms in later representations. Drawing on accounts of Elisabeth in the popular press in and outside of Austria and on early photographs and paintings, Karczmarzyk highlights recurring topoi. Among the defining characteristics are: the positive valuation of Elisabeth's outsider status in the Habsburg court, which is then used to promote anti-monarchical sentiments; the portrayal of Elisabeth as the ideal Austrian "Landesmutter," who is endowed with qualities such as beauty, grace, privacy, and interiority in order to project ideal conservative middle-class female virtues; and the image of Elisabeth as the "Mater Dolorosa," or sorrowing martyr, which emphasizes her victimhood. Each of these idealized representations, Karczmarzyk shows, draws on existing topoi in myths that are reshaped to imbue the empress with qualities that advance a particular agenda.

Chapter 3 of Mediale Repräsentationen illustrates the durability and malleability of these mythical qualities as seen in films and related press articles of the 1920s. The analysis emphasizes how selected narratives from Elisabeth's life create the image of a sensitive, humane empress in order to suggest a positive depiction of the past monarchy. Chapter 4 extends the narrative of the evolving Elisabeth myths by considering two competing representations in the Weimar Republic. On the one hand, German film depicts Elisabeth as a victim of the Habsburg court in order to criticize the former Austrian government. On the other hand, Austrian films, operettas, musical comedies, plays, and even Hollywood productions use sentimental and romanticized depictions of Sissy as a fairy-tale princess to promote a nostalgic view of the former empire. Chapters 5 then demonstrates how films of the late 1930s and 1940s repurpose elements of the existing myths to advance National Socialist ideology.

In chapter 6 Karczmarzyk looks at portrayals of Sissy in five films and accompanying film magazines of the 1950s that project the longing for a bygone era dominant in the culture of post-World War II Austria. Chapter 7...