SOURCE: Schneider-Halvorson, Brigitte L. “Der Gang Zum Weiher.” In The Late Dramatic Works of Arthur Schnitzler, pp.83-111. New York: Peter Lang, 1983.

In the following essay, Schneider-Halvorson discusses various critical commentary, as well as Schnitzler's use of themes and symbols in the play Der Gang Zum Weiher.

Background of the Play and Statement of Purpose

Although Schnitzler had reached a preliminary conclusion of this play by June 11, 1921¹ and had written in 1924 to his friend Georg Brandes “[…] und ein Versstück wird vielleicht auch bald fertig sein […],”² this five-act verse play was not published until December of 1926 by S. Fischer Verlag, Berlin.³ As a serious artist, Schnitzler rarely allowed publication of any work until he had convinced himself that it expressed truly his innermost convictions and that it had reached the most perfect form which he could create for it. As in other cases, this dramatic work was first...