Arthur Schnitzler's 1895 play `Liebelei' provoked mass controversy within the Viennese upper class upon its premier in the `Burgtheater', as did many of his plays. This reaction could in part be explained by Schnitzler's "frank description of sexuality"¹ and his crudely realistic portrayal of Viennese society at that time through his application of very common personalities for his characters. In this essay, I intend to demonstrate the insight which Schnitzler gives the reader through the characters of `Liebelei', into Viennese society at the turn of the century.

First of all, strong insight is perhaps given into the Viennese high society, who were "devoted to order, mannered charm and the grandiloquent facades on the `Ringstrasse' "³ by the reaction of the audiences alone to the play and its characters. Both shocked and embarrassed the Viennese bourgeoisie with its "uncompromising representation of the Viennese world"². Schnitzler's writing of the play and...