Susanne Kelley, University of Nevada, Reno

Austria’s Position between Europe and Asia: Karl Emil Franzos and Hugo von Hofmannsthal

“Wien war die porta Orientis und war sich dieser Mission namentlich in der ersten Hälfte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts in glorreicher Weise bewußt. Von hier aus, von Hammer-Purgstall und seinen “Fundgruben des Orients” ging der Anstoß aus, der Goethes Orientalismus entfachte, und auf diesem wieder ruht der Orientalismus Byrons, sowie des jungen Victor Hugo“ (Reden und Aufsätze II 475), says Hugo von Hofmannsthal in 1921. Around the turn of the 20th century, a number of thinkers and artists undertake a reevaluation of Austria’s position in Europe. One tendency is a conceptual eastward shift of Austria. In this paper, I discuss the cultural and artistic positioning of Austria in the late 19th and early 20th century.

I argue that the underlying motivation of this positioning is an attempt to validate the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the brink of its demise. Its defense is the Empire’s importance as bridge from Eastern to Western Europe, and from Europe to Asia. This paper focuses on the literary aspect of this undertaking. I focus on two authors, whose interpretation of Austria as the mediating platform between Europe and Asia differs drastically.

I begin with Karl Emil Franzos, who terms the Empire’s Eastern territory „Halb-Asien,“ with the reasoning that it is inhabited by Asian-like, semi-uncultured peoples. The Austro-Hungarian Empire, thus, becomes a defense of sorts against the Asian “barbarians.”

The second part of my paper portrays Hugo von Hofmannthal’s concept of Asia, whose traditional and refined culture he proposes as a model for Europe’s further cultivation. Austria, thus, represents Europe’s gate to the knowledge, traditions, culture, and art of Asia.

While the agreement exists, that the Habsburg Empire is important as a connection point between the two parts of the world, opinions about its implications for Europe differ greatly in the literature of the late-19th and early-20th century.