Max Mell
Max Mell was an Austrian writer, born on November 10, 1882, in Marburg an der Drau, now part of Croatia. He grew up in a Catholic household in Vienna, where his father directed the School of the Blind. Educated at the University of Vienna, Mell developed friendships with influential writers that shaped his early work. His literary career began while he was still in college, producing short stories and novellas centered on themes of love, patriotism, and greed. His noteworthy novel, "Barbara Naderers Viehstand," earned him the Bauernfeld Prize in 1914.
Mell served in World War I and later experienced censorship from the Nazi regime, which adversely affected his career and personal life. His postwar dramas, such as "Das Apostelspiel," gained popularity due to their engaging characterizations and realistic portrayals. Following the war, he explored historical themes in works like "Jeanne d'Arc," which became his masterpiece. Throughout his career, Mell received several prestigious awards, including the Great Austrian State Prize and the Vienna Literary Prize. He passed away on December 12, 1971, leaving behind a significant legacy in Austrian literature.
Max Mell
Writer
- Born: November 10, 1882
- Birthplace: Marburg an der Drau, Austria-Hungary (now Moribor, Croatia)
- Died: December 12, 1971
- Place of death:
Biography
Max Mell was born on November 10, 1882, in Marburg an der Drau, Austria-Hungary (now Moribor, Croatia), and moved to Vienna, Austria, with his family at the age of four. He was one of three children born to Alexander Mell, a Czechoslovakian who from 1886 to 1919 directed the School of the Blind in Vienna, Austria, and in 1914 became inspector of Austrian institutes for the blind. His mother was Marie Rocek Mell, a well-educated, spiritual woman who encouraged her children’s curiosity and raised them in a religious, Catholic environment.
Mell attended the University of Vienna, where he formed friendships with fellow writers Olga von Graff and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who greatly influenced his work. He received his Ph.D. from the university in 1905. Mell began writing while in college, and from 1904 through 1907 he published a collection of short stories and several novellas dealing primarily with love, patriotism, and greed. The best received of his early prose works was his novel Barbara Naderers Viehstand (1914), about a peasant woman’s strange affection for a cow, which won the Bauernfeld Prize. Mell’s first dramatic works, the comedies Die Paechterin von Litchfield and Der Barbier von Berriac, had such a lukewarm reception that he stopped writing for the stage for a decade.
During World War I, Mell served with the Austrian army as a field artillery officer, and he witnessed tremendous slaughter in many battles before mustering out in 1917 due to illness. From 1918 to 1922, he worked as an editor at the newspaper Vienna Midday.
Much of Mell’s postwar dramas focused on faith and salvation. Das Apostelspiel (pb. 1923, pr. 1924; The Apostle Play, pb. 1934), Das Schutzengelspiel, and Das Nachfolge Christi-Spiel were theatrical morality tales that became popular due to their realistic characterizations, straightforward language, and simple staging. Die Sieben gegen Theben combined Greek myth and Christian doctrine to provide an optimistic view of the human experience.
When Austria was incorporated into Germany in 1938, Mell was at first enthusiastic about the possibility of a German empire. He quickly changed his mind, however, and the Nazi Party censored his work, particularly Das Spiel von den deutschen Ahnen, which was deemed critical of the Nazis. German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels publicly declared that Mell should not receive his second Grillparzer Prize in 1940 (he won the first in 1928). The years during World War II were particularly unkind to Mell; his family lost its land and both his mother and brother died.
After the war, Mell turned to historical themes in his plays, infusing them with his own brand of spirituality. His reinterpretations of medieval epics, Der Nibelunge Not and Kriemhilds Rache, portray deception, guilt, and genocide. Mell’s masterpiece was Jeanne d’Arc, an account of the French saint’s trial. His final theatrical work, Paracelsus und der Lorbeer, though critically acclaimed, was not a box-office triumph.
Recognized throughout his lifetime for his writing, Mell was awarded the Vienna Literary Prize (1927), The Mozart Prize (1937), the Great Austrian State Prize (1954), the Stifler Prize (1957), and the Austrian Medal of Honor for Science and Art (1960). He died on December 12, 1971, and his honorary grave was a gift from the city of Vienna.