Marie Eugenie delle Grazie
Marie Eugenie delle Grazie was a prominent German-language writer in the early twentieth century, celebrated for her diverse literary contributions, including poetry, novels, dramas, and essays. Born in a small Hungarian village, her early life was influenced by her supportive father, who encouraged her artistic endeavors, and a more pragmatic mother. The death of her father and sister at a young age prompted a move to Vienna, where she faced challenges in school but found mentorship in Laurnez Muellner, a chaplain who recognized her talent.
Grazie's literary journey began with poetry, most notably her epic poem "Robespierre: Ein modernes Epos," which reflected on the social aspects of the French Revolution. Transitioning to drama in the early 1900s, her works began to explore themes of social issues and subconscious life. A pivotal moment in her life occurred after the death of her mentor in 1911, leading to a spiritual transformation and a return to her Catholic faith, which significantly influenced her later writings. Despite early acclaim, including the Grillparzer Prize for her drama "Saul," her later works received less recognition, as critics favored her earlier free-thinking period. Grazie's literary legacy remains significant in understanding the evolution of women writers in German literature during this era.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Marie Eugenie delle Grazie
Writer
- Born: August 14, 1864
- Birthplace: Weißenkirchen, Austria
- Died: February 19, 1931
- Place of death: Vienna, Austria
Biography
Marie Eugenie delle Grazie is regarded as one of the foremost women writers in the German language in the first decade of the twentieth century. Critics who read her poems, novels, dramas, and essays hailed Grazie as a most promising writer; she published a nine-volume collection of her works before reaching the age of forty. Grazie spent early childhood in the small Hungarian mountain village of White Churches. As a child she benefitted from a close relationship with her father, an educated man who appreciated art and beauty and who worked as director of the coal mines. When she was a child, he told her fairy tales and nourished her creative spirit. Her mother, twenty years younger than her husband and a practical woman, expressed little enthusiasm for her daughter’s artistic aspirations. By the time she was eight, Grazie’s father and younger sister had died, and these events ended the girl’s idyllic childhood.
After her father’s death, Grazie’s family moved to Vienna, where she was sent away to a girls’ school. While this experience did not start out well—she developed a nervous illness—she met and became friends with the chaplain of St. Leopold, Laurnez Muellner. He recognized her talent and became her writing mentor. Though him she met and became part of a group of other writers, artists, and intellectuals. Though she was raised a Catholic, Grazie abandoned her beliefs as a young woman. A free thinker, she held ideas similar to those of other turn-of-the-century intellectuals, and she was also influenced by the work of Friedrich Nietzsche.
As a young woman she wrote many poems. Her best work is the epic poem Robespierre: Ein modernes Epos (1894). In it, she presents French philosopher Hippolyte Taine’s view that the French Revolution was more a social than a political movement. In the early 1900’s, however, Grazie abandoned poetry. She turned to drama, particularly social drama, and at times she explored the life of the subconscious. The year 1911 brought the death of her mentor and friend Professor Muellner, and this event that left her feeling lost and alone.
The following year, Grazie had a mystical experience that resulted in a reaffirmation of her Catholic faith, and her work after this date reflects this change. This period marks the publication of several novels. Two autobiographical novels, clearly inspired by Muellner, O Jugend! Roman (1917) and Eines Lebens Sterne: Roman (1919), portray a priest who encourages and assists a young woman. After World War I, Grazie wrote Die wei�en Schmetterlinge von Clairvaux: Novelle (1925) a novella considered her best work of this period. The story, set in the Middle Ages, describes a religious conversion. Grazie won the Grillparzer Prize for her drama, Saul, in 1885. While she gained much acclaim in her early years, her reputation later waned. Critics and publishers enthusiastically praised the work of her free-thinking period and paid less attention to her work after the reassertion of her religious faith.