Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach was a notable Austrian writer born on September 13, 1830, in Moravia, now part of the Czech Republic. Initially raised in an aristocratic family, she faced challenges in pursuing her passion for writing, particularly lyric poetry. Encouraged by prominent figures such as Franz Grillparzer, she eventually married a supportive cousin, which allowed her to pursue her literary ambitions. After a lengthy struggle in theater, she transitioned to writing short fiction in her mid-forties, where she achieved significant success during the 1880s. Her works often explore themes of moral redemption, featuring characters who confront their ethical dilemmas, and are characterized by their emotional depth and vivid dialogue. Despite her noble background, she portrayed a diverse range of social classes in her stories, advocating for the importance of education, especially for women. By the end of her life, she was recognized as the foremost female author in Austria and became the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1910. She passed away in Vienna on March 12, 1916, leaving a lasting legacy in literature.
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Subject Terms
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
Author
- Born: September 13, 1830
- Birthplace: Moravia, Czech Republic
- Died: March 12, 1916
- Place of death: Vienna, Austria
Biography
Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach was born Countess Dubsky on September 13, 1830, at Zdislavic Castle in Moravia (later part of Austria, now part of the Czech Republic). The young Ebner- Eschenbach was a voracious reader. Despite her family’s misgivings, she displayed an early interest in writing lyric poetry, which was not considered in keeping with her aristocratic environment and upbringing. When she was seventeen, her stepmother, in an effort to discourage Ebner-Eschenbach’s ambitions, sent off some of her poetry to Franz Grillparzer, an eminent Austrian writer, only to have Grillparzer respond with glowing encouragement. A year later, Ebner-Eschenbach married her cousin, a science professor and field marshal, who was willing to encourage his wife’s talent. Initially, Ebner-Eschenbach turned to the stage and for nearly twenty-five years struggled to win over the theatrical establishment. Her staged plays, however, proved slight.
In 1873, in her mid-forties, she abandoned drama and began writing short fiction. She immediately found publication and critical success. The 1880’s would prove her most fruitful period, and she published a steady series of short fiction and short novels that succeeded largely because of her long background writing for the stage. The stories, intense character studies, centered on dramatic moments of confrontation and illumination and conveyed such immediacy and emotional impact with vivid dialogue and careful detailing without authorial intrusion. Although her sheer productivity makes generalities difficult, the stories themselves most often centered on the spiritual drama of redemption, in which morally shallow characters fall under the tutelage of kinder characters (most often ministers or teachers or siblings) and come to see the larger ethical choices they need to make. They feel (often for the first time) the complicated burden of a conscience, and accept responsibility for their own moral reclamation.
Though they do not endorse any particular religion, her stories are determinedly optimistic in their faith in the heart to accept compassion and honesty. Despite her aristocratic upbringing, her stories lack class distinctions—she creates sympathetic portraits of the peasant class and harsh portraits of the aristocracy. She maintained an unflagging commitment to education (particularly for women), seeing in learning the key to an ethical life. Stylistically, Ebner-Eschebach came to be known for a felicity in expression marked by a penchant for memorable aphorisms that often conveyed the wisdom of her stories with the pithy charm of a fabulist —for example, “An intelligent woman has millions of natural enemies—all stupid men.” By the close of the century, she was the most recognized woman in Austrian letters. In 1910 she became the first woman awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna. Her health failing (she was particularly troubled by difficulties with her eyesight) she died in Vienna on March 12, 1916.