Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek is a prominent Austrian author and playwright, born on October 20, 1946, in Mürzzuschlag, Austria. She emerged from a cultured background, with a father of Czech Jewish descent and a mother from an elite Vienna family. Jelinek pursued an education in music, theater, and art history, graduating from the University of Vienna, and she began writing in 1967, influenced by the Vienna Group and the student movement of the time. Her notable works include "The Piano Teacher" and "Lust," both of which tackle complex themes such as sexual violence and the dynamics of societal power structures.
Throughout her career, Jelinek has been recognized for her innovative approach to literature, winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004, among many other prestigious awards. Her writing often invokes controversy due to its exploration of sex, sadism, and the challenges faced by women in contemporary society. Jelinek's plays, such as "Der Tod und das Mädchen," have sparked significant debate, including attempts to ban productions for their provocative content. Despite facing criticism and censorship, Jelinek remains committed to using her literary voice as a form of resistance against societal norms, solidifying her role in modern Austrian literature as a fearless and influential figure.
Elfriede Jelinek
Austrian novelist, playwright and Nobel Prize winner.
- Born: October 20, 1946
- Place of Birth: Muerzzuschlag, Steiermark, Austria
Biography
Elfriede Jelinek was born on October 20, 1946, in the town of Mürzzuschlag. Austria. Her father, Friedrich Jelinek, was a chemist of Czech Jewish origin whose important contributions to industrial production allowed him to escape Nazi persecution during World War II. Her mother was from a wealthy and elite Vienna family, and Elfriede was raised and educated in this prominent Austrian environment.
In 1960, Jelinek was instructed in piano, organ, and recorder at the famous Music Conservatory. After graduating from the Albertsgymnasium in 1964, she studied theater and art history at the University of Vienna while continuing her music studies. In 1971, she passed the organist diploma examination at the Conservatory.
In 1967, Jelinek devoted herself entirely to writing. Her earliest works were written under the influence of the Vienna Group, established by the writer H. C. Artmann. Through this affiliation with the student movement, Jelinek’s poetry and novels became very critical of the false conventions of popular society. In 1974, Jelinek married Gottfried Hüngsberg. Between 1974 and 1991, she became a member of the Austrian Communist Party and a strong opponent of Jörg Haider’s Freedom Party; after the Freedom Party joined the country’s government, the party forbade performances of her plays in Austria.
Jelinek’s most famous novels include Die Klavierspielerin (1983; The Piano Teacher, 1988), a semiautobiographical novel about a mother and daughter which was adapted for the 2001 film The Piano Teacher, and Lust (1989; Lust (1992), which presents a rather graphic perspective on sexual violence against women. Jelinek’s works have been criticized for their dominant themes, which include sex, sadism, and authoritarianism in Austrian society. However, Jelinek defends her incorporation of such controversial subject matter by arguing the political significance of sexual relationships in class societies. Jelinek has also written many dramatic pieces for radio and theater, including Der Tod und das Mädchen, I-V: Prinzessinendramen (2003; Princess dramas: death and the maiden), depicting the inability of women to achieve vitality in a world where they are continually bombarded with stereotypical ideals. Der Tod und das Mädchen has provoked controversy. In 2015 Poland’s culture minister tried to ban production of the play, claiming it was pornographic.
Jelinek’s one-woman play Jackie, the fourth play in the Der Tod und das Mädchen series, was translated by Gitta Honegger, and staged at New York City Center Stage II in 2013. Jelinek published several works in the 2010s, including the novels Neid (Envy, 2011 exclusively on Jelinek's website) and Rein Gold: ein Bühnenessay (2013). Her plays Rechnitz (Der Würgeengel) (Rechnitz), Die Kontrakte des Kaufmanns(The Merchant’s Contracts), and Charges (2016) were translated into English in the 2010s by Gitta Honneger, with the first two plays combined in a single volume published in 2015. Jelinek continued produceing plays throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s. Some of her most notable works from this period include Schnee Weiss (2018) Schwarzwasser (2020), and Ash (2024).
In 2004, Jelinek was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in literature. She has also received numerous other awards: The West German Interior Ministry Prize for Film Writing in 1979; the City of Cologne Heinrich Böll Prize in 1986; the City of Bochum Peter Weiss Prize in 1994; the Bremer Literature Prize in 1996; the Georg Büchner Prize in 1998; the Berlin Theatre Prize in 2002; the Mülheimer Theatre Prize in 2002 and 2004; and the Lessing Critics’ Prize, the Stig Dagerman Prize, and The Blind War Veterans’ Radio Theatre Prize in 2004. In 2017, Jelinek was granted the Der Faust prize for elifetime achievemnt in theatre. In 2021, she was awarded the Nestroy Theatre Prize.
An innovative novelist, poet, and playwright, Jelinek has remained at the forefront of the modern literary movement in Austria. Though often rejected by conservative critics for her controversial themes and social perspectives, Jelinek continues to use her unique and audacious literary contributions as a form of resistance against the debilitating classifications of gender and class in contemporary society.
Author Works
Fiction:
Lisas Schatten, 1967
Wir sind Lockvoegel Baby!, 1970
Michael: Ein Jugendbuch fuer de Infantilgesellschaft, 1972
Die Liebhaberinnen, 1975 (Women as Lovers, 1994)
Die Ausgesperrten, 1980 (Wonderful, Wonderful Times, 1990)
Die Klavierspielerin, 1983 (The Piano Teacher, 1988)
Oh Wildnis, oh Schutz vor ihr, 1985
Lust, 1989 (English translation, 1992)
Die Kinder der Toten, 1995
Gier: Ein Unterhaltungsroman, 2000 (Greed, 2006)
Neid, 2011
rein GOLD. ein bühnenessay, 2013
Nonfiction:
Einar, 2006 (English translation 2006)
Drama:
Was geschah, nachdem Nora ihren Mann verlassen hatte; oder Stützen der Gesellschaften, 1979
Clara S, musikalische Tragödie, 1982
Burgtheater. Posse mit Gesang, 1985
Begierde und Fahrererlaubnis (eine Pornographie), 1986
Krankheit oder Moderne Frauen. Wie ein Stück, 1987
Wolken. Heim, 1988
Präsident Abendwind. Ein Dramolett, sehr frei nach Johann Nestroy, 1992
Totenauberg, 1992
Rastätte oder Sie machens alle. Eine Komödie, 1994
Stecken, Stab und Stangl. Eine Handarbeit, 1996
Ein Sportstück, 1998 (Sports Play, 2012)
er nicht als er (zu, mit Robert Walser), 1998 (Her Not All Her, 2012)
Das Lebewohl (Les Adieux), 2000
Das Schweigen, 2000
MACHT NICHTS – Eine Kleine Trilogie des Todes, 2001
In den Alpen, 2002
Der Tod und das Mädchen, I-V: Prinzessinendramen, 2003
Das Werk, 2003
Bambiland, 2003
Irm und Margit: A Part of "Attabambi Pornoland", 2004
Ulrike Maria Stuart, 2006
Über Tiere, 2006
Rechnitz, 2008 (Rechnitz and The Merchant's Contracts, 2015)
Die Kontrakte des Kaufmanns. Eine Wirtschaftskomödie, 2009 (Rechnitz and The Merchant's Contracts, 2015)
Winterreise, 2011
Kein Licht, 2011
FaustIn and out. Sekundärdrama, 2011
Die Straße. Die Stadt. Der Überfall., 2012
Schatten (Eurydike sagt), 2013
Aber sicher!, 2013
Die Schutzbeholfenen, 2014 (Charges (The Supplicants), 2016)
Schnee Weiss, 2018
Schwarzwasser, 2020
Ash, 2024
Bibliography
Birns, Margaret Boe. “The Piano Teacher.” Masterplots. 4th ed. Ipswich: Salem, 2010: 1–3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.
De la Durantaye, Leland. “On Cynicism. Dogs, Hair, Elfriede Jelinek and the Nobel Prize.” Harvard Review 29 (2005): 146–53. Literary Reference Center. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.
Fiddler, Allyson. “Reckoning with Rechnitz: On Elfriede Jelinek, Translation and Cultural Reproduction.” Austrian Studies 22 (2014): 199–214. Humanities Source. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.
Goldman, A.J. "'Ash' Review: A Nobel Prize-Winner Confronts Environmental Collapse." The New York Times, 3 Oct. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/04/29/theater/ashe-elfriede-jelinek-muenchner-kammerspiele.html. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
Siegal, Nina. “Elfriede Jelinek.” Progressive 71.7 (2007): 33. Biography Reference Center. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.
Smith, Alex Duval. “Polish Minister Tries to Ban Nobel Winner’s ‘Pornographic’ Play.” Guardian. Guardian News & Media, 23 Nov. 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/23/polish-minister-tries-to-ban-nobel-winners-pornographic-play. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.
Williamson, Kevin D. “Verfremdungseffekt.” New Criterion 31.8 (2013): 41–45. Literary Reference Center. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.