Eduard von Bauernfeld

Bauernfeld, Eduard von (Vienna, 1802-90, Vienna), was the illegitimate son of a widow and bore his mother's maiden name, but his father married, not the widow, but her daughter, Bauernfeld's half-sister. The father, despite the illegitimacy, took a close interest in his education. Bauernfeld studied philosophy and law and in 1826 reluctantly entered the civil service, being much more inclined and gifted for the life of a man about town. He was a friend of the composer F. Schubert, of the artist M. von Schwind, and of his fellow civil servant Grillparzer; a gifted pianist himself, he frequented the musical soirées at which Schubert played and J. M. Vogl sang. Bauernfeld began with plays in the manner of Kotzebue, but found his characteristic vein in the light comedy of manners, in which he was encouraged by J. Schreyvogel, then in control of the Burgtheater in Vienna. Leichtsinn aus Liebe was successfully staged in 1831, and was quickly followed by Das Liebes-Protokoll, also played in 1831, Helene in 1833, Die Bekenntnisse in 1834, and Bürgerlich und Romantisch in 1835. Bauernfeld was a rapid writer and wrote a number of other comedies which were produced in the 1830s and 1840s with less notable success. His ‘dramatic fairy-tale’ in verse, Fortunat, an early work refused by the Burgtheater, made little impression when performed at the Theater in der Josefstadt in 1835. His principal achievements in the decade before the 1848 Revolution were the historical play Ein deutscher Krieger, performed in 1844, and the comedy Großjährig (1846). Bauernfeld visited Paris and London in 1845, and was organizing in 1845 a petition for the reform of the censorship of literature. In 1849 he resigned his civil service appointment and lived on his pension and the income earned by his plays. He continued to write indefatigably. The most noteworthy landmarks of his later career are the plays Der kategorische Imperativ produced in 1851, Krisen in 1852, Aus der Gesellschaft in 1867, Moderne Jugend in 1869, and Die reiche Erbin in 1876. An attempt with a historical verse play, Landfrieden, in 1869 was not successful. In his later years Bauernfeld was venerated as the symbol of an earlier Vienna and his seventieth and eightieth birthdays were accompanied by demonstrations of affection and by the conferment of honours. He wrote poetry (Gedichte, 1852) which was neat and unoriginal, and late in life he published a novel (Die Freigelassenen, 1875), which is interesting as a document of his age. The essays published in Gesammelte Schriften (12 vols., 1871-3) as Aus Alt- und Neuwien are a valuable reflection of Viennese intellectual life in the 19th c. This edition does not include all his plays. Mention should be made of Bauernfeld's political essays Pia desideria eines österreichischen Schriftstellers (1842) and Schreiben eines Privilegierten in Österreich (1847), liberal in message and moderate in tone.

Eduard von Bauernfeld

Eduard von Bauernfeld (January 13, 1802 – August 9, 1890), Austrian dramatist, was born at Vienna.

Having studied jurisprudence at the university of Vienna, he entered the government service in a legal capacity, and after holding various minor offices was transferred in 1843 to a responsible post on the Lottery Commission. He had already embarked upon politics, and severely criticized the government in a pamphlet, Pie Desideria eines österreichischen Schriftstellers (1842); and in 1845 he made a journey to England, after which his political opinions became more pronounced. After the Revolution, in 1848, he quit the government service in order to devote himself entirely to letters. He lived in Vienna until his death, and was ennobled for his work.

As a writer of comedies and farces, Bauernfeld takes high rank among the German playwrights of the century; his plots are clever, the situations witty and natural and the diction elegant. His earliest essays, the comedies Leichtsinn aus Liebe (1831); Des Liebes-Protokoll (1831) and Die ewige Liebe (1834); Burgerlich und Romantisch, (1835) enjoyed great popularity. Later he turned his attention to so-called Salonstücke (drawing-room pieces), notably Aus der Gesellschaft (1866); Moderne Jugend (1869), and Der Landfrieden (1869), in which he portrays in fresh, bright and happy sallies the social conditions of the capital in which he lived.

A complete edition of Bauernfeld's works, Gesammelte Schriften, appeared in 12 vols. (Vienna, 1871-1873); Dramatischer Nachlass, ed. by F. von Saar (1893); selected works, ed. by E. Homer (4 vols., 1905). See A. Stern, Bauernfeld, Ein Dichterporträt (1890), Rudolf von Gottschall, "E. von Bauernfeld" (in Unsere Zeit, 1890), and E. Homer, Bauernfeld (1900).

He also used the pseudonyms "Rusticocampus" or "Feld".

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

• Collection of Poems in German (eLibrary Austria Project, eLib Austria)

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