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Image of a “Cute Gal” in A. Schnitzler's Novels
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Abstract: The article dwells on the prose of A. Schnitzler who founded the circle of young literati “Young Vienna” (“Junges Wien”) together with F. Salten, H. von Hofmannsthal, R. Beer-Hofmann and L. von Andrian. The appearance of this group marks the beginning of Viennese Modernism, in which A. Schnitzler plays an important role, because he does not only reveal the aesthetic-literary program of these young writers in an individual and distinctive manner, but also draws an accurate and truthful portrait of the epoch. His protagonists are his contemporaries who represent specific social stereotypes, one of them is a “cute gal” (“süsses Mädel”), the literary image of whom is traditionally associated with A. Schnitzler. The typology of these poor girls is not only visible in the description of their life, but also in their language which abounds in everyday and often dialectical words and expressions. The author’s attention to such a symptomatic for that period social character marks the distinction of A. Schnitzler’s prose from that of other authors of the “Young Vienna”, who prefer to put a blasé aristocrat in the center of the storyline and use a Viennese Coffeehouse, a mansion or a glamorous health resort as a setting. A. Schnitzler moves away from this tendency and places a “cute gal” from non-privileged social groups and with numerous problems and simple fantasies into the center of narration.
Key words: The Viennese Modernism; “Young Vienna”; social stereotype; “cute gal”; speech portrait; dialect; the theme of a little man.
For citation
Dubakh, T. M. Image of a “Cute Gal” in A. Schnitzler's Novels / T. M. Dubakh // Pedagogical Education in Russia. – 2015. – №10. – P. 129-132.