Die Wirklichkeit des Traumes in der Wiener Moderne. Eine Untersuchung zur Bedeutung des Traumes in den Werken von Arthur Schnitzler, Richard Beer -Hofmann und Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Within many literary works of Viennese Modernism the dream represents a dominant and recurring theme. The question of why the authors of Young Vienna are captivated by the dream and where this fascination stems from has often been answered by referring to the publication of Sigmund Freud's Traumdeutung in 1900. Many studies, therefore, analyze the works of the Viennese authors in direct relation and comparison to Freud's psychoanalysis.;While Freud's groundbreaking theories about the human psyche have undoubtedly provided strong intellectual stimuli for these authors, I argue that their interest in the dream cannot be satisfactorily explained by considering Freud's Traumdeutung as the main impetus for their dream fascination.;In my investigation of the function and importance of the dream within literary works of Fin-de-Siècle Vienna I move away from the common comparison of Young Vienna to the psychoanalytic findings. I strive to provide a more comprehensive picture of the diverse modes of the dream and its complex presentation in this period by analyzing the works of the three most prominent authors of that time: Arthur Schnitzler (1862-1931), Richard Beer-Hofmann (1866-1945) and Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874-1929).;My close readings of their literary works and my exploration of their personal statements demonstrates that the dream advances to an essential means within their self-conception, philosophy of life and artistic theory. While each accesses the dream in a very personal manner within their works, one prevalent theme can be identified: the dream-likeness of life. This idea of life resembling a dream, the conviction that dream and reality are undistinguishable dates back to the Spanish Baroque and was revitalized in turn-of-the-century Vienna. This is just one of the specific Austrian tendencies that I uncover in my analysis that contributed to the new appreciation of the dream during this time period.;The Viennese authors consider the dream as a crucial part of life, as a different form of reality; it is not an irrelevant phenomenon, but advances to an indispensable vehicle to explore the borders of reality, to achieve a more fundamental understanding of the self and the totality of life.