About the work
Arthur Schnitzler's play in three acts was premiered in 1895 at the Vienna Burgtheater and is one of the best-known works of Viennese Modernism. The play dissects the double standard of Viennese society around 1900 and the difference between a socially acceptable flirtation (Liebelei) and genuine feeling — a motif that runs through Schnitzler's entire oeuvre.
Plot
The young officer Fritz Lobheimer is conducting an affair with a married lady of good society. On the side he becomes involved with the "sweet girl" Christine, daughter of a violinist from the Viennese suburbs. While Christine lives her first great love, for Fritz the affair remains a fleeting dalliance. When the betrayed husband challenges Fritz to a duel and kills him, Christine learns of it only when everything is over. She rushes out of the house — her fate left open.
Cultural significance
Liebelei is a key work of the fin de siècle and a forerunner of Schnitzler's later modern dramas. The figure of Christine became a symbol of those left at society's mercy, whose feelings do not count if they are not socially appropriate. The play has been filmed many times, most recently by Max Ophüls in 1933, and belongs to the repertoire of German-language stages. The final scene, with Christine's despair, is considered one of the most intense exit moments of Viennese theatre.