About the work
Without Love is a one-act comedy by the Austrian writer Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach. It grew out of a dialogued novella she published in 1888 and later reworked for the stage; the play premiered in 1890, staged by the Freie Bühne Berlin at the Residenztheater.
Plot
Young Countess Emma rejects the persistent courtship of Count Rüdiger, whom her grandmother also favours. When her widowed cousin Marko, father of a spoiled child, proposes instead, Emma accepts – but only on condition that she be treated as an equal partner, and loved without love.
Cultural significance
The play challenges the romantic ideal of marrying for love and argues instead for a clear-eyed, equal partnership. After successful runs in Berlin, it was staged at Vienna's Burgtheater in 1898, with Ebner-Eschenbach herself in attendance.