"Merry-Go-Round" SCHNITZLER, Arthur
$50
SCHNITZLER, Arthur
[90] pp.
Weidenfeld and Nicolson
1953
8 1/2" x 5 1/2"
Illustrations by Philip Gough
*front flap semi-detached from jacket*
La Ronde (also known by its original German title, Reigen) is a play in which ten people form an unwitting interpersonal circle with their secret sexual relationships. It was written by Arthur Schnitzler in 1897 and was controversial at that time. It scrutinizes the sexual morality and class ideology of its day through successive encounters between pairs of characters (before or after a sexual encounter). By choosing characters across all levels of society, the play offers social commentary on how sexual contact transgresses class boundaries. Printed privately in 1900, it was not publicly performed until 1920, when it provoked strong reactions. The play's two titles – in German Reigen and in French La Ronde – refer to a round dance, as portrayed in the English rhyme Ring a Ring o' Roses.