Arthur Schnitzler

The article studies the genre of the «Künstlernovelle» drawing on the short story The Prince in the Theatre by Arthur Schnitzler, the Austrian author of the turn of the XIX century. The images of artists are central to the writing of this author. This short story presents the type of a tired, aging, minor artist, who had wasted his talent in vain, the type that the author was very interested in. The article studies the image of the main character, the relationship between the artist and society, the motifs of death and game and their role in creating the image of the artist.

The article considers short stories by an Austrian author of the turn of the XIX and XX centuries, Arthur Schnitzler. The importance of the dilettantism concept for the author is revealed; the images of women in art are analyzed, who are shown in Schnitzler’s prose only as dilettantes, play-acting both on stage and in life.