Arthur Schnitzler: Paracelsus. Historical-Critical Edition

Written between 1894 and 1898, and set in 16th century Basel, Arthur Schnitzler`s one-act verse drama Paracelsus centres on an experiment in hypnosis that blurs the boundaries between reality and dream. The drama addresses unconscious female desire, as well as the social control by which it is systematically suppressed. With astonishing clarity for the time at which it was conceived, the text negotiates the question of how such desire can be interpreted, on the one hand, as a symptom of illness, and, on the other hand, as a fantasy of infidelity. It also offers a striking diagnosis regarding the self-dramatization of doctor and (female) patient: `We always play. Wise is the man who knows it`, is an often-quoted Schnitzler aphorism originating from Paracelsus, which was at the time generally understood as a criticism of the habitual pretenses of the modern self. Paracelsuss historical conflict with Basel physicians and pharmacists in the play reflects the clashes between the discoveries of Sigmund Freud and conventional Viennese orthodox medicine, which Schnitzler considered to be of high interest. With the device of hypnosis, which both uncovers and suggests hidden desires, a highly ambivalent form of therapy is introduced that serves both the narcissism of the attending physician and the desires of the patient. Paracelsus is published by De Gruyter as the thirteenth volume of the historical-critical edition of Arthur Schnitzlers early work, edited by Konstanze Fliedl. The Austrian Science Fund FWF has supported this edition since 2010 now for the third time (FWF Project Numbers P 22195, P 27138, P 30513). Like the volumes Blumen, Reigen, and Der grüne Kakadu, Paracelsus will be published in print as well as open access, the latter being the prerequisite for a digital edition of the volume. The historical-critical edition of Paracelsus comprises all estate papers, covering all text-genetic stages, including notes, sketches, and two elaborated manuscripts which differ mainly in the characterization of the protagonists and their motivation for action. While Paracelsuss personal antagonist the hypnotized womans husband is a musician in the first manuscript, the medical genius encounters a bourgeois craftsman in the later one. Although Schnitzler thus shifts the `artistic focus` from the musical to the medical, he still allows heavy criticism of the supposed omnipotence of the healer. In addition to the documentation of the plays history of origin and printing, the present edition features the facsimile manuscripts, including the diplomatic transcription, and also a text with commentary constituted after the first printing. This compilation ensures the distribution of Schnitzler`s works in a reliable edition.