Hofburg and its square: symbols of Austrian identity and the
setting of Thomas Bernhard's play 'Heldenplatz'
Thomas Bernhard
(1931 – 1989)
Thomas Bernhard's relationship
to Vienna and Austria was ambivalent. At the same time celebrated
and abused by critics and audience Bernhard managed to throw
light on the abysses of the Austrian soul, if such a thing exists.
His texts often contain harsh descriptions of life in post war
Austria, especially in conservative rural areas.
His language was minimal, sparse and to the point, it was also
articulate in its forceful pessimism. But it is funny, too,
in the same way as Kafka's sense of humor gets to you.
Reading Bernhard is highly pleasurable, it is also unnerving.
In 1989 his play 'Heldenplatz' (square of heroes, the
name of the square in front of Vienna's Hofburg)
he focussed on the antisemitic atmosphere of contemporary Vienna.
A Jewish family verbally abuses themselves and a good number
of Austrian values. The ensuing scandall was legendary and Bernhard
was the target of self-proclaimed defenders of Austria's honor.
Critics and audience failed to see the underlying irony and
the (black) humour of figur constellation and language.
It was not the first scandal caused by Berndhard's literature,
but it was the most severe. The author retreated and died a
year later with no friendly feelings towards his home country.
His last will prohibited the staging of previously unstaged
plays and the publication of unpublished prose in Austria.
