A staging approach to Arthur Schnitzler's "Reigen" (Hands Around)

This study primarily addresses the importance of Vienna's social environment at the turn of the century as a determining factor for a modern translation of Reigen. Statements by Schnitzler scholars and critics about the time-bound quality of his work (of belonging strictly to the Vienna of the 1900s) are countered through a careful analysis of the social, moral, ethical, and psychological aspects reflected in the play. These are brought into a modern perspective in order to prove that the play's life force lies in the timelessness of the ideas which infused the play, and not in the surface details of the historical time. The modern treatment given to the play is based on the baroque notion of "man as role-player," which is a first step toward removing the conventionalism surrounding the play, and pointing up some of the main ideas of the play. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).