The sun., 1890-09-03

An Austrian Female Poet OF Passnon
Squelched by the Law


Squeiched by the Law.
high priestess OF tho school OF passionate
poetry in Austria has Just been tried In Vienna
court and found wanting. Her name is Frau
Sidonie Zerkowitz- G GrHnwald, and for several
years she has been publishing verses oom.
pared with which Ella Wheeler Wilcox's ante.
nuptial lines are but Mother Goose melodies Of
passion. Frau Zerkowitz- Gr0nwald, in a pref.
ace to her last production, entitled The
Gretchen OF To-day" acknowledged that che
purposed to show in the case Of Gretchen. q
perfect picture OF the swelling OF unclaimed
passion TO the point OF action. without any re-
gard for the adverse judgment OF critics that
might object to her frankness." She does this,
she says,with the high moral purpose OF reveal.
ing the misery that may overtake the person
who causes the downfall OF another. To prove
tho great truth involved in this suggestion.
she thinks all means are justiiabe.
At the trial Of Gretchen Of To- day" Herr
Won Soos. attorney for the State. argued that
there was a limit to all things, even to literary
naturalism in teaching great moral lessons.
DR.. Edmund Benedikt, attorney for the pas
sion poetess and her school, replied at length
that in the revealing Of Greattruths. the license
Of tho writer should be unlimited. His little
plea for the passion school has become quite
celebrated already In Germany and Austria, 10
tI an eyi'ome OF the whole argumen5 OF the
fCHOOl Oh phSblOuaLe poetry among Gorm0ns
speaking people. He said
1t Is exceedingly painful for this wife and
mother 10 see condemned as immoral a work
that she wrote with the sole purpose Of giving
us view OF the soul Of an unfortunate who
loved without reserve aud was betrayed with
out pity. ne-sided, stiff-necksd. conventional
consideration Of this matter avails nothing,
and means nothing. The idea OF an offence
against morality is relative, and changes With
time and place education and conceptions Of
art Eleonore Of GonZago allowed Titan to
record with his brush her unadorned beauty.
Later CanOva perpetuated In marble the un-
veied form OF Elise Baccochi. sister oil Napo-
leon !. That was done. not long centuries ago,
and not witt any detriment to public morals,
And now. here is a book, very little book OF
POEMS. The question concerns the lyric. the
human breast. Is there limit to this express
sion? Must We say to the lyric, So lar, and no
fartherf or course. there may be lyrical
poetry that treats the man as soul and soul
only. But such lyric teaches nothing and
means nothing, for Its subject 10 On unwhole-
some and unnatural man. and consequently
the lyric is unwholesome and unnatural 90
the great poetsy Because they give Us the un-
distorted. unadorned man. Look at the works
in which they treat Of love and passion. 1t
only the spiritual be allowed in literature, con-
fscate The classics and our masters OF the last
century suppress Goethe's 'Diary.' Wie-
lands Amadis' 1t would lseem that the cir.
cumstance that an author is dead was sup.
the supposititious NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. to o
similar work OF the living"
? The Court ordered the connscation OF " The
Gretchen OF To-day" and no copy Of this pas
si?nate poetry may now be had In the AusA
trian Empire.