A MONOLOGUE ON SHAME:
SEXUALITY AND SOCIETY IN ARTHUR SCHNITZLER‘S FRÄULEIN ELSE
By
Matthew J. Sherman

A THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
German Studies
2011

ABSTRACT
A MONOLOGUE ON SHAME:
SEXUALITY AND SOCIETY IN ARTHUR SCHNITZLER‘S FRÄULEIN ELSE
By
Matthew J. Sherman
Arthur Schnitzler‘s novella Fräulein Else is an inner monologue of a nineteen-year-old
bourgeois woman in fin-de-siècle Vienna. This literary form enables direct access to both latent
and manifest content, that is, to Else‘s conscious, preconscious, and unconscious thoughts.
Insight into her mental data exposes psychical conflict and uncovers sexual desire. For Else, this
desire translates into shame due to her internalization of the social code of Vienna, which denies
her sexual expression. Her psychical conflict reflects inefficacious attempts to maintain the
social bond by adhering to the social code and avoiding the shameful exposure of her sexuality.
Else‘s failure to uphold the social standards regarding female sexuality in fin-de-siècle Vienna
finds representation in an act of exhibitionism, which creates irrevocable shame and ultimately
ends in self-destruction. This paper utilizes an amalgamation of psychoanalysis and sociology to
locate the causality of Else‘s shame within the relationship between sexuality and society.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction ………………………………………………..1
II. The Psychology of Shame…………………………………8
III. The Sociology of Shame………………………………….19
IV. Shame, Sexuality, Society………………………………..27
V. Fin-de-siècle Vienna………………………………………36
VI. Arthur Schnitzler‘s Fräulein Else………………………..40
VII. Conclusion ………………………………………………43
Works Cited…………………………………………………..45

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I. INTRODUCTION
Conflict: It is situated at the very foundation of social structures. It is inherent in the
conceptualization of selfhood. Shame presupposes conflict; for it solidifies in the presence of
social conflict and psychical tension. This explains why conflict and tension are in the
intersection of society and self. The very nature of society creates conflict with the individual at
the point of its inception, that is, from the onset of socialization and internalization. Society
molds the individual and establishes the capacity for shame. It is the social order that marks the
threshold for the experience of shame. The individual struggles against desires to maintain the
equilibrium between social demands and psychological processes. When this delicate balance is
lost, shame ensues. When the scale of harmony, that is, compliance, is tipped towards instability,
shame is inevitable. As such, the affect of shame directly correlates to the social bond. Fräulein
Else exemplifies both the interpersonal and intrapsychic conflicts, inherent in the experience of
shame, because Else‘s failure to uphold the social standards of fin-de-siècle Vienna creates
psychical tension through which shame manifests itself and translates into self-destruction.
This paper underscores shame as a critical bonding between self and society in Fräulein
Else. The phenomenology of shame, as it relates to Else‘s experiences, will be constructed within
the cultural, historical, and sociopolitical contexts of fin-de-siècle Vienna. More specifically, the
constellation of shame in Fräulein Else regards the intersection between society and sexuality.
Else‘s sexuality, manifested in thoughts and actions, stands in contrast to the social and sexual
standards of fin-de-siècle Vienna. Shame is a critical bonding between her and the rest of society
because it arises in reference to social codes and aims to perpetuate propriety. Schnitzler‘s work
holds a lens to the social order just as his other works are interested in matters of sexuality. In
looking at the resulting shame of the relationship between sexuality and society, influenced by

1

the social milieu of Vienna at the turn of the century, Schnitzler captures the social and
psychological atmosphere that cultivates shame. In regards to sexuality and shame, Fräulein Else
is his quintessential work.
Arthur Schnitzler‘s novella Fräulein Else is the inner monologue of a nineteen year-old
Viennese woman. The story takes place in a resort town in northern Italy, but it depicts Viennese
bourgeois society. The protagonist, Else is on holiday there when she receives word from her
mother that her father has once again accrued a large debt that the family cannot pay. This time,
however, he faces imprisonment. To maintain the family‘s livelihood and save her father, the
mother asks her to request the sum from a man who has helped them in a similar situation in the
past: Herr von Dorsday. He agrees to pay the sum, but in return he wishes to see Else nude. Else
contemplates the deed as her thoughts oscillate between repulsion and excitation. In the end, she
exposes herself in the music room of the hotel to all the guests, including Dorsday. After having
fainted and having been taken to her room, she takes a lethal dose of Veronal.
Else‘s character in Fräulein Else constitutes an ideal case study of the experience in
shame. She reflects the inner corrosion resulting from continuous shame in the face of social
standards prescribed to bourgeois women in fin-de-siècle Vienna. Her thoughts and behavior
enunciate the detrimental and irreversible effects of shame. The psychological element of the
text, heightened by Schnitzler‘s use of inner monologue, accommodates psychoanalysis, in that
hidden latent content becomes accessible. I have included sociological frameworks to highlight
social structures, bonds, and interactions. The amalgamation of psychoanalytic and sociological
principles paints a more complete portrait of Else. It grasps more accurately the irreducible
reciprocity between the individual and society.

2

I will investigate Else both as a literary figure and as a patient subject to psychoanalytic
analysis, two perspectives that, at first glance, look incongruous, but they actually complement
one another. Else‘s character establishes a dialogue between author and reader. Through her
words—or more specifically, through the illusion of her words, constructed by Schnitzler—the
reader finds articulation in the process of rewriting and self-discovery (Edel 22). Furthermore,
this dialogue between author and reader allows for the repetition and reiteration of critical
discourse, so that Schnitzler allows the reader to rewrite and reinterpret his social criticism (Edel
15). In this sense, there is a certain amount of transference and repetition in the process of
writing, reading, and rewriting, by which the end of the process of reading cycles back to the
beginning of the process (Edel 24). Yet, what makes Else a particularly efficacious mediator is
the element of desire, which is, the link between psychoanalysis and fiction, due to its link
between the conscious and unconscious, reality, and fantasy (edel 16).
As a psychoanalytic case study, Else fills the gaps (as fiction and psychoanalysis do) that
escape from the analysis of external realities. Perception and affect provide insight into internal
realities, which are established as truth through their articulation (Edel 12-13). As such, Else‘s
desire provides access to conscious, preconscious, and unconscious material, which constitutes
an internal reality, constructed through perception and reproduction. In other words, treating Else
as a subject for psychoanalytic, as well as sociological, inquiries establishes a monologue of
truth, attainable only through the process of interaction with an Other.
***
Notions of shame are inseparable from subjective perceptions and conceptualizations, as
well as from an individual‘s role in society. Social roles are ingrained, in that the self is defined,
in part, by her social role and the expectations that correlate to it. As such, behavior and social

3

interaction are partly defined by the function of shame. The individual will strive to act in
accordance with her social prescriptions.
Although the intricacies of shame correlate to all social standards, this paper will
underscore one aspect of the social code: sexuality. An analysis of the function of shame is
crucial for discussions about sexuality, a theme that governs the works of Arthur Schnitzler.
When sexuality becomes interwoven with modes of repression and self-destruction, as it does in
Fräulein Else, analyses of the experience of shame can shed light on the dangers of codified
social standards.
Discussions of social standards and values demand critical attention regarding the role of
shame in upholding such standards. Social commentaries regarding these standards, which are
exemplary in Schnitzler‘s works, demand the inclusion of their socio-historical context. For
Schnitzler, this context is that of fin-de-siècle Vienna. Scholarship surrounding Fräulein Else
emphasizes the trope of female sexuality and its relationship to fin-de-siècle Vienna. Yet, none
investigates exclusively the role of shame in this relationship.
Much of the current scholarship on Fräulein Else, particularly in the psychoanalytic vein,
centers on dream interpretation, the Elektra complex, and hysteria. Glenn Sandberg appropriates
Freud‘s Traumdeutung to translate the metaphorical content of Else‘s dreams. According to him,
Else‘s dreams present her incestuous desires for her father (117). Robert Bereikis proposes that
Else ultimately agrees to Dorsday‘s request because he has replaced her father as a love-object,
he has assumed the role of a paternal figure. Through this cathexis, Else enacts her own
incestuous desires. For Breikis, Else‘s collapse following her exhibitionism is a regression to the
―intra-uterine state [because] [s]he has acted contrary to the most sacred taboo of the super-ego‖

4

(26). Nevertheless, Breikis fails to mention either shame anxiety prior to her act or actual shame
as a result.

1

The majority of analyses regarding hysteria rely heavily on the turn-of-the-century
metapsychology. Catherine Mainland underscores the inability to cope with social demands in
terms of hysteria (165). In fact, Else does exhibit the two primary, yet contrasting, symptoms of
hysteria. She avoids sexual acts, yet has exaggerated sexual desires. Freud himself acknowledges
shame as a reaction formation that aids sexual repression. Furthermore, he states that this
function of shame is heightened in the hysteric (Freud, Drei 64). Mainland‘s argument lacks any
discussion about this relationship between hysteria and shame. Yet, this discussion would
maintain that shame is merely a reaction formation, a postulation that will be rejected in this
paper. Furthermore, Mainland‘s recognition of social demands fails to highlight the symptomatic
ambivalence of fin-de-siècle Vienna, a sexual ambivalence that is characteristic of the hysteric.
Generally speaking, the majority of the current research is not directly beneficial to
discussions of shame. However, what is of relevance to this paper is research on the exposure of
Else‘s nude body. Gabriele Brandstetter points out that ―[d]ie Inszenierung des nackten
weiblichen Körpers berührt in der Gesellschaft des späten 19. Jahrhunderts (immer noch) die
Grenzen der bürgerlichen Moral‖ (241). She recognizes ―die Sehnsucht nach freier Sexualität,
die Lust an der Exhibition des eigenen Körpers‖ (256). Yet, she fails to mention the inevitable
experience of shame that is indispensable from such desires, let alone in pursuit of such desires.
Brandstetter mentions the definitional elements of guilt, i.e. ―Nackheit als Grenzüberschreitung‖,
that are inherent in Else‘s exhibition (242). The subtle hint towards Else‘s guilt within

1

Other authors that discuss the relationship between the social order and Else‘s sexuality
include: Raymond (1993); Anderson (1997); Caspari (2006); Yeo (1999); Oswald & Mindess
(1951); These works do not, however, initiate discussions regarding shame.
5

Brandstetter‘s analysis avoids addressing the detrimental effects on the whole self, that is, the
destructive effects of shame. I will amalgamate prior literary inquiries and theoretical
frameworks to gain new perspective on the analysis Fräulein Else. This paper will confront the
symptoms and responses of Else‘s inner conflict to determine causality, which can only be
accomplished by pursuing the relationship between society, sexuality, and shame.
The scholarship of this paper holds relevance for multiple reasons. Shame is rarely
examined in detail in any field. Reasons include the emphasis on empiricism or the predilection
for inquiry into guilt. It comes as no surprise, then, that the role of shame in Fräulein Else has
not been fully investigated. This neglect is pernicious to fully understanding the thoughts, the
entire psychic make-up, as well as actions that Else takes. Furthermore, the analysis of shame is
necessary for outlining the parallels between Else‘s personality structure and the social structure
in which she interacts. This social order, which is internalized and erected in the psyche in
accordance with its external structure, defines and reinforces the role of the individual in society
and, thus, the function of shame in the individual.
At this point, it is helpful to outline the progression of this paper. It begins by delineating
the experience of shame and distinguishing its psychological functions from the sociological
ones. The affect of shame corresponds to a particular locale in the psychical apparatus, but other
psychological operations, such as narcissism, contribute to the experience of shame. This
experience also arises in reference to the social order. Shame presupposes exposure and erupts
when the social bond is in jeopardy. The psyche then initiates defensive mechanisms in the
attempt to restore the social bond and alleviate shame. This paper then presents the relationship
between shame, sexuality, and society before placing this relationship within the context of finde-siècle Vienna and underscoring Fräulein Else as literature, that is, Else as a literary figure, as

6

being symptomatic of this sociohistorical context. Concluding remarks will analyze how Else‘s
inability to rid herself of shame ends in self-destruction.

7

II. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SHAME
It is imperative to construct a definition of shame to explore the intersection of individual
and society in Fräulein Else. I will establish the foundational elements, as well as the
distinguishing factors of shame, in order to discuss Else‘s affective experience of shame, that is,
in order to determine its causality and representation. The forthcoming definition is, in part,
formulated in comparison to guilt. I will underscore their similarities as well as their differences.
Due to the dynamic nature of shame, the following reflection is by no means exhaustive, but it
sheds light on the definitive properties of shame in its phenomenology. A layout of these
attributes is crucial for distinguishing Else‘s thought processes and behaviors. Though she
encounters guilt, it is shame that plagues her.
There is a certain danger in the dichotomization of shame and guilt. The juxtaposition of
shame must be occasionally presented as such, given the blurred lines of demarcation. At times,
the affect of shame intersects and overlaps with that of guilt. The two may conflate and reinforce
each other. They may even obscure one another (Piers 28). Yet, shame and guilt are unique
experiences and, as such, they require differentiation. Shame is a broad category, encompassing
many facets and, thus, requiring delineation on multiple levels. Shame is conscious and
unconscious, interpersonal and intrapsychic. Therefore, shame concerns conflict between the
individual and others (who constitute the social order), as well as individual conflict with oneself
(who has internalized the social order).
Of these two interrelated conflicts, the latter is most accessible and identifiable in
Fräulein Else. For the purpose of this paper, the discussion of the psychology of shame will
begin with its incorporation into psychoanalysis. It is no coincidence that psychoanalysis evolved
from the context of fin-de-siècle Vienna, and that Freud and Schnitzler‘s works run parallel in

8

topical scope. Nevertheless, there is an avoidance of the study of shame in psychoanalysis,
particularly in its infancy. In part, this aversion stems from the conceptualization of shame in
Freudian psychoanalysis and from Freud‘s own divergence from shame and concentration on
guilt (Lewis 59-60).
On the rare occasions that Freud addresses shame, it is regarded as a reaction formation, a
process for the nullification of desire and/or anxiety (Piers 9). Furthermore, shame is rarely
addressed directly, but is rather lumped together with other affects and relative concepts. Freud
writes:
Während dieser Periode totaler oder bloβ partieller Latenz werden die seelischen
Mächte aufgebaut, die später dem Sexualtrieb als Hemmnisse in den Weg treten
und gleichwie Dämme seine Richtung beengen werden (der Ekel, das
Schamgefühl, die ästhetischen und moralischen Idealanforderungen). […] [Die
sexuellen Regungen] rufen daher seelische Gegenkräfte (Reaktionsregungen)
wach, die zur wirksamen Unterdrückung solcher Unlust die erwähnten
psychischen Dämme: Ekel, Scham und Moral, aufbauen. (Drei 78-9)
What ties shame to morality is taboo. Shame and sexuality are intimately linked because
morality reflects the objection of prohibited behavior and it dictates how, and to what
extent, the superego reacts against taboo. Libido is repressed or suppressed, only to be
released through accepted channels, designated by morality, which bypass taboo. In this
conceptualization, shame operates psychically to prevent the violation of taboo, which
would result in guilt (Freud, Totem 40-41).
Notions of shame were ignored for some time and it was not until psychoanalysis shifted
from its Freudian lens that it became of interest (Lewis 59). This is, for the most part, due to the

9

manner in which Freudian psychoanalysis conceptualized, or failed to conceptualize, the self.
Yet, even with the incorporation of shame into the scope of psychoanalysis, shame and guilt
were considerably juxtaposed. The polarity of guilt and shame corresponded to the internal and
external, respectively. According to Helen Lynd, accepted definitions suggested the following:
―Guilt, or self-reproach, is based on internalization of values, notably parental values—in
contrast to shame, which is based upon disapproval coming from outside, from other persons‖
(21). This sense of guilt coincides with that of Freud‘s hypothesis. Critical notions of self
remained absent in the conceptualization of shame.
***
Now, I will explore the fundamental and current conceptualizations of shame and guilt in
order to underscore the attributive notions of the former in analyzing Fräulein Else. The
constituents of this outline stem from the fields of psychoanalysis and sociology. The dialogue
between them is necessary for discussing the reciprocity between interpersonal and intrapsychic
tension in regard to shame and to underscore the function of shame in social bonding.
There are numerous difficulties with defining shame and distinguishing it from guilt. The
first one is the conventional usage of these terms. They are often understood to be
interchangeable or, at the very least, to go hand-in-hand, as though they encompass the same
experience (Lynd 21). This is understandable since the two affects may occur concurrently or
successively, that is, one situation could potentially give rise to both affects, or guilt could lead
to shame. Furthermore, shame and guilt may reinforce and conflate each other (Lynd 22). Thus,
shame and guilt are not antithetical: ―[T]hey involve different focuses, modes, and stresses‖
(Lynd 23). Lynd continues to explain that there is often overlap, which contributes to the
scholarly neglect of shame (23). Another related difficulty for scholars in finding definitive

10

separations is due to the nuanced nature of the experiences of shame and guilt. Definitional
overlap is, in part, due to similar characteristics, and, to some extent, due to physiological,
sociological, and psychological uncertainties.
It is substantially more difficult to communicate a sense of shame than of guilt because
the latter usually involves clearer distinctions, as in verdict (Lynd 64). One is either guilty or not
guilty, transgression has occurred or it has not. On the other hand, shame has shades of gray due
to its subjectivity. The lines of success and failure are not so easily demarcated. This matter of
communication concerns my thesis because analyzing the experience of shame in Fräulein Else
requires the interpretation of thoughts and physical response in determining the presence of
shame. In other words, Else communicates her shame through modes of representation, which
are symptomatic of the experience of shame.
In a rough differentiation, guilt is the product of transgression, whereas shame
denotes failure. In guilt, the sense of transgression emphasizes a specific act. The
committed transgression is in relation to a clearly prescribed boundary. Guilt arises when
this boundary, the marker of a given social or ideological standard, has been breached
(Piers 11). It denotes the violation of a proscription.
In comparison to guilt, shame is the product of the failure to reach a particular
goal or expectation. Lynd claims that shame occurs after significant self-investment,
requiring a great deal of time (49-50). When the self experiences inadequacy and failure,
shame affects the whole self because it is this whole self that is invested in the long-term
battles of the ego in its aspirations to regulate anxiety and maintain a positive level of
self-esteem. This battle finds representation in Schnitzler‘s novella. Fräulein Else
acknowledges the longevity of this conflict and, furthermore, the investment of the self

11

and plausibility for subsequent failure. In the contemplation of her own suicide, she
admits: ―Ich weiß ja schon lange,daß es so mit mir enden wird‖ (50). She is clearly
anxious about the possibility for failure. She is invested in the battle against shameful
thoughts and behaviors. Ironically, this investment creates a damaging capacity for
failure.
Shame affects the whole self due to the fact that it presupposes a failure. David Lester
makes a clear distinction between ―‗I can‘t believe that I did that‘ (guilt) and ‗I can‘t believe that
I did that‘ (shame)‖ (353). This example articulates both the overlap and nuanced differences
between guilt and shame. There is a shift in significance from the act to the actor. This subtle
difference is of great importance since it demonstrates the emphasis on the exposure and
accentuation of the self. Guilt is only partly representative of a shortcoming self because a
transgression allows the possibility for reparation or atonement. The shame experience does not
simply demand the analysis of a particular failure, but of the self in general as failure, of the self
as a failed self (Lynd 49). The self has an ideal self-image, as well as established goals, that
coincide with those positive ideals. Failure to uphold one‘s ideal violently challenges the
construction and perception of self. In this regard, shame is damaging to the whole self. The
failed self does not have the proclivity for repair. Oscillation must occur in order to endure the
experience of shame and adjust its ideals (Lynd 50). A failed self requires redefinition.
When Else asks herself ―Was habe ich denn getan? Was habe ich getan? Was habe ich
getan?‖, she is not focusing on the act of transgression, but on her failed self (70). This focus on
the shameful failure of the self is important for understanding her psychological tension. She is
taken by surprise in her exhibition. What confounds her most is the fact that she went through
with it. Her conceptualization of self, however, remains referential to a codified social ‗other.‘

12

This perspective focalizes individual failure and elicits psychical conflict. Else‘s shame has
negatively affected her whole self. This damage is compounded by her preexisting vulnerability
to shame, a curious byproduct of her narcissistic personality.
Else‘s narcissism has a direct effect on her shame and the capacity for its detrimental
proportions. Narcissistic ideations lay the foundation for shame precisely because they, too,
correlate to the ego‘s relationship to the ego ideal. Narcissism allows for the avoidance of shame.
Yet, ironically, the construction of ideations leaves the self vulnerable in the undeniable truth of
external and internal realities perceived as failures (Lewis 165). Else‘s symptomatic narcissistic
ideations center around her physical appearance.
The term narcissism stems from the Greek myth of Narcissus whose obsession with his
own reflection leads to his demise. Else, too, obsesses over the beauty of her reflected image.
Herr von Dorsday comments on Else‘s physical beauty multiple times, but her own thoughts
regarding her beauty exist as narcissistic ideations, regardless of her actual beauty. Else‘s
perception of her beauty is projected outward from her self-esteem. The external image, as well
as the comments and opinions of others, simply reinforces this projection. She is dependent on
her narcissism and positive self-esteem regarding her (sexual) attractiveness. Both viewing
herself and being viewed are required to maintain the narcissistic image (Oswald 282). Due to
this dependency, her narcissistic idealizations of perfection make her more vulnerable to the
experience of shame, as well as more susceptible to greater degrees of shame, and thus, more
prone to self-destructive behaviors.
Freud asserts that vis-à-vis narcissism ―[d]ie Person verhält sich so, als wäre sie in sich
selbst verliebt‖ (Freud, Totem 109). ―Der Mensch bleibt in gewissem Maβe narziβtisch,‖ that is,
narcissism need not be pathological (Freud, Totem 110). Lewis claims that ―an inability to cope

13

with shame and humiliation underlies this pathological disturbance‖ (165). Narcissists are prone
to shame. Through the creation of ideations, they attempt to avoid shame, and when avoidance is
impossible, they mask their shame with such constructions. The avoidance of shame
demonstrates efficacy, that is, the avoidance of failure (Lewis 165). Freud‘s ―Zur Einführung des
Narziβmus‖ begins:
Der Terminus Narziβmus entstammt der klinischen Deskription und ist von P.
Näcke 1899 zur Bezeichnung jenes Verhaltens gewählt worden, bei welchem ein
Individuum den eigenen Leib in ähnlicher Weise behandelt wie sonst den eines
Sexualobjekts, ihn also mit sexuellem Wohlgefallen beschaut, streichelt, liebkost,
bis er durch diese Vornahmen zur vollen Befriedigung gelangt. (138)
Else views herself as a sexual object, defined by (sexualized) beauty. She thinks: ―Ich muß mich
jetzt sehr hübsch ausnehmen in der weiten Landschaft. Schade, daß keine Leute mehr im Freien
sind. Dem Herrn dort am Waldesrand gefalle ich offenbar sehr gut. O, mein Herr, nackt bin ich
noch viel schöner‖ (37). This quote illustrates the relationship between her narcissism and
exhibitionism in which her narcissistic thoughts accentuate the body as an object of sexualized
beauty and her desire reinforces the presentation of herself as such.
Freud further delineates the anomaly of narcissism and notes that some people, instead of
investing libidinal energy into a love-object modeled after their mother, seek themselves as loveobjects. In this case, one ―[zeigt] den narziβtisch zu nennenden Typus der Objektwahl‖ (Freud,
Narziβmus 154). Narcissism demands the reinforcement of this object choice through narcissistic
expression. The presence of shame, which dams narcissistic urges, creates powerful psychical
tension. Else‘s avoidance of narcissistic sexual expression in the presence of shame anxiety

14

results in the impending accumulation of unpleasure, which pushes psychical tension to perilous
proportions.
While remembering her first, and perhaps only, exhibitionistic experience (before the two
men in the boat), she thinks: ―Ja, so bin ich, so bin ich. Ein Luder, ja‖ (38). Her desire for sexual
expression has become hyperbolized. This hyperbolization stands in reference to the language of
shame, which violently ostracizes female sexuality. Else briefly acknowledges herself as a
―Luder.‖ Yet, her narcissism serves a psychical purpose, namely to safeguard her from the
experience of shame. Her declaration, a confession of sorts, is a way of keeping her sexuality at
bay. Her declaration is not so much a genuine acceptance as it is a mode to practice the opposite:
veiling shameful truths.
Else‘s frequent narcissistic tendencies become apparent through her inner monologue and
her behavior, which resembles that of Narcissus. Her thoughts often turn to narcissism in the face
of shame anxiety. The grandiose self is often defined in relation to her body as an aesthetic
sexual object. Prime examples of this are Else‘s thoughts directed towards her mirror-self,
particularly in reference to the psychoanalytic conceptualization of narcissism and the reflected
image. Again, she addresses herself, but in this instance, she is visually dichotomized through
her reflection in the mirror:
Ah wie hübsch ist es, so nackt im Zimmer auf und ab zu spazieren. Bin ich
wirklich so schön wie im Spiegel? Ach, kommen Sie doch näher, schönes
Fräulein. Ich will Ihre blutroten Lippen küssen. Ich will Ihre Brüste an meine
Brüste pressen. Wie schade, daß das Glas zwischen uns ist, das kalte Glas. (60)

15

Else‘s consideration of herself not only as being beautiful, but also as being more beautiful than
other envious women elucidates her narcissistic ideation. Furthermore, through the perception of
herself as beautiful, she objectifies her own body and cathects it as the image of her love-object.
The mirror also symbolizes Else‘s psychical tension, the dissonance between the id and
ego, the separation from the self. With the mirror, two Elses are presented. One is Else‘s
reflection. This is the Else which is presented as her social image, that is, the ideal Else. Her
reflection represents her outer image. The second Else is the one who sees and reflects upon this
other self, which is simultaneously connected, but removed from her true self. This true self is
sexual and it invests her libidinal energy into the other self. The Else in the mirror reflects
modesty. She reflects the social standard. The experience of shame would shatter this image.
Else‘s psychical tension, represented in the metaphor of conflicting images, reflects a
psychological conflict between two specific sites.
To examine further Else‘s experience of shame, the locality of conflict, as well as its
phenomenology, must be delineated. Again, shame will be distinguished from guilt, which arises
as conflict between the ego and superego proper (Piers 11). The formation of the superego occurs
as the internalized presence of the parental authority image. This image reflects the personalities
of both parents, including the parental projection of their (the parents‘) own internalized image
2

of the social milieu (Freud, Abriss 69). Although this image may reflect certain realities, it is
nevertheless perceived and can therefore be founded upon imaginative projections. The sense of
omniscience and omnipotence of the parental figure is instilled in the superego (Piers 6). The
superego is proscriptive; it sets standards and boundaries. As can be expected, the superego

2

In discussing the epigenesis of the superego, James Grotstein notes that the phallic stage of
psychosexual development includes both the establishment of the law of the father, as well as the
establishment of exhibitionistic behavior (263).
16

operates authoritatively, that is, it restricts, it punishes. It has been previously stated that guilt
corresponds to a type of transgression. It is the transgression of the constructed boundaries and
restrictions, erected by the (socialized) superego, which creates the sense of guilt.
The sense of shame, however, stems from the ego‘s reference to a different constituent of
the psychical apparatus: the ego ideal. As such, the ego ideal, not the superego proper, is of
interest in the analysis of shame. What must be determined is the formation of the ego ideal and
how this construction contributes to the affect of shame. The Dictionary of Psychology states:
[The ego ideal is] the ego‘s conception of positive ideals; in short, what a person
would like to be or prefer to accomplish in terms of that which is positive and
good. Generally a distinction is made between the Ego-Ideal and the Super-Ego
on the grounds that the former represents prescriptions for life, is modified
through growth and experience, and behavior that violates it produces shame; the
latter represents proscriptions, is fixed at a young age, and behaviour in conflict
with it evokes guilt. (231)
The ego ideal, unlike like the superego proper, represents the aggregation of positive parental
images. These images are that of a nurturing, reassuring figure (Piers 14). Therefore, the ego
ideal does not punish in the manner of the superego due to the fact that positive images have
been internalized. Furthermore, the parental images are not the only ones to be internalized in the
ego ideal. Piers states that ―the Ego-Ideal contains layers of later identifications, more
superficial, to be sure, and more subject to change that the earlier ones, but of the greatest social
importance‖ (14). These identifications are constructed through the process of socialization.
They determine the appropriate social standards for particular people, as well as the felicitous
situations, in which they are to be applied.

17

The experience of shame ―occurs when a goal (presented by the Ego-Ideal) is not being
reached‖ (Piers 11). This shame is representative of intrapsychic tension between the ego and the
ego ideal. The ego has ―die Aufgabe der Selbstbehauptung‖ (Freud, Abriss 68). Self-preservation
means the ego must satisfy simultaneous demands, or rather, it must balance the demands of the
id, the superego (including the ego ideal), and reality. The tension between these demands allows
for the accumulation of psychical energy, or ‗unpleasure.‘ The reduction of unpleasure, i.e. the
satisfaction of demands, results in pleasure (Freud, Abriss 68). The tension present in the
experience of shame is the corollary of the ego‘s failure to meet the demands or expectations of
the ego ideal, which are established, to a large degree, by the prescriptive social order.
Through the internalization of the social standard, thoughts and desires may also create a
sense of shame (Wurmser 46). Shame, then, is not always a psychic phenomenon against an
external event. This is due precisely to the ego ideal‘s internalization of codified standards. Else
experiences shame because she desires that which would jeopardize her social character, she
wants what her ego ideal strives to avoid. She longs for sexual expression, free from restraint.
Yet, she recognizes the social demands, and thus the demands of the ego ideal. Hence, she
acknowledges her inability to adhere to such standards: ―Bin nicht geschaffen für eine
bürgerliche Existenz.‖ (50). In other words, she is not cut out for the life prescribed by her own
ego ideal, an existence that is specific to her social role.

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III. THE SOCIOLOGY OF SHAME
A definition of shame which solely underscores psychological operation and function
lacks the requisite social component to the experience of shame. In other words, shame is not
only a matter of psychology, but it also concerns sociology. It has been previously noted that
shame arises in the psyche due to a capacity for the affect of shame, created through the process
of socialization by which the social code becomes internalized and the social order mapped onto
the psychical structure. With the social bifurcation of behavior into poles of acceptability comes
the alteration of personality composites. Norbert Elias comments on the psychical tension
resulting from the hierarchical relationship between society and individual: ―Pleasure promising
drives and pleasure denying taboos and prohibitions, socially generated feeling of shame and
repugnance, come to battle within him‖ (156). This conflict illustrates the confrontation between
the psychical and social orders. It marks the intersection of the psychology and sociology of
shame and it shows the inseparable reciprocity between internal and external realities. The
individual constitutes the social bond, and vice versa. Elias focuses on the role of the social bond
in the affective state of shame. The sociology of shame finds a cyclical interchange between
social modes of representation, internalization, and projection. The individual battles himself
because he battles society.
Again, shame regards the perception of failure. This failure, and thus shame, is
contextually defined. A failure is socially defined by one‘s inability to adhere or to ascribe to his
or her particular prescribed standards. The psychological process of socialization, which
internalizes these goals and standards, establishes social bonds. Shame maintains the social bond
because it encourages the reconstitution of the social order within the psyche of the individual.
As such, shame is inseparable from the social bond, which binds the individual to all aspects of

19

the social order. Since the individual is defined by socialization (and reciprocally, society by the
individual), any disruptions in the social bond negatively affect the psychical makeup of the
individual. The resulting shame alters both the psychological and sociological landscapes. This
disturbance requires publicity.
A sense of shame is always tied to notions of concealment and exposure. Shame, in
contrast to guilt, ―seeks secrecy‖ (Lester 352). Simply put, shame arises when something that
should have been concealed is exposed. For Else, the act of exhibitionism exposes what society
would wish to conceal: the female genitalia. Her shame culminates in the literal exposure of her
nude body, which exposes herself as a sexual creature, signifying her failure to live up to the
standards of the ego ideal. These standards are culture specific and may differ in their
incorporations and conceptualizations of shame. In Western civilizations, shame is often related
to the exposure of one‘s body, particularly the genitals. Furthermore, the etymology of ―Scham‖
connotes nudity or exposure of the genitals (Lynd 28). For Else, although exhibitionism is her
modus operandi, it is the social failure of exposure that creates shame. Coincidentally, the
specificity of her shame is a literal exposure.
Freud, too, discusses shame in relation to the exposure of the genitals: ―Das Zurücktreten
der Geruchsreize scheint aber selbst Folge der Abwendung des Menschen von der Erde, des
Entschlusses zum aufrechten Gang, der nun die bisher gedeckten Genitalien sichtbar und
schutzbedürftig macht und so das Schämen hervorruft‖ (Unbehagen 459). This signifies the
dynamic nature of shame. Sexual exposure is shameful because societal goals have been
internalized in the ego ideal. Modesty is the social standard. Failure to adhere to this standard
exposes the self. Yet, Freud draws a parallel between biological evolution and the establishment
of civilization and the formation of civilized behavior. What Freud suggests is that shame is a

20

modern experience. The upright man knows shame, because he is a man of modern times, a man
of morality, in which exposure (of the genitals) is defined as a shameful act by modern standards
of civilization. Thus, in addition to physically standing upright, this man has acquired moral
standing. Freud states that a moral man is marked by his strict ability to adhere to the social code
and, when he fails, is psychologically tormented (Freud, Unbehagen 485). This requires the
individual to avoid shameful behavior. Yet this avoidance, symptomatic of modernity, is
alienating. With increased investment into constructions of civilization the shame threshold
lowers (Scheff 89). With more exposure due to the modernization of civilization, the capacity for
shame also increases. Else is a product, and constituent, of modernity, in which exposure exhibits
shame, and visibility is inescapable.
This element of visibility is essential for the evocation of shame. What is important to
note here with regards to shame and exposure is that visibility may be actual or perceived
(Schneider 34). Exposure, and thus shame, is directly tied to being seen, that is, there is an
(actual or perceived) audience, which is looking. A situation of exposure is highly subjective due
to the very subjective nature of visibility and perception. Shame is not merely the product of
exposed failure, but rather it arises as the product of a perceived exposure, of the interpretation
that an action or situation is shameful.
Furthermore, for the creation of shame there is no necessity for actual publicity (Lewis
75). This is due to the fact that shame signifies tension between the ego and the ego ideal. The
ego ideal is, in part, established through socialization (Piers 14). As such, internalized social
standards create a referential publicity in the elicitation of shame. In other words, failure is
relative. It belongs, no doubt, to the self, but it reflects codified social markers, which are
internalized in the ego ideal and used to measure the ego‘s efficacy.

21

Else believes herself to be visible at all times. When the letter from her mother arrives,
she worries that the content of the letter has been exposed. ―Warum schaut mich der Portier so
merkwürdig an? Hat er am Ende den Expreßbrief von der Mama gelesen?‖ (22-3). Although this
thought is a fleeting one, it points towards her frequent preconscious anxiety of being exposed to
the male gaze. In this particular instance, her shame surrounds her social standing. Her bourgeois
lifestyle is in danger due to her father‘s financial difficulties. She affirms: ―Und doch wissen es
alle Leute. Rätselhaft, daß wir uns immer noch halten‖ (15). She is ashamed that her expectation
of maintaining a high social status is in danger, and fears that others, too, are aware of her
shameful situation. This notion of maintaining the social position also speaks to Freud‘s
conceptualization of moral uprightness, in that not only does she wish to maintain her social
position, but this position must be maintained with proper moral standing. The thought of losing
either is terrifying for her. While considering the possibility of having to ask Dorsday for money,
she thinks: ―Zu Tod würde ich mich schämen‖ (16). The fear of exposure is very real.
When social demands are not met, shame is invoked. The self, in the face of exposure,
wishes to conceal itself. Carl Schneider pinpoints the ―generic core‖ of shame as being tied to
notions of covering (29). Social conceptualizations of shame, especially those rooted in biblical
ideology, propose that ―the exposure of that which should be covered is shameful‖ (31). Here,
the purpose of shame is to reconstitute concealment in the pursuit of prescriptive goals.
However, like Freud‘s discussion on the birth of shame, it is tied to the exposure of the body.
When Else faints to the floor, she remains exposed, and onlookers remain exposed to the
shameful experience. The social code calls for the covering of the genitals. She is immediately
covered by those present. ―‗Man kann sie doch nicht auf dem Boden liegen lassen.‘ – ‗Hier ist
ein Plaid.‘ – ‗Eine Decke.‘ – ‗Decke oder Plaid, das ist ja gleichgültig.‘ – ‗Bitte doch um Ruhe.‘

22

– ‗Auf den Diwan.‘ – ‗Bitte doch endlich die Türe zu schließen.‘ – ‗Nicht so nervös sein, sie ist ja
geschlossen.‘‖ (71). The people close to Else want to cover that which incites shame, which is to
say, cover the visibility of her nude body. The social protocol in response to Else‘s exhibitionism
is automatic and systematic.
What is curious about Else‘s shame experience is that her mechanisms of coping do
simply correlate to conflicts within the psychical apparatus. Else also exhibits responses that are
materialized outside the site of conflict. These psychologically initiated mechanisms aim at
repairing the self vis-à-vis the social bond. One such material response found in Else‘s intense
moment of social exposure is laughter, which aims not only to alleviate her shame, but also to
break the social transference of shame.
Lewis emphasizes the ―social significance‖ of shame. When a person experiences shame
before an audience, those witnesses, too, experience shame. Lewis states that ―experiencing
someone‘s shame is shameful‖ (130). The reciprocity of shame becomes apparent in the moment
of Else‘s exposure. Paul, like other guests, has internalized the inappropriateness of public
exposure. He becomes ashamed and wishes to conceal Else‘s nude body. He quickly has the
doors of the music room closed and covers her. His panic, however, in demanding that she be
covered and the room be closed off, reflects more on his perception of shame and his desire for
concealment.
In this moment, Else‘s shame becomes transferred to Paul in a contagion of sorts. This
contagion, the transfer of shame, is referred to as a ―spiral of shame‖ (Lewis 131). This spiral of
shame can, however, be broken (Lewis 131). The transfer of shame can be severed by the
laughter of the ashamed person. Due to the metaphorical movement of the self through the
associative shift, the laughter of the ashamed person severs the juxtaposition between the

23

ashamed person and the audience. The newly established proximity allows for the breaking of
the spiral of shame (Lewis 130). More significantly, Else uses laughter in an attempt to alleviate
shame. Thus, laughter becomes antagonistic to the presence of shame.
Although laughter can break the spiral of shame through the self‘s metaphorical
relocation, this seems secondary, as its primary aim is to remove shame from the self. Else‘s
compulsive fit of laughter following her fainting spell is an uncontrollable psychical mechanism
through which her psyche attempts to eliminate the shame of her act somatically. ―‗Ha, ha, ha!‘
Wer lacht denn da? Ich selber? ‗Ha, ha, ha!‘ Was sind denn das für Gesichter um mich? ‗Ha,
ha,ha!‘ Zu dumm, daß ich lache. Ich will nicht lachen, ich will nicht. ‗Haha!‘‖ (70). Else
experiences a somatic response to her extreme embarrassment. Her involuntary laughter bursts
from her in the moment of exposure, the moment of shame. As she exposes her sexual desire for
exhibition there is a moment of lowered inhibition, in which psychical energy is discharged in
the form of laughter.
Material response to the experience of shame is typical. Although laughter is common in
a tense social setting, Else‘s laughter becomes hysterical in nature due to the severity of the
shame experience. The scope of physical response correlates to the perceived level of shame. As
embarrassment translates into shame, ―[t]here seems to be a critical point at which the flustered
individual gives up trying to conceal or play down his uneasiness; he collapses into […]
paroxysms of laughter, […] faints, […] or becomes rigidly immobile as when in panic‖
(Goffman 103). For Else, in the immediacy of the shame experience, there is little control over
her thoughts, laughter, and mobility.
The affect of shame may be so powerful that it becomes physically debilitating and may
result in fainting, weakness, or unconsciousness (Wurmser 53-55). Else‘s act of exhibitionism

24

creates a level of shame that is psychologically overwhelming to the extent that it produces
material responses. Most notably, she collapses during her traumatic experience of shame. Her
thoughts reflect the extreme level of shame and indicate her psychosomatic response: ―Was habe
ich getan? Ich falle um. Alles ist vorbei‖ (70). Her shame is so severe that its psychical tension
translates into a physiological immobility. Her body has seized up and it appears as if she were
unconscious, yet her thoughts prove otherwise. ―‗Du siehst doch, Mama, daß sie ohnmächtig ist.‘
Ja, Gott sei Dank, für euch bin ich ohnmächtig. Und ich bleibe ohnmächtig.‖ (71). Her
immobility is advantageous because it affords a certain distance.
In her altered state of consciousness, Else is incapable of the speech act. ―Ja, ich höre, ja,
ja,ja. Aber sie hört mein Ja nicht. Warum denn nicht? Ich kann meine Lippen nicht bewegen.
Darum hört sie mich nicht. Ich kann mich nicht rühren‖ (76). This is due to the immobilizing
power of shame. Else becomes almost comatose as her somatic response leaves her paralyzed.
Any physical movement or attempt to speak would only increase the perception of publicity, thus
strengthening the experience of shame. As such, her silence is a method of concealment.
Else‘s desire for concealment also corresponds directly to the visual. Her extreme shame
is apparent in her desire to remove visibility. It is impossible for her to conceal that of which she
is ashamed. She employs, then, a type of denial, in which she simply shuts her eyes. ―Meine
Augen sind zu. Niemand kann mich sehen.‖ (71). By closing her eyes, that is, by removing her
own visibility, she breaks the bond of visibility between herself and the other onlookers. By
doing so, she denies their ability to see her (Fenichel 139). This visibility can remain detached as
long as her eyes remain closed. In other words, Else closes her eyes in an attempt to remove
visibility, that is, to subtract her exposure and shed the resulting shame.

25

Nevertheless, Else is not successful at reducing shame. More specifically, her defensive
efforts are unsuccessful. Else‘s exhibitionism is a direct rejection of the social order. She has
completely severed the social bond by failing to meet the demands of her ego ideal. This conflict
has damaged the self beyond repair. When this is the case, psychical tension reaches paramount
levels and the self turns destructive.

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IV. SHAME, SEXUALITY, SOCIETY
There is an urgent need for a more specific conceptualization of the relationship between
shame and the social order, specifically the function of socially prescribed sexual mores, since
this is the most pervasive aspect of Else‘s shame. Her psychological tension results from the
conflict between her own sexuality and the social expectations regarding its (proscribed)
expression.
I have already stated that the affect of shame does not exclusively concern internal, that
is, psychical tension. It has a social point of reference. The individual is manipulated by society
for the perpetuation of conceived notions of civilization. Shame reinforces social standards and
reconstitutes the social order, and thus the social bond. These social structures are dynamic and
intricate. They are restrictive in nature and demand the conformity of all social members.
The social code demands modesty. Social standards require sexuality and sexual
expression to correlate to the social conceptualization of modesty. Propriety means that the
failure, or fear of failure, to maintain modesty results in shame anxiety. Else‘s paranoid anxiety
creates a substantial amount of psychical tension, which leads to the appropriation of defensive
mechanisms. Else denies her sexual desires in her internalized pursuit of modesty and
acceptability. Despite all this, propriety fails and her sexuality is exposed. Through her
exhibitionism, her sexuality finds expression in the antithesis to socially prescribed modesty.
Although definitions of modesty differ, certain abstractions can be attributed to Western
cultures. A factor in the social bond, shame operates in relation to the social order. Elias
underscores components of the social order which perpetuate its composition. He notes that there
is a ―necessity of instilling ‗modesty‘ (i.e., feelings of shame, fear, embarrassment, and guilt) or,
more precisely, behavior conforming to the social standard‖ (148). The necessity for the

27

standardization of modesty presupposes restrictions and prohibitions. Failure to adhere to such
standards becomes ―charged with sociogenetic shame and embarrassment‖ (Elias 155). In this
regard, shame is a tool for manipulation that maintains conformity and reinstates acquiescence.
The maintenance of modesty is of utmost importance to members of society, who wish to
avoid shameful experiences. The relativity of modesty like other standards has the capacity for
individual redefinition, particularly for members of a society who stand higher on the social
ladder. Herr von Dorsday manipulates the conceptualization of modesty for his personal benefit.
He describes the request to see Else nude as one of relative modesty. ―Aber für diesmal will ich
genügsam sein, wie Sie‖ (34). His viewing of Else‘s body would not cross physical boundaries, it
would leave no physical signs (Matthias 253). Therefore, Herr von Dorsday‘s voyeuristic request
wouldn‘t affect future matters of morality. He wants to be modest in his initial request, but he
has clear intentions for future demands.
Else never articulates her desires and strives for modesty. Her sexual propriety maintains
the social bond, but it creates a great deal of psychological tension. Her social necessity to keep a
lid on her sexuality stirs her inner desire for expression, which pushes her psychical conflict to
its boiling point.
The intersection of the social and psychological landscapes establishes an apex of
anxiety. This anxiety is a psychological manifestation produced to maintain the social bond. Else
exhibits anxiety resulting from the threat of exposure, as well as an anxious perception of
exposure. Else exemplifies the fact that shame must be linked to notions of (paranoid) anxiety.
This anxiety regards the ―imminent danger of unexpected exposure, humiliation, and rejection‖
(Wurmser 49). Obsessive or irrational fear of exposure often indicates shame anxiety. Wurmser
describes this anxiety:

28

All eyes seem to stare at the shamed one and pierce him like knives. Everyone
seems full of taunts and mockery; everyone undoubtedly knows about his
profound disgrace. This tendency for shame anxiety to spread from one situation
to all situations makes it akin, even it not causally related, to paranoid ideas. (53)
Else exhibits this type of paranoia and anxiety described by Wurmser in regards to her own
visibility. She is evidence of the pervasiveness of shame anxiety. Her fear of exposure seems to
creep up, suggesting that some level of anxiety is always there; at times dormant, at other times
active. She is invariably on guard. This fact points towards an unhealthy level of anxiety,
approaching paranoia.
Changing situations constantly triggers an anxiety regarding exposure. Before speaking
to Herr von Dorsday for the first time, she has the perception that all eyes truly are on her. In the
lobby of the hotel she sees guests pouring out of the music room. ―Alle sehen sie mich an‖ (25).
This anxiety for exposure can be described as paranoid, as it is quite exaggerated. Else fears
exposure and thus feels as though everyone is watching her. If everyone were watching her, then
everyone would be privy to the shameful thoughts, desires, and actions that she had wished to
conceal.
Else also experiences the capacity for shame anxiety to approach painful proportions. She
says: ―Ich fühle den Blick von Dorsday auf meinem Nacken, durch den Schal‖ (25). This is
similar to Wurmser‘s description of shame anxiety. This ‗piercing‘ feeling signifies the act of
looking as a violent act against the self by the other. In this manner, looking is an aggressive
violation of the self as concealment is broken. In addition to being a literal shawl that covers her
body, Else‘s garment is a metaphorical veil for her desires. More specifically, the shawl covers a
sensual part of Else‘s body, that is, her shoulders. She explains: ―Ich nehme den weißen Schal,

29

der steht mir gut. Ganz ungezwungen lege ich ihn um meine herrlichen Schultern? Ich könnte
einen Mann sehr glücklich machen‖ (21). Therefore, Else‘s perception of Dorsday‘s piercing
gaze is representative of the exposure of that which Else wishes to conceal and reveal: her
sexuality. Dorsday‘s ability to penetrate the shawl symbolizes Else‘s visibility and Dorsday‘s
access to her sexual desires.
In the pursuit of modesty and presence of anxiety, the self often denies desires. Else‘s
psychological experiences of paranoid anxiety, at its basic level, is coupled with the need for
psychological defenses to avoid failure and the excitation of shame. When acknowledged, one
wishes to rid oneself of shame (Lewis 128). It has been stated that shame is a very painful
experience. As such, forms of denial are possible responses to restoring balance. Denial is a form
of hiding. Failure is hidden from self, by the self, in an attempt to protect the whole self (Lewis
128). In this regard, the relationship between shame and concealment is apparent. When
exposure creates shame, the self seeks negation. Shame creates a desire to hide oneself. One can
then deny one‘s existence, and thus shed oneself of shame.
Else‘s denial is most apparent in her own contradicting position on her sexuality. Her
thoughts regarding this position are constantly in flux. Although they involve differing men, the
common denominator is her oscillating affirmation of sexual pursuits, followed by a complete
rejection of such ideations. Paul is often a primary choice for Else‘s investment of sexual energy:
Paul, wenn du mir die dreißigtausend verschaffst, kannst du von mir haben, was
du willst. Das ist ja schon wieder aus einem Roman. Die edle Tochter verkauft
sich für den geliebten Vater, und hat am End noch ein Vergnügen davon. Pfui
Teufel! Nein, Paul, auch für dreißigtausend kannst du von mir nichts haben.
Niemand. Aber für eine Million? – Für ein Palais? Für eine Perlenschnur? (17-18)

30

Her initial thought reflects her repetitious disclosure of sexual desire for Paul. She
quickly denies these desires as being shameful and, presupposed by the presence of
denial, her thoughts shift towards those which adhere to social standards. By denying her
willingness to give herself to Paul, she keeps her sexual desires at bay. She upholds the
prescribed sexual standards and avoid failure.
Else‘s denial is not consistent, as she cannot always suppress her sexual desires.
Later, she consciously impugns her animosity towards Dorsday:
Nun, Mademoiselle Else, was machen Sie denn für Geschichten? Sie waren doch
schon bereit auf und davon zu gehen, die Geliebte von fremden Männer zu
werden, von einem nach dem andern. Und auf die Kleinigkeit, die Herr von
Dorsday von Ihnen verlangt, kommt es Ihnen an? (47)
This awareness directly challenges moments of denial in which Else is also ashamed to
acknowledge her sexual desires. This internal debate underscores her apparent
contradiction.
In regards to exposing herself before Dorsday, her thoughts fluctuate between repulsion
and excitation. Her aggression towards Dorsday is a projection of her own shame onto the other
(Glenberg 118). Upon his request to see her naked, she thinks:
Ist er verrückt? Er sieht mich doch. – Ah, so meint er das, so! Warum schlage ich
ihn nicht ins Gesicht, dem Schuften! Bin ich rot geworden oder blaß? Nackt willst
du mich sehen? Das möchte mancher. Ich bin schön, wenn ich nackt bin. Warum
schlage ich ihn nicht ins Gesicht?‖ (35)
By making Dorsday contemptible, she relaxes the reflex of denial while focus is shifted
to the other. This projection of shame establishes the space necessary for fortifying the

31

narcissistic self. Else‘s denial becomes more apparent when she questions her own
hostility towards Dorsday. She does not slap him because she wants the very thing that he
requests. She does not slap him because, unconsciously, she desires such an act of
exhibitionism.
The denial of Else‘s desire surrounding the circumstances of her exhibition also
disguises her wishes to pose nude as a mere act to help her father. Her claim of selfless
necessity aims to remove the possibility for choice. Therefore, her denial would pretend
as though her own desires are irrelevant, as though she must do it for a greater purpose.
She constructs her exhibitionism as self-sacrifice. With such a construction she attempts
to turn shame into pride. ―Was bleibt mir denn übrig? Es muß es ja sein, ich muß es ja
tun, alles, alles muß ich tun, was Herr von Dorsday verlangt, damit der Papa morgen das
Geld hat, - damit er nicht eingesperrt wird, damit er sich nicht umbringt‖ (56-7). In
reality, though, the denial of her own interest is a mechanism that is employed to reduce
or avoid shame.
Nevertheless, Else is a prime example of the possibility that anxiety and denial are not
entirely efficacious in reducing or avoiding shame. Ultimately, she is exposed or, rather, she
exposes herself. Shame resulting from an inner conflict of thoughts and desires may be
disturbing to the extent that one attempts to transfer inner shame to outer shame. Else‘s
exhibitionism achieves this active transfer of shame. Wurmser explains that ―situations in outer
life therefore may be actively created in which humiliation is expected and provoked‖ (47).
Thus, a person may create a situation of public shame to divert inner shame. Wurmser speaks
specifically of the exhibitionist who exposes himself to ―assure himself that he is not weak and

32

castrated‖ (47). In such a scenario, a modest person‘s ―exhibitionistic act is […] a counterphobic
attempt to deal with shame and anxiety‖ (Wurmser 47).
Not only does Else do exactly that, which creates shame, but the consequences of that act
are magnified by the presence of the guests in the music room of the hotel. In other words, she
actively creates a shameful situation, that is, a situation that translates inner shame to outer
shame. Her external exhibitionism is, ironically, the culmination of inner tension. Her sexual
drive, suppressed by the ego in an attempt to please the ego ideal, becomes conflated. This
conflation requires an outlet. She has little preference as to whom she would give herself. In fact,
she would prefer it be a multitude of men: ―Ich werde hundert Geliebte haben, tausend‖ (18).
In considering this conflation, it comes as no surprise that Else exposes herself to a large
group of people. ―Wenn einer mich sieht, dann sollen mich auch andere sehen. Ja! – Herrlicher
Gedanke! – Alle sollen sie mich sehen. Die ganze Welt soll mich sehen‖ (58). Her exposition is
the exposure of that which she is ashamed: her very interest in exhibitionism, her very sexuality.
This act becomes not only the release of psychical tension through the enactment of desires, but
also a systematic attempt to reduce this inner tension through its outward projection. This
reexternilization does, however, sever the social bond and, as such, fires back. It creates a level
of shame that approaches mortification and translates into self-destruction. I shall return to this
point in a moment.
Else‘s exhibitionistic act is the most obvious case of exposure. By definition, Else‘s
exhibitionism affects the social bond. The experience of shame is always lurking in the socially
inappropriate exhibition of one‘s genitals. The Dictionary of Psychology provides a definition for
exhibitionism: ―A paraphilia characterized by a compulsion to expose one‘s genitals under
socially inappropriate circumstances‖ (255). I do not wish to diagnose Else‘s exhibitionism as a

33

typical obsessive mode of the paraphiliac. I use this quote as a reference point to discuss her
exhibitionistic desires in a social context. Exhibitionism requires a particular level of social
unacceptability. More specifically, Else‘s desire to expose herself stands in opposition to social
standards regarding sexuality.
Furthermore, Else‘s exhibitionistic desires seem to dominate as her preferred mode of
sexual expression. Freud asserts that, ―[w]o der Keim dieser Neigung nicht das gewöhnliche
Schicksal der Überlagerung und Unterdrückung erfährt, da entwickelt er sich zu […]
Exhibitionsdrang‖ (Freud, Witz 107). Else relives the excitement of exposing herself to men
outside her window:
Und wie war denn das heuer in Gmunden in der Früh um sechs auf dem Balkon,
mein vornehmes Fräulein Else? Haben Sie die zwei jungen Leute im Kahn
vielleicht gar nicht bemerkt, die Sie angestarrt haben? Mein Gesicht haben sie
vom See aus freilich nicht genau ausnehmen können, aber daß ich im Hemd war,
das haben sie schon bemerkt. Und ich hab mich gefreut. Ah, mehr als gefreut. Ich
war wie berauscht. Mit beiden Händen hab ich mich über die Hüften gestrichen
und vor mir selber hab ich getan, als wüßte ich nicht, daß man mich sieht. Und
der Kahn hat sich nicht vom Fleck bewegt. Ja, so bin ich, so bin ich. Ein Luder,
ja. (38)
What is striking here is Else‘s form of address. Her conflict is apparent as her inner
monologue exposes her dissonance. She is engaging in a confrontation with herself, in
which she reminds herself in order to convince herself, that she is a ―Luder.‖ Here, the
dominant voice belongs to the sexual Else, who is speaking to the modest Else, who still
strives for the goals of the ego ideal. Else‘s enjoyment in the recapitulation of this

34

exhibitionistic act underscores the fact that her nudity is much more than that; it is a
mode of sexual exploration and expression. Self-exposure is a recurrent impetus of
excitation, and Else‘s desire to expose herself sexually in acts of exhibitionism and thus
exposes her sexuality, frequently enters her preconscious and conscious thoughts. Else‘s
body is displayed and sexualized in the presence of onlookers, and her sexual excitation
requires her to place herself at the center of attention.

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V. FIN-DE-SIECLE VIENNA
The conceptualization of fin-de-siècle Vienna consists of interrelated social and political
ambiguity. The simultaneous existence of social binaries occurred, in part, as the result of
political instability. The years between 1848 and roughly 1900 were ―a period of transition
between absolute monarchy and modern democratic politics‖ (Luft 13). Although the political
institutions of the monarchy dissipated, its social representation continued (Parsons 220). By the
1860s, Austrian liberalism had officially replaced absolutism, signifying the replacement of the
aristocracy by the bourgeoisie. Within two decades mass parties had established themselves as
contenders for political power. Liberalism‘s hold on Vienna and Austria, in general, had been
lost by 1895, by which point Christian Socialism had fastened its own grip (Schorske 5-6).
Carl Schorske identifies two prominent value systems in fin-de-siècle Vienna: aesthetic
and moral. The moral culture, as one of science and reason, was affixed to the bourgeoisie.
Schorske notes: ―Morally, [Vienna] was secure, righteous, and repressive; politically, it was
concerned for the rule of law, under which both individual and social order were subsumed‖ (6).
The aesthetic and ―highly eroticized‖ culture of the aristocracy had an affinity for the applied and
performing arts (Luft 21). Even with the rise of liberalism, the bourgeoisie could not acquire true
assimilation into the aristocracy‘s culture of entitlement. Nevertheless, elements of aesthetic
culture, which were ideologically juxtaposed to moral culture, were adopted. However, the
juxtaposition of these two value systems could not be fully amalgamated and the fluidity of
contradiction and oscillation resembled a mixture of oil and water. In other words, the
entrenched persistence of internalized moral culture prevented the expression of hedonism free
of shame. In this sense, politics and society stood in interchange with and in opposition to each
other.

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Schorske underscores the presence of this tense relationship in fin-de- siècle Vienna:
The disaster of liberalism‘s collapse further transmuted the aesthetic heritage into
a culture of sensitive nerves, uneasy hedonism, and often outright anxiety. To add
to the complexity, the Austrian liberal intelligentsia did not fully abandon the
earlier strand in its tradition, the moralistic-scientific culture of law. The
affirmation of art and the life of the senses thereby became, in Austria‘s finest
types, admixed with and crippled by guilt. The political sources of anxiety found
reinforcement in the individual psyche through the persistent presence of
conscience in the temple of Narcissus. (10)
Schorske highlights the ambivalence of Viennese modernism. More importantly, although not
classified as such, implicit in his assessment are notions of shame at the crux of fin-de-siècle
Vienna. Decadence and hedonism carried repercussions. Traditional mores, constructed ideations
of conscience, were steadfastly ingrained in the collective psyche. Any indulgence of pleasure
was inseparable from the internalized moral culture of law. Social expectations and constructions
of shame were rooted in the moral fiber of the social order. Although the transgression of
prohibitions would certainly result in guilt, the very possibility for failure to adhere to social
expectation creates an anxiety more closely related to shame. Furthermore, anxiety arising from
the relationship between the existence of conscience and individual narcissism can only correlate
to oscillations in the perception of self in shame. Schorske‘s quote casts light on the role of
shame in fin-de-siècle Vienna. The fact that an experience of shame is not investigated as such,
but is cloaked behind the conceptualization of guilt, is the symptom of this neglect.
This is a prime example of the failure to acknowledge the experience of shame. It is still
overshadowed by notions of guilt. Although shame remains unspecified, its characteristics are

37

often presented, but lack the proper attention. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to postulate that there
was an abundance of shame tied to social mores in turn-of-the-century Vienna. This is due to the
fact that wherever there is obligation to a codified social standard or goal, there arises shame in
moments of absence or failure. Sexuality and sexual openness were definitive elements of
Viennese modernism (Luft 41). The liberal tradition of moral culture was directly challenged.
However, this defiance, evident in much of the literature and art of the time, had a short leash.
Embedded notions of morality provided instances of shame to accompany dissonance.
Conceptualizations of eroticism were systematic of fin-de-siècle Vienna‘s ambivalent nature.
Although conceptualizations of sexual morality were ambivalent, there were still codified
prescriptions and proscriptions. The social order establishes rules and roles; it fabricates the
model for acceptable sexuality and defines shameful behavior. Not only do modes of
representation make certain things shameful, but they ascribe certain notions of shame to
particular people or groups of people. Elias highlights the fact that shame is not only socially
tied, but more specifically it is bound to one‘s social standing (495). In other words, just as
society is hierarchical, so are the experiences of shame. An individual of a particular social
sphere must adhere to the standards of that domain. The social standards of fin-de-siècle Vienna,
particularly that of the bourgeoisie, are presented in Fräulein Else. Although the geographical
setting of the novella is in Martino di Castrozza in northern Italy, ―the world of Vienna hovers
threateningly in the background as a determinant factor‖ (Thompson 43). Else, as a member of
the bourgeoisie, has different standards than those of other classes; as a woman, her standards of
expectation are different from those of men.
Else‘s gender has a direct impact on her experience of shame, due to socially gendered
expectations. There was a definite hypocrisy inherent in the ‗openness‘ of fin-de-siècle Vienna.

38

To a great extent, this was, the result of the perpetual double-standard regarding sexuality in
which femininity was socially constructed in terms of shame.
In considering sexuality in the context of fin-de-siècle Vienna, Freud‘s essay, entitled
―‗Die ‗kulturelle‘ Sexualmoral und die moderne Nervosität‖, sheds much light on the
consequences of socially defined sexual mores, the nature of which is suppressive or repressive.
The social standard requires complete abstinence until marriage. However, Freud asserts that, for
men, failure to adhere to the social code does not always result in condemnation (Freud,
‘kulturelle’ 144). Women are not provided with such latitude. Therefore, Else is subject to the
strict social code by which she is expected to uphold the standards of bourgeois sexual morality.
Societies that ascribe to restrictive standards of sexual morality ―muβ ihre Mitglieder zur
Verhüllung der Wahrheit, zur Schönfärberei, zum Selbstbetruge wie zum Betrügen anderer
anleiten‖ (Freud, ‘kulturelle’ 144). Yet, as Else proves, concealment and deception do not
guarantee attainment. She exhibits what Freud calls ―ein Miβglücken der Unterdrückung‖
(Freud, ‗kulturelle’ 153). Her act of exhibitionism and subsequent suicide proves more
destructive than the uninhibited sexuality that her society deems unacceptable. Furthermore,
Else‘s behavior reflects the ―Konflikte zwischen dem Drängen der kulturellen Einflüsse und dem
Widerstande ihrer Konstitution (Freud, ‘kulturelle’ 155). For Else, the social code of fin-desiècle Vienna and her desire for sexual expression is the foundational conflict that creates shame.

39

VI. ARTHUR SCHNITZLER’S FRÄULEIN ELSE
Amidst political disintegrations in fin-de-siècle Vienna, an increased emphasis on
―literature as a political product‖ (Schorske 8). Artists and intellectuals turned their attention
inwards and focused on aspects of the psyche. Art replaced action as ―sensitivity to psychical
states‖ became hyperbolized (Schorske 9). With ever growing encroachments of societal ails,
external realities were inverted and mapped onto psychical structures.
Fräulein Else is a literary product of fin-de-siècle Vienna. As such, Schnitzler embeds
social symptoms of interest, including shame, in literature. Else‘s shame is the manifestation of
conflict regarding internalized social standards. Shame is a universal experience of civilization,
but any universality in Else‘s experience of shame must also encompass the specificity of shame
as it regards the socio-historical context of Viennese modernism. The contextual foundations of
Fräulein Else are structured upon the intricacies of social and political frameworks, which are
themselves products of a given temporality.
Fräulein Else is a social commentary that engenders the literary character of Else as a
case study of a social macrocosm. She is the archetype of an inevitable failure to adhere to
internalized, codified social standards. Her psychical tension embodies the inherent conflict of
the bourgeois social sphere. Else is the quintessential female character of fin-de-siècle Vienna.
This was not only the period in which Arthur Schnitzler wrote; it was also the period that
he portrayed and criticized in his works. Fin-de-siècle Vienna, due in part to political instability,
experienced social stagnation and cultivation. The residue of liberal values muddied the desires
for social reform. This dissonance defined turn-of-the-century Vienna. Its indispensable
ambivalence was not only present in Schnitzler, but was also, in turn, embodied in the character
of Else in Fräulein Else.

40

Arthur Schnitzler, in line with his contemporaries of the Jung Wien literary circle,
situated his work around social discontent and psychological conflict. Schnitzler ―offered
realistic portrayals of the sexual customs of fin-de-siècle Vienna‖ which exposed the ―hypocrisy
and destructiveness of the social conventions surrounding sexuality in bourgeois Vienna‖ (Luft
40-41). It is this ―attention to the realities of contemporary life [that] sets him apart from the
majority of the Jung Wien writers of the 1890s‖ (Thompson 31). Schnitzler investigated the
effects of tension between individual and society and the resulting affects through the tensions
within the individual psyche.
It was within this milieu that Schnitzler‘s inner monologue and literary case study found
expression. Fräulein Else is representative of the macrocosm of fin-de-siècle Vienna.
Schnitzler‘s novella underscores ―the prevailing code of sexual morality, which smothered and
repressed natural sexual desires‖ (Thompson 54). This aesthetic portrayal is accomplished
through the formal structure of inner monologue, through which Else‘s psyche is layered,
exposing her conscious, preconscious, and unconscious activity. This exposition provides insight
into Else‘s psychical tension, which is socially fueled to elicit shame so powerful and enduring
that it leads to self-destruction. In other words, the inner monologue provides access to the
psychical workings of Else‘s shame.
The use of inner monologue does not simply reflect the literary atmosphere towards
inwardness. It underscores the elevated psychical conflict in relation to the inability for dialogue
and discussion in what Bettina Mathias calls an ―egocentric society‖ (261). This literary form
reflects the social and intellectual context of fin-de-siècle Vienna, but it allows the respective
conflicts to be situated around and within one particular psyche. The inner monologue in
Fräulein Else lends itself to psychoanalysis because Else‘s latent content becomes accessible

41

through her preconscious thoughts. In this regard, the inner monologue is a translation. These
fleeting preconscious thoughts are the translation of latent, metaphorical representations of
desire, such as the content presented in Else‘s dreams, for example. Furthermore, the inner
monologue exposes Else‘s desires by underscoring contradicting thoughts, or by showing the
contradiction between thoughts and spoken dialogue. These hidden desires, which are concealed
in the psyche, become apparent in the inner monologue. Therefore, through the appropriation of
the inner monologue, Schnitzler establishes a social dialogue on external reality, established by
the symptomatic monologue of internal reality. Both form and content are reflections of the
social landscape, yet, for the purpose of this paper, the inner monologue finds substantial merit in
its ability to capture and embody psychological data, especially the experience of shame.
Schnitzler‘s texts are informative representations of social and psychical tension as they
profile and criticize socially constructed notions of sexuality. Fräulein Else is crucial in the
discussion on shame in fin-de-siècle Vienna, precisely because it embodies, both in form and
content, the ambivalence and shame in relation to sexuality. The novella serves as a model for
the detrimental effects of shame. It underscores the psychical tension created through the
internalization of social standards in the psyche. Else‘s social expectations demand the full
suppression of her instincts and desires. The prescriptive bourgeois code is unattainable. A
product of the bourgeoisie, Else is destined to live in shame. Her moral standards and aesthetic
desires are in constant conflict.

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VII. CONCLUSION
Else is aware of her fate. Her suicide is ―a remedial act – the wish to wipe out the
unbeatable sense of mortification and nameless shame‖ (Kohut 241). Else‘s shame stems from
her inability to meet the demands of the social standards regarding female sexuality in fin-desiècle Vienna. The social context of fin-de-siècle Vienna, of Schnitzler‘s Vienna, is crucial for
conceptualizing Else‘s shame, which reaches its climax the moment her sexuality is exposed.
This exposure severs the social bond and creates an overwhelming experience of shame. Her
self-destruction is a last resort, following multiple efforts to cope with the presence of shame.
Shame presupposes conflict. Else‘s shame manifests from psychical tension between the
ego and ego ideal, and thus, embodies the conflict between the individual and society. Fräulein
Else begins with an exchange between Paul and Else, ―Du willst wirklich nicht mehr
weiterspielen, Else? Nein, Paul, ich kann nicht mehr. Adieu.‖ (5). Astrid Lange-Kirchheim
recognizes that, ―[D]as Verlassen des Tennisplatzes metaphorisiert den Abgang von der
Lebensbühne‖ (37). Furthermore, Schnitzler employs the symbolic representation of the tennis
match—or more generally, a game—to reflect conflict. The back-and-forth movement of the ball
between two sides signifies the reciprocal conflict between the individual and society. The
individual‘s movement around their side of the court symbolizes the oscillation of the self in the
attempt to maintain play. Else can no longer play; to incorporate Schnitzler‘s double-meaning,
she is done acting (spielen) as though she can play. She drops the façade with the racket.
Else‘s suicide mirrors this representation. She can no longer endure the conflicts
surrounding her shame. She can no longer battle the social standards of fin-de-siècle Vienna, the
standards of her own ego ideal. The social code forces individuals into a game, a game in which,
for some, victory is unattainable, failure is inevitable, and every match ends in shame.

43

Suicide is Else‘s victory over the game, over conflict, over shame. She removes herself
entirely and indefinitely from the scope of the social order. Her ego cannot succeed in
successfully adhering to the demands of the ego ideal. ―Addresse bleibt Fiala‖ means exactly
that, regardless of intent, self-destruction is unavoidable (Lange-Kirchheim 37). Suicide is
inevitable because Else lives within a social structure that does not allow her to express her
sexuality. Her ego ideal will always present the unattainable goals of fin-de-siècle Vienna. She is
destined to fail and the resulting shame is irrevocable. Unable to repair the social bond or her
whole self, suicide, too, is inevitable. By passing through the game room of the hotel and
exposing herself in the music room she rejects the social order of fin-de-siècle Vienna. In
removing her coat and drinking the Veronal Else‘s shame finds its own articulation: ―Ich kann
nicht mehr. Adieu.‖

44

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