“ESCAPE INTO DARKNESS": A PATHOLOGICAL COMPENSATION FROM ARTHUR SCHNITZLER'S NOVEL

Art and Culture

Abstract

Published in 1931 shortly before the author's death, Escape into Darkness tells the story of a gradual but inexorable descent into the oblivion of delirium.
Unlike Schnitzler's other novels, in which the deeper aspects of the psyche are only hinted at, here the absurd and irrational are shown to the fore, almost assuming the main role. Indeed, there is a rapid progression of anguished experiences that lead the protagonist, increasingly entangled in his delusions, toward a single point of escape, the darkness of death