''Rhapsody: A Dream Novel'', also known as ''Dream Story'' (german: Traumnovelle), is a 1926
novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
by the Austrian writer
Arthur Schnitzler. The book deals with the thoughts and psychological transformations of Doctor Fridolin over a two-day period after his wife confesses having had sexual fantasies involving another man. In this short time, he meets many people who give clues to the world
Schnitzler creates. This culminates in the masquerade ball, a wondrous event of masked individualism, sex, and danger for Doctor Fridolin, the outsider.
It was first published in installments in the magazine ''Die Dame'' between December 1925 and March 1926. The first book edition appeared in 1926 in
S. Fischer Verlag. The best known of the film adaptations is the 1999 film ''
Eyes Wide Shut
''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Traumnovelle'' (''Dream Story'') by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's sett ...
'' by director-screenwriter
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
and co-screenwriter
Frederic Raphael, although it makes significant alterations to the setting and story. Prior to this film, it had been adapted for Austrian television in 1969, and a low-budget Italian film entitled ''Nightmare in Venice'' in 1989.
The book belongs to the period of the
Decadent movement in Vienna after the turn of the 20th century.
Story
Dream Story is set in early-20th-century Vienna. The protagonist of the story is Fridolin, a successful 35-year-old doctor who lives with his wife, Albertina (also translated as Albertine), and their young daughter.
One night, Albertina confesses that the previous summer, while they were on vacation in Denmark, she had a sexual fantasy about a young Danish military officer. Fridolin then admits that during that same vacation he had been attracted to a young girl on the beach. Later that night, Fridolin is called to the deathbed of an important patient. Finding the man dead, he is shocked when the man's daughter, Marianne, professes her love to him. Restless, Fridolin leaves and begins to walk the streets. Although tempted, he refuses the offer of a young prostitute named Mizzi.
He encounters his old friend, Nachtigall, who tells Fridolin that he will be playing piano at a secret high-society orgy that night. Intrigued, Fridolin procures a mask and costume and follows Nachtigall to the party at a private residence. Fridolin is shocked to find several men in masks and costumes and naked women with only masks engaged in various sexual activities. When a young woman warns him to leave, Fridolin ignores her plea and is soon exposed as an interloper. The woman then announces to the gathering that she will sacrifice herself for Fridolin, and he is allowed to leave.
Upon his return home, Albertina awakens and describes a dream she has had: While making love to the Danish officer from her sexual fantasies, she had watched without sympathy as Fridolin was tortured and crucified before her eyes. Fridolin is outraged because he believes that this proves his wife wants to betray him. He resolves to pursue his own sexual temptations.
The next day, Fridolin learns that Nachtigall has been taken away by two mysterious men. He then goes to the costume shop to return his costume and discovers that the shop-owner is prostituting his teenage daughter to various men. He finds his way back to where the orgy had taken place the previous night; before he can enter, he is handed a note addressed to him by name that warns him not to pursue the matter. Later, he visits Marianne, but she no longer expresses any interest in him. Fridolin searches for Mizzi, the prostitute, but is unable to find her. He reads that a young woman has been poisoned. Suspecting that she is the woman who sacrificed herself for him, he views the woman's corpse in the morgue but cannot identify her.
Fridolin returns home that night to find Albertina asleep, with his mask from the previous night set on the pillow on his side of the bed. When she wakes up, Fridolin confesses all of his activities. After listening quietly, Albertina comforts him. Fridolin says that it never will happen again, but Albertina tells him not to look too far into the future, and that the important thing is that they survived through their adventures.
The story ends with them greeting the new day with their daughter.
Adaptations
* ''Traumnovelle'' is a 1969 Austrian television film adaptation directed by
Wolfgang Glück
Wolfgang Glück (born 29 September 1929, Vienna, Austria) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His film '' '38 – Vienna Before the Fall'' (1987) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 59th Academy Awa ...
.
* ''Il cavaliere, la morte e il diavolo'' is a 1983 Italian film adaptation.
* A low budget Italian film entitled ''Nightmare in Venice'' was adapted from Dream Story in 1989. It was directed by Mario Bianchi, mainly known for low budget
erotic thriller
The erotic thriller is a film subgenre defined as a thriller with a thematic basis in illicit romance or erotic fantasy. Though exact definitions of the erotic thriller can vary, it is generally agreed "bodily danger and pleasure must remain in ...
s.
*
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's 1999 film ''
Eyes Wide Shut
''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Traumnovelle'' (''Dream Story'') by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's sett ...
'', starring
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...
,
Nicole Kidman, and
Sydney Pollack
Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack directed more than 20 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 movies or shows and produced over 44 films. For his film ''Out ...
, is the best-known adaptation. It is modernized and Americanized, set in New York City in 1999 during the Christmas season, rather than in Vienna 1900 during Mardi Gras.
* Jakob Hinrichs made a
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
adaptation of ''Traumnovelle'' in 2012.
* A dramatic reading of the book by
Paul Rhys was broadcast on BBC Radio 7 and, in 2021, BBC Radio 4 Extra as ''Dream Story''.
English translations
*2004, USA, Green Integer , Pub date 1 July 2004, paperback (Eng. trans)
*2004, UK, Penguin Books , Pub date 6 August 2004, paperback (Eng. trans. by J.M.Q. Davies)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dream Story
1926 German-language novels
Austrian novels adapted into films
Novels adapted into radio programs
Novels adapted into comics
Austrian novels adapted into television shows
Novels by Arthur Schnitzler
Novels set in Vienna
Psychological novels
S. Fischer Verlag books