Stefan Zweig’s Hidden Self behind his Free Version of Volpone

Abstract

The aim of this article is to uncover the authorial self hidden behind Stefan Zweig’s free adaptation of Jonson’s Volpone, as a means of accounting for the play’s puzzling character construction, atmosphere and dramatic structure. Comparison with similar characters and situations in other fictional works by the same author help draw a behavioural pattern that closely resembles that of the playwright himself. Substantial evidence from Zweig’s diaries, as well as letters written by and addressed to him further support my hypothesis. It is further confirmed by the accounts given by his first wife and some of his closest friends on Zweig’s unbalanced personality, his acute awareness of xenophobia and his lifelong dread of violence, which, as in his lieblose Komödie, made him constantly look for an outlet either in exile or death.