Content warning for antisemitism, nationalism, homophobia

“From the receiving and watching came striving, exploring and purpose.”

– Leopold Von Andrian

Born on May 9, 1875, in Berlin, Leopold Von Andrian’s birthplace was always more than just a city to him. As a patriotic Austrian man, he viewed it as a strike against him. From a young age, he fixated on his perceived flaws: his birthplace one, his Jewish ancestry another, and homosexuality the third. Despite his aristocratic father, very comfortable upbringing, and life-long connections, he always considered himself an outsider.

He grew up to be a very nationalistic man, genuinely believing that Austria was superior. He was fully willing to do less than ethical things to prove this to himself and others. He began long before adulthood.

Sent to a Catholic school, Andrian met someone like him. Hugo von Hofmannsthal also had Jewish ancestry, was queer, and wanted to be a writer like Andrian. Initially, Andrian not only showed great promise as a poet but was encouraged by those around him. Hailed as a prodigy at the age of thirteen for his writing, he decided this would be his vocation. Hofmannsthal would prove an invaluable ally in this goal, even when it was no longer Andrian’s.

While he had already experienced notable success in his chosen field, Andrian’s father pushed him to get a law degree instead. Andrian did not cave to this demand immediately. He began writing and, with some assistance from Hofmannsthal, began frequenting the writing communities of Austria. There he gained friends and made meaningful connections. Despite those friendships, many disliked Andrian. They criticized his temperament and many traits that have been suggested to be symptoms of mental illnesses posthumously.

While he would publish many things throughout his life, the most well-known work was The Garden of Knowledge, published in 1895. Some consider it a cult classic. Andrian was loved far more by fellow writers than by readers. Writers discussed, criticized, praised, and set him up as an author to watch. Hofmannsthal was a significant influence on the novel’s popularity and pushed not only for its publication but also for it to be considered part of the Austrian literary canon. The work itself is still well remembered and loved by many, though the commercial success was somewhat limited.

It was this limited success in addition to growing familial pressure that Andrian pursued a law degree. Upon graduating in 1899, he took advice from Hofmannsthal and joined the military. His time there was short-lived, and he used his family contacts to leave as quickly as possible.

From there, he would move on to become a diplomat, again using his family connections to climb the ranks quickly. His fervour and passionate beliefs regarding Austria’s place on the global stage also played a role in his assent. Eventually, he would settle as a diplomat in Poland, where he significantly influenced Polish decision-making.

At this point, his prejudices, insecurities, and overall weaknesses became the driving forces in his life. His influence reflected his nationalist beliefs, distrust of Germans, and antisemitism. He was sure of his place in Poland and later turned down a promotion in Hong Kong. After World War I, he was forced to return to Austra when his judgement of Poland’s situation revealed his bias in both interpretations and sources.

His influence would slowly diminish until he left diplomatic service altogether. Returning home to Vienna, he found his friend Hofmannsthal waiting for him and ready to support him in restarting his literary career.

While Hofmannsthal was an incredible friend to Andrian in many ways, his influence was not wholly positive. As a bisexual man, Hofmannsthal was able to maintain a marriage that Andrian saw as ideal. By most accounts, Andrian was likely gay rather than bisexual. However, Hofmannsthal’s relationship with his wife was the ultimate goal for Andrian, and in ways, Hofmannsthal encouraged that. He pushed a belief that if Andrian was disciplined enough, he could not be homosexual and have a heterosexual marriage. Andrian did eventually take this advice and marry, but it never lived up to Hofmannsthal’s impossible example. Andrian spent little time with his wife, though they never divorced. This situation added to Andrian’s already overflowing well of self-hatred.

Still, while the hurt caused by this friendship is undeniable, so is the help, kindness, and love. Upon Andrian’s return to Vienna, Hofmannsthal secured him a position as the Wiener Burgtheater director. Andrian’s nationalism again impeded his success; as a passionate monarchist, he refused to work for a democratic government. He resigned within his first year.

After his failure, Andrian would mostly be able to pursue his real passion for writing. Though he didn’t gain the success he craved, he was dedicated to this and wrote many influential things. While history remembers Andrian as a footnote of Hofmannsthal’s success, Hofmannsthal would state outright that much of his inspiration came from Andrian. The two exchanged criticism and praise regularly, neither ever taking the other personally enough to harm the friendship.

Andrian would end up living twenty-two years after Hofmannsthal’s death, but there was never an end to the friendship. Even after his death, Hofmannsthal would play a significant part in Andrian’s life. Andrian said that up to his death, Hofmannsthal was there for him.

The beginning of the second world war forced Andrian to leave his beloved Austria, where he could never fully return. He continued writing until his death, and his last published work was an essay written in the memorial of Hofmannsthal.

Hofmannsthal would likely protest Andrian’s legacy as a side note in his story. While Andrian is not a figure to aspire to be, his is a story worth telling. It is the story of how self-hate and nationalistic love fuel deeply damaging choices. It would be challenging to call Andrian’s life a happy one, but he was never alone. Because of one enduring friendship that weathered every ounce of hate that Andrian had, he was never alone. He was given the love that he never seemed able to produce for himself.

References and Further Reading

Disclaimer: some of the sources may contain triggering material

Hofmann, M. (2009, March 12). The Colour of His Eyes [Review of The Whole Difference:Selected Writings of Hugo von Hofmannsthal]. London Review of Books, 31(05). https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n05/michael-hofmann/the-colour-of-his-eyes

Klieneberger, H. R. (1985). Hofmannsthal and Leopold Andrian on JSTOR. The Modern Language Review, 80(3), 619–636. https://doi.org/10.2307/3729290

Lehnert, H. (1970). Review of Hugo von Hofmannsthal—Leopold von Andrian, Briefwechsel [Review of Review of Hugo von Hofmannsthal—Leopold von Andrian, Briefwechsel, by W. H. Perl]. MLN, 85(3), 405–407. https://doi.org/10.2307/2908432

Lehnstaedt, S. (2016). Expert on Poland and Enemy of Prussia: Leopold von Andrian as Austro-Hungarian Envoy in Warsaw from 1911 to 1917. Journal of Austrian Studies, 48, 53–75. https://doi.org/10.1353/oas.2016.0012

Lindström, F. (2008). Empire and identity: Biographies of the Austrian state problem in the late Habsburg empire. Purdue University.

Project MUSE - The Spectre in Leopold Andrianis Garden of Knowledge. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/198793

Schoolfield, G. C. (2003). A Baedeker of Decadence: Charting a Literary Fashion, 1884-1927. Yale University Press.

StreamGate.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2020, from http://digipres.cjh.org:1801/delivery/StreamGate?is_mobile=false&is_rtl=false&dps_dvs=1604077986786~432&dps_pid=FL8599757

Taylor, R. (2006). The Spectre in Leopold Andrianis Garden of Knowledge. Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies, 42(1), 33–57. https://doi.org/doi:10.1353/smr.2006.0015.

Thuleen, N. (1995, May 17). Dichterstreit: Homoeroticism in the Conflict between Stefan George and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. http://www.nthuleen.com/papers/711George.html