Elsa Asenijeff
Austrian Writer
Born Jan 3, 1867
in Vienna, Austria
Name at Birth: Alesa Maria Packeny
Died April 5, 1941
in Bräunsdorf, Germany
Biographical Details:
1896 First publication: Ist das die Liebe? (1896), published under the pseudonym Elsa Asenijeff
From 1899
- Study of Philosophy in Leipzig
- Involvement in antiwar groups
- Experimentation with texts for cinema
- Relationship with sculptor Max Klinger
Around 1900 Most productive period in Leipzig:
- Published a volume of poetry or short stories almost every year
- Held lectures and wrote for various prestigious literary journals
1921 Declared mentally unstable and deprived of her rights
1924 Forcefully hospitalized in the psychiatric clinic of the University of Leipzig
Selection of Works:
Ist das Liebe? (1896)
“Daseinselend. Episoden aus dem Weibesleben”
Aufruhr der Weiber und das dritte Geschlecht (1898)
Tagesbuchblätter einer Emancipierten (1902)
Sources:
Schwartz, Agatha. “Sexual Cripples and Moral Degenerates: Fin-De-Siècle Austrian Women Writers on Male Sexuality and Masculinity.” Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies, vol. 44, no. 1, Feb. 2008, pp. 53-67.
Artist’s Estate:
Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Schiller-Nationalmuseum, Marbach am Neckar, Germany (Link to Website)
Story map of Elsa Asenijeff’s life: