Turn-of-the-century Vienna saw extraordinary levels of artistic innovation and achievement, when remarkable individuals pushed back the boundaries of what could be said and done. The boulevard realism of La Ronde, the celestial vistas of Mahler’s symphonies, the simplicity of Loos’s Michaelerplatz house and the gold-encrusted paintings of Klimt do not belong to any single ‘movement’. In each case, however, the idea of what art could represent, or of what constituted its proper language of expression, was being challenged. That was certainly true of La Ronde, as Schnitzler was acutely aware.

La Ronde: What Happens in the Play

La Ronde consists of ten self-contained scenes. There are two characters in each – a man and a woman. One of them appears again in the next scene, with a different partner. The tenth and final scene completes the cycle, with the return of one of the characters from the first scene.

The play is set in and around the Vienna of its time. One scene takes place in a country inn not far from the capital; the rest are located in various places, some public, some private, in the city. Some are quite specific and would have been familiar to anyone living in Vienna. Many actual place-names, establishments and well-known haunts are mentioned. Other scenes are set in private houses and apartments, precisely described in Schnitzler’s meticulous stage directions and representing certain characteristic, and socially specific, types.

1.    The Prostitute picks up The Soldier, offering him sex for free; he refuses to go home with her, so they have sex by the river. He has to get back to barracks and refuses to tell her his name. He laughs off her request for a tip.

2.    The Soldier has led The Maid out of a dance hall on a Sunday evening. They hardly know each other but soon go and have sex in the park. He quickly loses interest in her and wants to get back to the dance, but she prevaricates, asking if he is fond of her. His reluctant promise to walk her home is soon forgotten as he finds a new dancing partner.

3.    A hot summer’s afternoon. The Young Master has been left alone in the house and seduces The Maid. She is worried that they might be interrupted, and he is concerned about the imminent visit of Dr Schüller. They have sex; she asks him to stay, but he leaves for the café. As soon as he’s gone she steals a cigar.