Talk:Married Life (novel)

Married Life (in Hebrew: Hayey Nisu'im חיי נישואים) is a novel written in Hebrew between 1927-1928 by Jewish novelist and poet David Vogel. The novel was first published in three sections between 1929-1931, and later on in a new edition in 1986.

Plot summary

Set in Vienna in the 1920s, Married Life is an urban novel, in which that city had witnessed defeat in the First World War and the collapse of the Habsburg Empire, and plays a central role. The social decay and presentiments of an ominous future mirror the pathological relationship between Rudolf Gurdweill, a poor Jewish intellectual and Dorothea von Takow, an Austrian baroness who takes pleasure in humiliating him at every turn. The relationship is portrayed in telling detail as the couple descends ti nightmarish depths of cruelty and masochism, eventually ending in Thea's sexual betrayal of Gurdweill and her murder at his own hands.

Part 1: The Meeting

The novel opens with Rudolf Gurdweill, a Jew living in Vienna, getting a new job as a bookstore assistant with Dr Kreindel, and meeting Thea von Takow, a baroness. Gurdweill, a Jew and a working man, is clearly out of depth and well out of Thea's social class, yet their first meeting seems to be love at first sight, despite Thea's taste for sadomasochism. Against the wishes of Gurdweill's family and disregarding their misgivings, Thea converts to Judaism, and both she and Gurdweill are married.

Part 2: The Beginnng

Following her marriage to Gurdweill, Thea decides one day that her breasts are too huge, and decides to undergo breast reduction surgery. While she is away in a sanatorium, Gurdweill visits Vrubiczek, an old friend, and meets his son Johann. Johann Vrubiczek confides in Gurdweill that he suspects his wife of having an affair with another one of Gurdweill's friends and asks him for advice on the matter. The meeting with Johann leaves Gurdweill shaken and worried about what his wife is actually up to. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Velvetclaw (talk • contribs) 03:07, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

Part 3: Inside and Out

When Thea becomes pregnant, Rudolf Gurdweill hopes that her temperament will be mollified by the prospects of motherhood, but his hopes are soon dashed — Thea will continue her imperious and demanding ways. Thea also begins to despise Gurdweill for what is seen by her as a lack of grit owing Gurdweill's refusal to aggressively retaliate against Thea's increasingly outrageous behaviour. Gurdweill's friend, Lotte, who is clearly in love with Gurdweill, tries to convince Gurdweill that he made a mistake by marrying Thea, but he rebuffs her.

Things begin to take an ominous turn when Gurdweill is retrenched, forcing him to struggle as a writer to make ends meet. One evening while out in town, Gurdweill spots Thea in the company of another man, and confronts her with her apparent betrayal. Thea callously admits to Gurdweill that she is indeed seeing someone else outside of their marriage.

Part 5: The End

{{DEFAULTSORT:Married Life (Novel)}} [[Category:1931 novels]] [[Category:1986 novels]] [[Category:Israeli novels]] [[Category:Israeli books]] {{1930s-novel-stub}}