‘Not Recommended For Catholic Libraries’: Marie Von Ebner‐Eschenbach and the Turn‐Of‐The‐Century Catholic Revival Movement

Although celebrated during her lifetime as Austria’s greatest woman writer, Marie von Ebner‐Eschenbach endured much harsh criticism from representatives of the Catholic Church. She and her husband were critical of the Church as an institution, especially of the abuse of priestly authority. They were attracted to a secular doctrine of ethics. Meanwhile the Papacy was determined to preserve traditional belief against the influence of liberalism. In this climate, the criticisms of the Church found in Ebner‐Eschenbach’s fiction attracted censure from defenders of a narrowly orthodox Catholic literature, who also opposed the efforts of Karl Muth to promote a modern Catholic literature which dealt with contemporary issues. Caught between these two parties, Ebner‐Eschenbach avoided public controversy but continued to express her beliefs and defend the religiosity of her writings.