Suffering and Domesticity: The Subversion of Sentimentalism in Three Stories by Marie Von Ebner‐Eschenbach

The fiction of Marie von Ebner‐Eschenbach (1830–1916) is set firmly in the material reality of the Habsburg Empire. Although realist in its commitment to reflecting contemporary society and its values, it has often been ‘accused’ of sentimentalism. This article argues that while Ebner's short stories indeed adopt some sentimental tropes, this should not be regarded as detracting from the complexity of her work. Rather, it is complex and worthy of examination in its own right. A closer and more differentiated analysis of sentimentalism in Ebner's fiction than is usually undertaken by modern criticism demonstrates that Ebner self‐consciously uses sentimental strategies, such as religious imagery, the idealisation of characters or the death of a protagonist, in order to subvert the ethos of the conventional sentimental novel. This tended to reinforce women's domestic role and strengthen the reader's belief in the spiritual value of suffering. The stories ‘Das tägliche Leben’, ‘Die Resel’, and ‘Der Erstgeborene’ show how Ebner, by contrast, undermines the idea that suffering has any value in a religious sense, and takes issue with the idea that women should obediently submit to domestic unhappiness.