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Elfriede Jelinek (born 20 October 1946 ) is an Austria n Feminist Playwright and Novelist . She was awarded the Nobel Prize For Literature in 2004 "for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power." Elfriede Gerstl says for Jelinek: Who is afraid by the texts of Jelinek is afraid of himself: of his own vindictful fantazies, by his own rage.....by the limits, laid by his own Mother. BIOGRAPHY , June 2000]] Jelinek was born on 20 October 1946 in Mürzzuschlag , Styria , Austria. Her father, being of Jew ish- Czech origin ("Jelinek" means "little deer" in Czech ), was a Chemist and worked in strategically important industrial production during the Second World War, thereby escaping persecution. However, several dozen family members became victims of the Holocaust . Her "dominating" mother, with whom she shared the household even as an adult (compare '' The Piano Teacher '') and with whom she had a difficult relationship, was from a formerly prosperous Vienna family. As a child, Elfriede suffered much from what she considered over-restrictive education in a Roman Catholic convent school in Viena. Her mother planned for Elfriede a career as a musical Wunderkind . At an early age, Elfriede was instructed in piano, organ, guitar, violin, viola and recorder. Later, she went on to study at the Vienna Conservatory, where she graduated with an organist diploma. Jelinek also studied Art History and Drama at the University Of Vienna . However she had to discontinue because of an anxiety disorder that prevented her from following courses. Jelinek's biography reflects strongly in her opus. Jelinek started writing poetry young. She made her literary debut with the collection ''Lisas Schatten'' in 1967. In the early 1970s, Jelinek married Gottfried Hüngsberg. CRITICS AND POLITICS Her work before the Nobel Prize announcement was largely unknown outside the German speaking world and it is said to resemble that of acclaimed Austrian playwright Thomas Bernhard with the pathology of destruction and its concomitant comedic abrogation. In fact, although author's own differentiation from Austria, Jelinek's writing is deeply rooted in the tradition of Austrian Literature . At its best it combines Robert Musil 's sadness and Franz Kafka 's sense of humor - in a little bit exaggerated manner. Jelinek's political philosophy, in particular her stance regarding Feminism and her views regarding Austria's political parties, is of vital importance in assessing her work. It is also part of the reason for the vitriolic public controversy surrounding her. Brief history of Jelinek's political engagements Jelinek was a member of Austria's Communist Party in the years between 1974 and 1991 . The CPA is a fringe movement; public Austrian intellectuals, even professedly left-leaning ones, have frequently accused it of unreconstructed Stalinism . Jelinek became a household name during the 1990s due to her vociferous clash with Jörg Haider 's Freedom Party . Following the 1999 National Council elections and the subsequent formation of a coalition cabinet consisting of the Freedom Party and the Austrian People's Party , Jelinek became one of the new cabinet's most vocal critics. Citing the Freedom Party's alleged Nationalism and Authoritarianism , many European and overseas administrations swiftly decided openly to ostracize Austria's administration. The cabinet construed the sanctions against it as directed against Austria as such and attempted to prod the nation into a national rallying (''Nationaler Schulterschluss'') behind the coalition parties. This provoked a temporary heating of the political climate severe enough for dissidents such as Jelinek to be accused of Treachery by coalition supporters. Jelinek's work Partially being purposeful political writing, partially a self-therapy, her work is many-faceted and highly controversial. Her Prose and Play s - acclaimed by some and at the same time criticized by other, ie leading German Critic s. Likewise, her political activism, hardiness, consistency and persistence in following her convictions on and off the stage, evoke highly divergent reactions - either positive or negative, depending on one's personal views. Despite the fact that some, who do not share her views, devalue her work rather than merely objecting to her opinion, Jelinek has won many distinguished prizes, among them are the Georg Büchner Prize (1998), the Müllheim Dramatists Prize (twice: 2002 and 2004), the Franz Kafka Prize (2004) and the Nobel Prize in Literature (2004, see below). Prevalent topics in her prose and dramatic work are Female Sexuality , its abuse and the war of the sexes in general. Texts like ''Wir sind Lockvögel, Baby!'' (We are Decoy, Baby),'' Die Liebhaberinnen'' (Lovers), ''Die Klavierspielerin'' (The Piano Teacher) are well illustrative for her opinions and are shocking for the reader with the unemotional description of brutality and power play in human relations. According to Jelinek, power and aggression are often driving forces of Relationship s. Her provocative novel '' Lust '' is a description of sexuality, aggression and abuse with Pornographic qualities. It received little acclaim by many critics, but was considered misunderstood and undervalued by others. Rather than the plot itself, the cold description of moral failures was perceived as haunting. Readers who wish to indulge in female " Lust " will certainly fail to meet their expectations, as Jelinek rather aims at the contrary. In her later work, Jelinek has somewhat abandoned female issues to focus her energy on Social Criticism in general and Austria's difficulties to owing up to its Nazi past in particular e.g. in ''Die Kinder der Toten'' (The Children of the Dead). Her Play s often are involving an emphasis on Choreography like ''Sportstück''. In Sportstück the issue of Violence and Fascism in Sports is explored. It is not astonishing then, following what has been pointed out, that her plays are considered taciturn, yet lavish productions by some people, and a celebrated new form of theater by others. Jelinek's novel Die Klavierspielerin (''The Piano Player'') was filmed with title The Piano Teacher by the acclaimed Austrian director Michael Haneke (director of films like Caché ), having French actress Isabelle Huppert play the ''repressed'' Pianist . THE NOBEL PRIZE Commenting on the Nobel Prize, she said she was feeling very happy for receiving the Prize but also felt a despair: "despair for becoming a known, a person of the public". Paradigmatic for her modesty and subtle Self-irony , she - a reputed feminist writer - wondered if not been awarded the prize mainly for "being a woman" and suggested that among authors writing in German, Peter Handke whom she praises as a "living classic", would have been a more worthy recipient. Jelinek was criticized for not accepting the prize in person; instead a video message was presented at the ceremony. Others appreciated that Jelinek openly disclosed that she suffers from Agoraphobia and Social Phobia , anxiety disorders which can be highly disruptive to everyday functioning yet are often concealed by those affected out of shame or feeling of inadequacy. Jelinek has said that her anxiety disorders make it impossible for her even to go to the cinema or to board an airplane (in an interview she wished to be able to fly to New York to see the skyscrapers one day before dying), and she felt incapable of taking part in any ceremony. However, in her own words as stated in another tape message: "I would also very much like to be in Stockholm, but I cannot move as fast and far as my language." In 2005, Knut Ahnlund left the Swedish Academy in protest, describing Jelinek's work as "whining, unenjoyable public pornography" as well as "a mass of text shoveled together without artistic structure" . He said later her selection for the prize "has not only done irreparable damage to all progressive forces, it has also confused the general view of literature as an art". BIBLIOGRAPHY Novels
Plays
Translations
Opera libretto
Jelinek's novels in English
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