"SCHLECHT KOMMEN WIR BEIDE DABEI NICHT WEG!" JOSEPH ROTH'S SATIRE ON THE EMPEROR FRANZ JOSEPH IN HIS NOVEL RADETZKYMARSCH

Abstract

In his later years Joseph Roth became involved in the campaign to restore the Habsburg Monarchy. This represented a revision of his earlier views, and his depiction of the Habsburg world in his novel Radetzkymarsch has been seen as a signal of his conversion. Roth's presentation of the Emperor Franz Joseph as a character in the novel has contributed to this view, for the intimate and sympathetic rendition of the emperor's thoughts and emotions suggests an identification of the narrative figure with his character. But Roth's affectionate portrayal of the man does not necessarily imply a revision of Roth's view of the social and political institutions and values of the empire. For beneath the sentimental and nostalgic aura which pervades Roth's recreation of the Habsburg fabric, a more harshly judged reality is apparent. Occasionally a critical note is clearly sounded, and the irony of Roth's presentation of the more anachronistic aspects of the imperial institutions can be sensed. Franz Joseph comes across as a simple, well-intentioned and seemingly humane old man, essentially the victim of his own position. But this does not obscure Roth's criticism of the arbitrary, authoritarian system over which he presides.