How fascinating and tragic. It's rather ghoulish, but as I earn my degree in psychology, I've become more and more interested in the ways that mental illnesses and even normative sadness played out in the past, when circumstances were radically different. For women in particular, it's pretty much universally either… Read more
FYI, there are allegations that Rudolf's suicide pact was actually a murder-suicide. Read more
<i>Danubia</i> is great, and often hilarious. The part covering Habsburg "hunting" styles is pretty choice. "The more we read about the past, the more completely odd it appears." Read more
This is a really great article! There are so many interesting things about her - she was a big supporter of the mentally ill and was also a gymnast. I think she would probably approve of being seen as a beautiful woman in a tiara. And she probably would have loved Karl Lagerfeld, sadly. Read more
My most WTF cultural reference is why Emmy Rossum was dressed in a replica of Sisi's dress and hair stars in the Phantom movie. She's supposed to be a slave in Carthage or something; why would she be dressed like a Victorian empress?
She was on yet another trip—Geneva, this time—when she was stabbed on the street by an anarchist. Her corset was so tight nobody realized what had happened until she made it back to her ship, collapsed, and died. Read more
Oh man, great stuff. Bonus detail: cousin Marie, mentioned above, is generally thought to be the Marie from the first section of the Waste Land, which contains lots of subtle references to the Habsburg dynasty, Elisabeth, and all the tragedies the befell them. So, to all of us obsessing over this stuff: you are… Read more
My grandmother was born in Bavaria (not very far from Austria, honestly) and grew up watching the Sissi movies at her local cinema. She owns all of the DVDs and made me watch every single one with her. They really didn't have a plot, other than women with beautiful hair and incest (Sissi married her cousin in the… Read more
I'll read all the historical write-ups you have to give lady. Bang up job, seriously. Read more
Surprised, yet not surprised that Sissi in Fall of Eagles was not mentioned. If the Austrian films present a chocolate box depiction of her life, Eagles shows her intellectual and political side. She was more than a neurotic, self-pitying airhead, and to put her in the same category as Princess Diana, except on the… Read more
Very good, detailed article. I'm from Germany and she is indeed everywhere, or should I say a certain image of her. There is however a very keen understanding that there s a very big difference between the way she is portrayed in the three very, very, very much beloved movies (who are on TV EVERY CHRISTMAS) you…
There is a Bejart ballet called Sissi (l'impératrice anarchiste) that was created on Sylvie Guillem. The clips I saw in childhood look terrifying, strange, and compelling. This is the only video evidence I have been able to find on the Internet of the piece. OMG the part starting at the 0.46 mark! http://www.dailymotio… Read more
As an Austrian, I am actually much more interested in Maria Theresia. She certainly had her faults but reigned in a women-hating world where nobody wanted to recognize her as the empress (but she MADE them) while giving birth to 16 children. She was flawed in many ways (anti-Semite for example but came around later so… Read more
I heart you just for mentioning Barbara Cartland. At one point I had amassed the first 100 of her books which is moderately impressive considering NO INTERNET and my town only had one used bookstore..... Read more
Great article! As a German growing up with the Sissi movies, I'm naturally obsessed with anything Sisi! She really epitomises everything that is wrong with reducing women to their physical appearance. Read more