Randy Ford Author- Revised INFLATION, DEFLATION, WAR! 53rd Installment

It would be different after the Crash of 1929 in the United States and the Civil War of 1934 in Austria. In the face of the victory of the Christian Democrats, Fritz seized more control over Pauline. As he saw it, and for her sake, it was a matter of survival, as the Social Democratic movement became illegal and most socialists were driven into exile. It became the roughest time for Pauline, as she was forced to adjust.

The Obdachlosenhein only closed its doors for a short while. When it reopened under a Christian banner, the services they offered remained basically the same. For a small fee men still had a choice of a bed in dormitories on the upper four stories or a private chamber with a lockable door, a light bulb, a bed, a small table, a clothes hanger and a mirror. (Hitler never went back there after he left there.) Pauline continued to work in the mess hall and socialize with the men in the reading room and the library. When it first opened, the Viennese press praised the Obdachlosenhein as “fantastical quarters, a paradise on earth” and as a “wonder of elegance and inexpensiveness.” Frederick and Herr Lippert now didn’t show up as often as they once did, though they didn’t actually go into exile like so many other socialist did. Switching allegiance was relatively simple for them, not too difficult since they weren’t Jewish and came from the “right” circles. They had both graduated from the University of Vienna and had studied under Othman Spann, the conservative philosopher, sociologist, and economist, and since the professor was as anti-Socialist as one could get. The only rub Frederick faced was that he’d been a member of Freud’s circle, and to be a member of Freud’s circle and Spann’s circle at the same time would’ve been hard to imagine. It wasn’t easy to do, but Frederick felt that he had to disavow Freud. Just as no man can truly wish to be viewed as weak, and since flip-flopping was considered a weakness, Frederick had to be extremely careful. We can only judge him by what we know because we can’t see inside his heart. The only thing that we can say for sue was that he and Herr Lippert somehow survived a very tumultuous time. We have to leave it at that.

The clashes started in Linz and took place principally in Vienna, Graz, Bruck an der Mur, Judenburg, Wiener Neustadt and Steyr. In Vienna the uprising (also known as the February Uprising or Februarkampfe) lasted only a few days and centered around housing projects and socialist strongholds such as the Gemeindebauten and the Karl-Marx-Hof. But while Frederick, Pauline, and Herr Lippert could’ve easily been directly involved in the fighting, there was no evidence that they were for had they been they probably would’ve been killed or driven into exile. There was the pull Fritz had; there was the pull that the families of Frederick and Herr Lippert had; and they all had a tremendous amount to lose. Pauline’s grandfather had been a Habsburg nobleman, who made his money in a myriad of ways. Some of the ways were legal and some were illegal. He helped endow the university and was very proud of the fact. He sent all three of his daughters to Paris to study. It was no secret that he wanted them to marry Christians, though Pauline’s mother married a rich Jew. And he built a huge country estate, a very quite and peaceful place. Pauline used to go there as a little girl and remembered particularly the horses. Pauline’s grandfather was very much at home in the forest and fields of his estate, and maybe that was why Pauline loved the Vienna woods so much. His lands were extensive, and they were not far from Vienna. There he surrounded himself with the best of everything. There had been a long period of peace and relative stability, so he had an opportunity to build a large entomological collection comprised of insects from around the world, which meant that he traveled everywhere. Pauline often got to sleep in the master bedroom with her oma, with its classy bedside tables and lamps. If it was hard for her after the World War to make the transition from being rich to being relatively poor, it was harder for her because of the memories she had of her grandfather’s estate. She would’ve liked to have gone back there, though she knew that if she did it wouldn’t be the same.

And with her background, it was equally hard for her to be at ease with herself. She couldn’t forget her grandparents, her own parents and others, and how they would never approve of her lifestyle, not just the question of her “immorality” but also her commitment to the Obdachlosenhein, where she came in contact with homeless men every night. There were also those who admired her for it. She could imagine what her parents thought, though she never confirmed it. Yet they had never totally disinherited her and approved of her marriage to Fritz. They were particularly proud of their grandsons and for while, during the war and Fritz’s absence, raised them for her. Those people who somehow found themselves caught between or straddled the political fence were much more likely to have advance information about how the police and the paramilitaries (or Christian Democrats) would react to the Schutzbund barricading themselves in the Gemeindebauten and the Karl-Marx-Hof. It’s hard to say if Pauline had advance information or not, or how she, Frederick and Herr Lippert avoided the fighting. Later it became clear that they couldn’t have without help. Anyway, when the fighting broke out, they weren’t around. In their case, it proved that they weren’t stanch socialists, or else they were cowards. They must’ve known in advance that Chancellor Dollfuss would order the Karl-Marx-Hof shelled with light artillery, endangering the lives of thousands of civilians and destroying many apartments. Since they weren’t there, they avoided the disgrace of surrender.

Randy Ford

Randy Ford Author- Revised INFLATION, DEFLATION, WAR! 39th Installment

They should’ve known better. Pauline let Frederick do all the work. It was what was expected of her. She was ready this time. She lay there like a doll and accepted it for all that it was worth.

There was no contract, no strings attached, and they both knew it. All Frederick could hope for was that she loved him as much as he loved her.

Frederick said, “It’s a start. I know what you’re afraid of. Have I earned seconds?”

“Thirds, fourths, fifths…”

When he went down for a second time, it was enough for the day. But the wretchedness of the position it placed her in…tormented as a married woman and tormented by her past…showed on her face. Frederick thought that she, in a fragile and beautiful way, was simply frightened.

Frederick wanted to see more of her. He was nervous about it. He would’ve found it hard to explain why he was nervous. They loved each other, seriously: it was just that the situation was awkward. He said at one point, “I suppose the main thing is that we love each other. I’m glad we’re willing to take a chance. You’re smarter about these things than I am. I’m not as free as I’d like to be.”

Four or five weeks later they met Herr Lippert at Café Central for a late-night coffee. Frederick got there early. He saw Freud sitting alone and recognized him immediately by his beard and cigar but didn’t want to get involved in a conversation with him. Frederick was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to hide anything from the famous psychoanalyst. He had purposely avoided the doctor’s couch while everyone was talking about it. Both men, of course, knew each other, since Frederick had become a member of the Psychoanalytic Society. Almost as soon as he saw Freud he saw Pauline. She was with Herr Lippert. It made him jealous, but not so much so because he knew that he didn’t have a right to be. She was easy with both men and was quite attractive in a dress rather than pants. But her thoughts weren’t on Herr Lippert. To a large extent Frederick and Pauline left him out of the conversation and in an oblique way teased each other. Herr Lippert sensed it and saw that there had been a change in their relationship. (If he had had the nerve, Herr Lippert would’ve approached Doctor Freud himself. It was now possible for him. He knew of Freud’s theories about sexuality…even in infants…that shocked Viennese society.)

Pauline had been critical of Freud. But didn’t she believe in sexual freedom for herself and others, and had acted on it knowing the risks. Herr Lippert, by contrast, believed in it for men and not women. Frederick’s beliefs about this were in flux.

Frederick thought, “In the real world women like Pauline are resented. And she’s right. Of the three of us, she’s the only one who’s honest. Herr Lippert and I are cads.”

Afterward Frederick and Herr Lippert talked about the evening and Pauline.

Herr Lippert said, “She’s a doll. You’re a lucky man, Frederick, and you don’t seem to know it. The strange thing is that you two don’t act like lovers. She says you are (lovers) and you keep it a secret. You don’t need to hide it from me. It doesn’t matter to me. I can tell that she likes the excitement, the game, and the intimacy. Yes, you’ve won, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about it. Like I said she’s a doll, and you’re a lucky man.”

Frederick said, picking up on what Herr Lippert had just said, “You’re right. She is a doll, and for me that’s a problem”

“Are you mad? Are you?”

“Frederick said, “Believe me, I wish it were different. I wish we were really free. I know that she doesn’t actually want to take another lover, but she wants to be loved. I know she doesn’t want to be a doll. Pauline, in addition to everything else, is a human being. Believe me, I know what she’s worth and I don’t want to do anything to cheapen her. I’d rather be discreet and selective, and she talks about it freely. And I’d rather keep it a secret. In some ways she’s more masculine than I am. Yet she lies there like a doll and approaches it from all directions.”

For many weeks Frederick came and went from Pauline’s apartment. She even gave him a key, and then he discovered that Herr Lippert had often been there too.

Randy Ford

Randy Ford Author- Revised INFLATION, DEFLATION, WAR! 37th Installment

Pauline took out a tract from her purse and handed it to Herr Lippert. At the same time she was looking at Frederick. She said, “I’m sure your friend Herr Freud has seen this. We’re distributing it everywhere. The ideas in it are not new. It concerns the health of women, awkward for men, but by and large it is important for them too. Of course, I know how to walk and talk, and it’s not my job to inform you boys. I know we’re accused of getting away from Christian ideas, or shall I say age-old Christian ideals, as exemplified by the Virgin Mary and Eve. I know it’s rather controversial still.”

Herr Lippert said, “I’ll digest it later.”

Each point, each page conveyed the same message: “women aren’t sexless”: healthy women have sexual desires and erotic instincts that are normal and that these desires needn’t be denigrated or sublimated. In other words, motherhood or nurturing the seed of future generations wasn’t necessarily a woman’s primary duty. And she has other choices other than becoming a lady or a tramp. Pauline, therefore, remained skeptical about the virtues of motherhood. As she thought about her beauty and how men were attracted to her, her emotions grew.

Both men looked over the tract. As they handed it back and forth, Herr Lippert remained unmoved and Frederick was puzzled. He may have seen the tract before. At least he wasn’t dismissive like Herr Lippert was. Pauline held herself up straight and waited impatiently for a response. Herr Lippert, more than once, started to give one while Frederick felt aroused. To him it was erotic material, just as their previous conversation had been. Pauline hadn’t said anything titillating after suggesting that she become their nude…how could she top that given that they were in a public place…but Frederick didn’t need anything else to get his imagination going. He found himself, to his surprise, thinking about his own body, and then he began to think about his penis. Sitting beside Pauline, who had turned away from him, he started stiffening. So he scooted forward, up under the table, hoping she hadn’t noticed.

She, certainly by then, was aware of Frederick’s weaknesses, and could’ve exploited them. He began to fidget. Once or twice he shook his head. And then he signaled for Herr Lippert to hand him the tract again. He seemed agitated. He had to be careful not to say anything out of hand. “Sigmund Freud, held that the libido was an inherently masculine trait, and that sexual desire in a woman was abnormal.” He stared at the ceiling because he hated to admit that he had trouble with the tract. There was a very long silence.

Frederick finally said, “Pauline, I admire what you’re doing.”

Herr Lippert remained as he had been, unconvinced, and silence returned. The dinner was over. When the three of them spoke and said good-bye, they were friendly to each other. The two men left together. It took Pauline a little longer to gather up her things. She gazed at the tract before he put it back into her purse. She then whispered, “What have I done?” She had surprised herself. She knew the she shouldn’t have shown the tract to “the boys.” The tract was meant for women and was readily available, so why had she embarrassed herself?
Over time she came to some conclusions. The first one was that men didn’t understand women, and she didn’t pretend to understand men. Up to this point, though she had an abortion and given birth to two children, her body was still foreign to her. Now, unexpectedly, she became aware of secrets that had eluded her, she began to enjoy her body and resent anyone who tried to force her into a mold. And she didn’t mind sharing her story, particularly with other women. But unlike many other feminists she advocated employment for all women and not just to those widows, orphans and spinster who through misfortune were denied a male provider. This unfortunately intimated men, including freethinking men like Frederick.

Pauline’s feminism took Frederick by surprise. It also threw him off and he bemoaned the loss of the doe-like lovelorn female that he soon learned that he couldn’t manipulate. She had seemed pliable. He was surprised that he couldn’t seduce her, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Then he began to think that she was heartless.

It could’ve meant the end of their relationship. There was nothing more that he could do about it. His imagination took him only so far. Though he loved a challenge he would’ve preferred some action: not making any headway damaged his ego. Now, when nothing was going right, she suddenly became more affectionate, and he wondered what he was doing differently. She’d still invited him up to her flat. Still she would only go so far.

But Pauline felt that they were making headway and that he might be an exception. She said, “You’re a very sensitive man, and I like that. I like the way you take care of me. Not many men would be so considerate. It’s very good. But feel free to go out with someone else.”

Randy Ford

Randy Ford Author- Revised INFLATION, DEFLATION, WAR! 27th Installment

After the war everything changed. Much ink has been wasted trying to explain what happened. Kraus was writing a play about it, and he read part of it for a few people. He went to the Café Central, in a mood for it. He sought refuge there quite frequently. He read a scene about a wounded officer in a hospital. It wasn’t very long, but it moved Pauline to tears. There was a lot left unsaid, and the singsong manner in which it was read somehow made it more disturbing. As Pauline listened she felt very close to Fritz, though she didn’t know whether he was alive or dead. And when at the end the playwright asked for feedback, she said, “I wanted to know more about the patient.” The playwright showed his loathing. He lashed out at her in a way that she didn’t deserve, as he shouted, “Who are you, and what do you know about writing a play?” He didn’t lash out simply because Pauline posed a threat to him or his beliefs but because he really wasn’t looking for criticism. He then said, “Forgive me. I asked for it. I deserve it. The play’s a montage. Depicting a war didn’t give me much leeway. I wasn’t trying to write a well-made play, and my stage is much bigger than a room. So please forgive me. You didn’t know what I was trying to do. To show to you that I bear no malice, the wine is on me.” Pauline and her companions went to Café Central just to see people like Kraus and Freud. Both celebrities now recognized them. “So it’s you,” Kraus would say whenever he saw Pauline after that. It became a personal joke. But they could only take so much of Kraus. Pauline liked his poetry best and his attitude towards death. “Beneath the Waterfall.”

Far behind me is all the woe and weakness.
How constant is the waterfall;
How does this sunny land bless all
My crowding thoughts before night’s darkness.”
(Ungar 1977:258)

Kraus satirized psychoanalysis like he satirized everything else. Now when Freud went anywhere he looked for this person who he first courted. It wasn’t long before he outright detested the writer of the Frackel and took every opportunity to express his contempt. It got downright nasty. Typically Kraus would fire back with something that showed off his genius and had a huge following in Vienna. But few people would stand by him, so what we had, in Vienna especially, were people who admired Kraus, but followed Freud.

There appeared one evening at the Café Central a man, who was obviously homosexual. He ordered champagne for everyone sitting at the table, and he offered a toast. He was in his late twenties, also obviously Jewish and was carefully dressed, which seemed in character for him. Frederick introduced him to Herr Lippert and Pauline, “Let me introduce a friend of mine,” and the four of them finished off the bottle.

Herr Lippert, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, but knowing that he had to keep his feelings to himself, said “Great champagne.”

The friend of Frederick said in an extraordinarily feminine voice, “Not many people come here for the champagne, but I do.”

Herr Lippert didn’t know how to take the man. But Frederick and Pauline seemed to accept him, and Herr Lippert decided to give him a chance. But homosexual and Jewish! How it didn’t seem to bother them. But to Herr Lippert…who came from a Christian family who generally never associated with Jews except in a business setting…it felt awkward; not the setting, not the reaction of his friends, but the champagne helped break the ice.

Frederick’s friend wasn’t shy, and Herr Lippert saw it almost immediately.

He asked, “Do you attend the University?”

Frederick’s friend said, “I work now. It’s my obligation. I’m part of the movement. It’s what I have to do. It won’t be so important twenty years from now. But we can’t wait until then. There are all these projects to do, and if we can get everyone to working there isn’t a limit to what we can do. And I drink champagne to remind myself where I came from. And I’m not looking to flaunt the laws. In the future, as we move forward, I hope there will come a day when I won’t have to. So I help out. I draw the plans and seek bids…you have to have plans. Sometimes my plans are accepted. Sometimes not. When they’re accepted, I come here and break out the champagne. Frederick knows all this. My name’s Ludwig.

“Ludwig.”

“Sorry Ludwig, I should’ve introduced you by name.”

“My mistake, I should’ve reminded you.”

Randy Ford