Nobel Laureate in Literature Elfriede Jelinek: 'The destruction of the feminine has always been one of my major themes'

Elfriede Jelinek in Vienna, Austria, in August 2024. CLAUDIA MUELLER

Apart from her plays, Elfriede Jelinek had published nothing new for nearly 25 years. In 2022, the Austrian author's newly released book Angabe der Person was hailed in Germany as a "sign of life." For the release of its French translation, the writer, who no longer gives interviews, agreed to speak with Le Monde. Not wishing to "weaken" the book's fierce indictment or revisit the painful circumstances that prompted her to write it, she chose not to discuss it, preferring instead to return to her favorite themes, with a rage that has not diminished.

Now 79, exhausted by half a century of relentless struggle to give voice to the unspeakable, the sentinel of Austrian letters continues to send out powerful signals amid the turmoil of the 21st century.

You have 90.82% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.