My Years with Ludwig von Mises.pdf - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

were Fritz Kortner (King Philip), who later went to Hollywood,
and Erika von Wagner (Queen Elizabeth), who a few years later
married Stiedry, conductor of the Metropolitan Opera.
One of my favorite roles was the gypsy girl, Masha, in Tolstoy's
Living Corpse. Another was Regine in Ibsen's Ghosts. Both parts I
played with Moissi, the most famous actor of the time.
During my first weeks in Vienna, in 1916, I met my first husband,
Ferdinand G. Sereny. He was Hungarian and much older
than I. He was a man of the world and had a wonderful way with
women. This and his intelligence, combined with his great concern
for my well-being, made me fall in love with him. I called him
"Feri." We were secretly married in Budapest in February, 1917.
In those days every actress had a clause in her contract which
forbade her to marry without consent of her director. As I had not
thought of marriage, I had not taken any notice of this paragraph
when signing my contract. But now this prohibition against marriage
seemed to me almost indecent, and I rebelled. I did not ask
Director Wallner's permission to marry, and so my marriage had to
be in secret. But very soon I got pregnant-yet I had to go on
acting. My roles were mostly young, innocent, seductive women,
and I had to represent them with the knowledge of a swelling
tummy. But I must have carried my baby well, for no one noticed
anything-at least they did not say anything.
I was six months pregnant when the theater closed for summer
vacations. Feri and I went to Karlsbad and later to Budapest,
where my little boy, Guido, was born. From this very moment I
changed. It was as if a cover had fallen from my soul, and love had
another meaning for me. I felt the mystery of love a mother feels
for her child. It came with the first cry of the baby, and it will stay
as long as I live.
Shortly after Guido's birth I wrote Director Wallner, was forgiven
for my marriage, and asked to return to the theater immediately.
And from then on I had to work as usual. It was hard on me.
There was the baby who gave me so much warmth and happiness,
and there was the theater, my work, which I loved and could not
and did not want to neglect.
The living conditions did not soothe my inner conflict either. It
was the last year of World War I, and. the economic situation in
Austria was very bad. People stood in line at bakeries, meat shops,
and groceries. Even milk for babies was scarce. In the restaurants
more and more "Ersatz" was being served, and the Austrian people,
always great lovers of good food, began to revolt. In Budapest
I had not noticed the misery so much. Hungary, though still a part
of the great Austrian Empire, was better off, since it was an agrarian
country and there was always plenty of milk and butter.
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