Overview[]
Stanbergersee is a lake in Munich. The following lines was from Countess Marie Larisch’s autobiography, My Past, as a means of evoking European decadence before World War I.
Connection to The Waste Land[]
In the whole coffee scene shows the dull routine of tea parties – “talked for an hour”, very boring, unimportant, and sterility. Marie’s act of recounting her experience has its own significance. Her cousin was an archduke and she had much fun in his company. Once they went out riding in a sledge, Marie was frightened and her cousin told her to hold on him tightly. This is some evidence might prove the two of them experienced a moment of intense sexual excitement. This shows Marie is active, adventurous, enthusiastic, she likes being free, connected to a real life, meaning she loves changes unlike others who aren’t willing to change. Marie supports rebirth, resurrection, and recollection.