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Otto Weininger, the
son of a wealthy Jewish artisan, was born on April 3,
1880 in Vienna. Showing particular brilliance in a
variety of subjects from natural sciences and mathematics
to the humanities, Weininger’s strength was in
languages. By the age of eighteen, in addition to his
native German, Weininger was fluent in both Spanish and
Norwegian and could speak French, English and Italian
quite well. He also knew Latin and Greek, by which at age
sixteen, he attempted to publish an etymological essay on
particular Greek adjectives that could only be found in
Homer’s works. His academic success however, was
surpassed only by his precocious nature in the classroom.
He did not see fit to follow the prescribed school
curriculum and often created his own.
In 1898 Weininger entered
the University of Vienna as a student of philosophy.
Quite serious and passionate about his studies, he would
often barrage his fellow students with philosophical
questions in discussion groups and at parties. During
this time Weininger was preparing his infamous work,
Sex and Character. He gave an outline of it to
Sigmund Freud in 1901, who was seemingly unimpressed with
the document, citing that he should conduct more research
to gain empirical evidence for his assertions. Despite
Freud’s comments, Weininger published Sex and
Character in 1903, the year after receiving his Ph.D.
In his book, Weininger constructs definitions of
masculinity and femininity, believing that all living
things have varied proportions of these traits. Placing
them at opposite ends of the spectrum-- masculine being
positive and moral, feminine negative and amoral-- he
creates a dichotomy that can be interpreted as
misogynistic. In turn, he claims that Judaism is most
closely related to femininity, whereas Christianity holds
more masculine traits. It is not surprising to find
secular Jews denouncing their religion during
fin-de-siecle Vienna, but Weininger’s book baldly
criticized Judaism. While his father, too, was
anti-semitic, Weininger solidified his feelings toward
his Judaic background with the symbolic gesture of
converting to Christianity the day he received his
Ph.D.
Throughout his life,
Weininger battled many suicidal tendencies. It was not
long after the publication of his book, though, that this
battle came to a close. Possibly suffering from
manic-depression, his moods became dark and sinister
during this time. He had hoped his book would achieve a
greater reception, thus catapulting him into fame.
Unfortunately, it did not come quickly enough, and
Weininger’s condition worsened to such a degree that
on October 4, 1903, he shot himself. Weininger’s
fame would come later in the form of many books,
newspaper articles and conversations criticizing and
trying to rationalize his assessments of women and
Judaism. During his short life, he stirred up a
tremendous amount of controversy that opened up new and
controversial discussions among the intelligentsia in
both Vienna and beyond. Sadly, all we know of Weininger
is this work of dubious merit. He was unable to further
his ideas and we are left with only his one book and
scattered letters and diaries to try to understand the
workings of the mind of this fragmented
genius.
-Christina
Weber-
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