![]() ![]() Sisi’s recurring depression, combined with a general sense of derealization, made her introduce strict corporeal regimens. After three pregnancies and some political failures of her husband, their marriage became a bit frigid. Still, her duties were in Vienna, and Sisi was uncomfortable with them. She gave birth to her fourth child, Princess Marie Valerie, and managed to raise her in her way this time. ![]() After her coronation, she lived in her Hungarian castle of Gödöllő. In 1867 she would become the first Empress of the newly formed state. In this still early period of her life – and still to some disappointment of her mother-in-law, Elizabeth fell in love with Hungary, the center of the “other half” of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where people seemed less formal and more alive to her. Photo: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Photo: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Portrait of Empress Elisabeth of Austria by Leopold Horowitz (1899). Photo: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons Portrait of Elisabeth of Bavaria by Giuseppe Sogni (ca. (From left) Elisabeth in a painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1865). Thirty years later, she’ll be heartbroken to learn that Rudolf famously died in his Mayerling Palace in a possible murder-suicide with his mistress. In 1858, aged 21, her position strengthened somewhat when she gave birth to Crown Prince Rudolf, her third child, and only son. But then, one of her daughters died of pneumonia, and Sisi succumbed to depression, gradually becoming estranged from the other. This and other courtly limitations starkly contrasted her somewhat liberal upbringing in the Wittelsbach’s Court. The Habsburg Court was uncomfortably strict, protocol-oriented, and patriarchal (hence the aptly fitting corset symbol).īefore the age of twenty, Sisi was already a mother of two (gasp!) girls and was not even allowed to breastfeed them in their infancy. The Empress was at the center of those tensions (and note that she was of Bavarian, so of German origin), adding to her personal complications. To that, the newly formed Germany was gaining power in Europe, competing with Austria as a local card dealer. The whole second half of the 19th century was, for the Empire, a time of rising nationalism – ethnic separatism, national aspirations to form new political entities, and strong resentment toward class stratification that followed the ethnic and language differences. She was seventeen when she became Empress, wife to the penultimate ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Joseph I, who reigned longer even than British Queen Victoria. Photos: M2 Films Hot empress of frigid court Vicky Krieps as Empress Elizabeth in the film “Corsage”. It follows her, spreading the word about Sisi around the world long after Vienna started celebrating her persona. Set in 1877, the movie follows fictional events from the real life of the Empress, who, at the start of the film, has just turned forty and is struggling to maintain her image in the eyes of the public. Awarded Best Film in London, Marie Kreutzer’s movie starring Vicky Krieps has already received acclaim from juries at the European Film Awards, Cannes, and the Chicago International Film Festival. While the French queen advising her subjects in want of bread to eat cake has been immortalized many times, including in Sofia Coppola’s 2 006 drama, Sisi’s biopic “Corsage” is still on its tournée around world movie festivals. ![]() They both have in common estranged marriage, a life of tragedy and scandal, and a tragic demise. As many capitals compete for the title of the “Paris of Central Europe,” Austria’s Vienna is at least one step closer than any other, having its own version of Marie Antoinette in Empress Elisabeth, nicknamed “Sisi,” the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I. ![]()
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