Message from an Unknown - Stefan Zweig

I was always amazed by the power of this text, by its desperate beauty, by its depth and maturity. It is the story of a heart that remained ready for love and death, a heart that was undeterred, perishing with innocence and inspiration, a shining heart that tells its story and reveals itself before a beloved man, a whole life. We see the novel grow before our eyes, learning love with pride, with joy, then we see madness lurking, striking it forever. When Freud and psychoanalysis amazed people, Zweig was drawing a picture of a destructive love that dances with death. He tells us that we never truly possess anyone, and that predatory love from one side drives us mad and leads us to the grave.. In this stubborn metaphysical love, its purity makes it alert and enjoyable, like a secret that calms the lover’s fears and creates her anew. In this love, there is a warm echo that returns in each of them, a sweet, exhausting, terrible sigh that leads us to our most unruly demons.. When we do not recognize ourselves, no one recognizes us. (French actress Elza Zilbarstein) Message from an Unknown - Stefan Zweig