Wittgensteins Neffe

In his 1982 work on the history of a friendship, Bernhard continues his autobiography, which describes his childhood and youth in five volumes, into the years 1967 to 1979. During a stay at a sanatorium, his friendship with Paul Wittgenstein deepened, which had begun with passionate discussions about music. Paul Wittgenstein, the nephew of Ludwig Wittgenstein, graduated from the Theresianum in Vienna and then studied mathematics. Since the age of 35, his nerve disease had repeatedly manifested itself. Initially financially secure due to the wealth of one of the richest families in Austria, he carelessly gave away his fortune to friends and the poor, until he himself lived in poverty. In his final years, he became increasingly isolated, remaining only connected to his friend Thomas Bernhard. Bernhard's notes have become a report on the dying story of Paul Wittgenstein. For twelve years, he observed his friend's decline. Through this observation, Thomas Bernhard's self-observation also sharpened—so that the portrayed subject also gives strong contours to the portraitist's image.