Cafe Amoral
Cafe Amoral
Schnitzler's La Ronde can't be read as a joyous feast of lust nor an attempt to librate from biased moral judgments any more. Promiscuity is not a pre-sexual revolution liberation act, but a neurotic side effect of detachment and consumerism taking over the most intimate and profound human urges.
Sexuality is transformed into a monetizable surrogate for the lack of substantial relationships. It ends up being reduced to a temporary antidepressant, while hope for full recovery is given up with a toast of champagne.
