The Post-Office Girl
Austria

The Post-Office Girl

by Stefan Zweig

Society & Class Classics 1982

Summary

Set in Austria after the First World War, The Post-Office Girl follows Christine Hoflehner, a young woman working in a small post office in a provincial town. Trapped in poverty and burdened by the responsibility of caring for her sick mother, Christine leads a life marked by exhaustion and limited possibilities. Her circumstances change unexpectedly when she receives an invitation to visit her wealthy aunt in Switzerland, where she experiences luxury, freedom, and a world previously beyond her imagination. However, her brief escape exposes the deep divisions between social classes and makes returning to her former life almost unbearable. When Christine encounters Ferdinand, a disillusioned war veteran, they begin to imagine a different future together. Zweig portrays the psychological consequences of poverty, the fragility of hope, and the crushing effects of social inequality in a society struggling to recover from war.

Reviews

Login to leave a review.

No reviews yet. Be the first!

You might also like

Complete Stories
Complete Stories
Ingeborg Bachmann
Old Masters: A Comedy
Old Masters: A Comedy
Thomas Bernhard
The Last Movement
The Last Movement
Robert Seethaler
The Loft
The Loft
Marlen Haushofer
Country
Austria
Europe
About the author
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig

Stefan Zweig (1881–1942) was an Austrian novelist, short-story writer, biographer, and essayist, widely regarded as one of the most popular German-language authors of the early twentieth century. Born in Vienna into a Jewish family, he became known for his psychologically insightful portrayals of human emotions, moral dilemmas, obsession, and the fragility of relationships. His works include the novellas The Royal Game, Letter from an Unknown Woman, and Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman, as well as acclaimed biographies of historical figures such as Marie Antoinette and Joseph Fouché. A committed European humanist, Zweig was deeply affected by the rise of Nazism and went into exile, eventually settling in Brazil. He died in 1942 in Petrópolis, Brazil. His elegant prose and penetrating psychological insight have secured his enduring place in world literature.

View author page
Details
Published
1982
Author
Stefan Zweig