Der Schwierige: Lustspiel in drei Akten

by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

"Der Schwierige: Lustspiel in drei Akten" by Hugo von Hofmannsthal is a comedy written in 1921. Set in post-World War I Vienna over a single day, the play follows Count Hans Karl Bühl, a 39-year-old bachelor who finds social gatherings unbearable. Pressured to attend an evening soirée, he becomes entangled in others' romantic complications—including his nephew's affair, a friend's troubled marriage, and questions about his own feelings toward Helene Altenwyl, who has loved him since childhood.