The novel is an alarming, disturbing read. There is salvation, so to speak, but not for the pianist. When one of her students woos her, she responds dismissively, but later entrusts her sadomasochistic fantasies to him. Then she presses the blade into the back of her hand several times, but not so deep as to injure tendons. 'She gingerly tests the edge it is razor-sharp. She feels nothing, and she begins to self-harm. Without a love life of her own, she visits peepshows and watches strangers having sex in the park. As a result, Erika is stunted both emotionally and sexually.

It is her mother who continually determines the rules and does not allow her daughter to do as she likes. The 2001 film version starred Isabelle Huppert Image: Imago/United ArchivesĮrika, on the other hand, only makes it as far as becoming a piano teacher - and otherwise set to be at her mother's side for life. But she never really freed herself from her mother until the latter's death. Unlike her fictional character, Jelinek escaped the expectations of her mother and began writing early on. If her mother had had her way, she would have started a career as a pianist. In fact, Elfriede Jelinek - like Erika, the piano teacher of the novel – learned to play the piano at conservatory. Mother warns Erika about the envious horde that always tries to destroy other people's achievements - a horde made up almost entirely of men.' And to make sure the child finds her way through every entanglement, Mother sets up guideposts along the way, smacking Erika if she refuses to practice. 'A world-famous pianist - that is Mother's ideal. After its debut in 1983, many reviewers saw biographical parallels between the author and her protagonist. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoĮlfriede Jelinek's The Piano Teacher is the disturbing story of a not-so-young woman who is being terrorized by her domineering mother behind a bourgeois facade.

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