"If I speak of Vienna it must be in the past tense, as a man speaks of a woman he has loved and who is dead"
About this Quote
As an actor who built a persona out of decadent, imperious “Old World” types, von Stroheim knew exactly how to weaponize longing. The simile - “as a man speaks of a woman he has loved and who is dead” - isn’t just melodrama; it’s an indictment of the way empires, cultures, and personal identities collapse and leave survivors clutching stories. Vienna, once shorthand for cosmopolitan elegance and imperial confidence, is recast as something intimate and irretrievable. You can remember it, even idealize it, but you cannot visit it without feeling like you’re trespassing in a mausoleum.
The subtext is biography and geopolitics at once. Born in Vienna in 1885, von Stroheim came of age under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, then watched that world implode through war, nationalism, and the cultural dislocations that followed. By the time he’s speaking, “Vienna” also carries the weight of exile and the knowledge that modernity doesn’t just renovate places; it erases them.
It works because it’s selfish and historical in the same breath: grief masquerading as romance, romance revealing a funeral.
Quote Details
| Topic | Heartbreak |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Stroheim, Erich von. (2026, January 18). If I speak of Vienna it must be in the past tense, as a man speaks of a woman he has loved and who is dead. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-i-speak-of-vienna-it-must-be-in-the-past-tense-4295/
Chicago Style
Stroheim, Erich von. "If I speak of Vienna it must be in the past tense, as a man speaks of a woman he has loved and who is dead." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-i-speak-of-vienna-it-must-be-in-the-past-tense-4295/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If I speak of Vienna it must be in the past tense, as a man speaks of a woman he has loved and who is dead." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-i-speak-of-vienna-it-must-be-in-the-past-tense-4295/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
