The introduction was written by Loris, a pseudonym of the young Hugo von Hofmannsthal, who was a friend of Schnitzler.

It is a seven-act play set in late 19th century Vienna, depicting the many shallow and immature relationships of bourgeois playboy Anatol.

The first act, Die Frage an das Schicksal ("The question to fate"), earned Schnitzler the title of Psychologischer Tiefenforscher ("psychological depth researcher") from Sigmund Freud.

Anatol takes up this suggestion enthusiastically, as it offers him the opportunity to finally dispel his doubts.

In the course of the conversation between the two it becomes apparent that Gabriele is a former lover of Anatol, who probably eventually left him and now has a husband and children of her own.

On learning that Anatol's "sweet girl" is a woman from the suburbs and thus belongs to a lower social class, her sympathy soon turns to ridicule.

The reason for this escape is his longing for solid values such as truth and pure love that he could not find in the "big world" with its noncommittal flirtation.

Anatol is unable to bond with the girl and the solid values of the "small world" he so longs for; he remains an enigmatic adventurer who is not interested in eventually settling down.

But Gabriele feels stimulated by Anatol's longing for the "small world" of his lover and becomes thoughtful, yearning for her own distant "enchanted garden".

Anatol brings Max a box with many small packages of letters and memorabilia, as he is about to go to the countryside, leaving everything behind in order to "organize" his life anew.

Each package contains a little poem, a flower, a lock of hair, or something else about the sender – as memorabilia – these are from Anatol's previous lovers.

This is a reminder of Bianca, a circus performer, with whom Anatol spent two romantic evening hours several years ago, which he remembers as intense hours of deepest insight into the nature of "love" – Anatol believes no one before or after loved him as much, while to him, aware of the fleeting nature of the evening, the "episode" already seemed a memory while he was experiencing it.

Max knew Bianca very well – better than his friend did because his interest in her was of a more rational nature – and argues that to her Anatol was just one of many lovers.

Thrilled by the idea of meeting the "muse" of his perfect reminiscence and to have his beliefs about Bianca's feelings confirmed, he hides before she enters.

Taking revenge for his friend, Max initially denies Bianca the familiar conversational tone of the old days, throws the package labeled "episode" into the fire and only slowly lets himself be drawn into a conversation about Bianca's recent adventures.

[3] Male pride is hurt many times in this play and influences Anatol's thinking and actions.

The responsibility for not using the power lies solely with him; he does not dare to ask the question, out of pride and because "imagination is a thousand times more important than the truth".

[5] Anatol has been adapted in English as the musical The Game of Love, based on the translation of the play by Tom Jones.

[6][7] It was also adapted into the successful American musical, The Gay Life, with songs by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz Media related to Anatol (play) at Wikimedia Commons