Hans Schließmann: „The Deutschmeister in love”, caricature, 1882

The caricature raises the topic of the language hierarchy of the Habsburg Empire on the basis of a conversation between a Deutschmeister (soldier of the Vienna City Regiment) and his beloved, a Czech servant called Marianka. Marianka does not understand the soldier’s dialect and suggests he should learn her language. He replies that she is such an pretty girl that he would be happy to learn Bohemian for her sake.