3. Rudolf and Women (continued)

Rudolf's condition continued to deteriorate. In the spring ot 1887 he was hit with an eye infection that flared up repeatedly, as well as a stubborn case of brochitis. It became clear that he was facing a future of increasing pain and debility.

When Stephanie returned to Vienna from a trip she found that Rudolf's personality and behaviour had drastically changed:

"Not only was his health undermined, but his restlessness had also increased. His passion for hunting had grown to an unnatural extent, and he was spending his evenings in circles where I could not follow.... [Rudolf] would sometimes not return home until the early hours of the morning, and in an undesirable condition. Under these circumstances no real living together was possible any longer...." (Judtmann 21).

By the summer of 1888 Rudolf was openly talking to his friend Mizzi Caspar about suicide. He told her that "his honour demanded that he shoot himself." (Judtmann 48)

Of all the women who passed through Rudolf's life, Mizzi Caspar was the one who meant the most to him. They had a sexual relationship (of course) but she was also his closest confidant and perhaps his only real friend. Crown Princess Stephanie acidly referred to her as the "Grande Cocotte of Vienna" (Judtmann 26).