Although he enjoyed success as a writer and public figure, Stefan Zweig's life was marked by a series of depressions and finally suicide. He demonstrated a considerable energy in his work but was constantly plagued with indecision and an inability to commit himself; this was most sriking in his relationships with women and in regard to his stand on the tumultuous political crises of his time.

Despite lofty ego ideals he seemed to lack the force to fulfil them. In adolescence and in early adult life he began to seek out heroes whose qualities he could emulate, particularly their 'moral courage'. Freud and Romain Rolland soon became the two central figures on whom Zweig depended throughout several decades. With Freud's death in 1939, and Rolland's sequestration in occupied France the two critical, external sources of his support disappeared, and Zweig no longer felt able to continue the struggle to live.