Open AccessDescent into Form. German Contemporary Literature and the Damaged Life
Author(s) -
Jan Behrs
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
zagreber germanistische beiträge
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1849-1766
pISSN - 1330-0946
DOI - 10.17234/zgb.29.9
Subject(s) - sentimentality , bourgeoisie , german , aesthetics , soul , sociology , core (optical fiber) , philosophy , art , art history , epistemology , linguistics , law , computer science , political science , telecommunications , politics
In Lukács’ early work, the concept of form is very concretely linked to modern man’s aesthetic experience of loss around 1900 and any attempt to update it hinges on the question whether Lukács’ method can be applied to the present at all. This article undertakes such an application of his method by relating two core concepts from "Soul and Form" – bourgeoisie and sentimentality – to three ›neighbourhood novels‹: R. Schamoni’s "Große Freiheit", H. Strunk’s "Der goldene Handschuh" and H. Fichte’s "Die Palette" all deal with extremely marginalized groups in society, and the question arises whether Lukács’ categories are helpful in describing the form chosen in each case.