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The Theme of Salvation in the Novels of Hermann Broch
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2020
Abstract
Hermann Broch's lofty conception of the artist as seer and prophet led him to sketch out new paths for the future, absolute values for a “new society.” Thus, the theme of salvation plays a key role in his works, from the first novel in 1932 to the last completed in 1950. Broch's conception of salvation connotes not only the saving of man from the spiritual consequences of sin, but also from existential anguish. Broch presents a number of solutions, often embodied in archetypal savior figures, for the plight of modern society; they range from vast mystical visions (in Der Tod des Vergil) to utopian plans in the empirical realm. A central theme in Broch's novels is that salvation can be achieved through attainment of ultimate knowledge which emerges from Dionysiac depths but which must be structured by reason. In the ethical aspect of Broch's treatment of the salvation theme, one can discern a possible trend in the later works toward a strict form of moral activism and humanitarianism.
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- Research Article
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- Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1970
References
1 See George Schoolfield, “Notes on Broch's Der Versucher,” Monatshefte, XLVIII (Jan. 1956), 1–16; Manfred Durzak, “Epilog des Wertzerfalls: zur Originalfassung einer Tragodie und zu einer unbekannten Komôdie von Hermann Broch,” GR, XLI (May 1966), 218–242; Eric W. Herd, “The Guilt of the Hero in the Novels of Hermann Broch,” GL&L, xviii (1964), 30–39; Theodore Ziolkowski, “Zur Entstehung und Struktur von Hermann Brochs ‘Schlafwandlern’,” DVLG, xxxviii (1964), 40–69.
2 The standard edition of Broch's novels, published by the Rhein-Verlag in Zurich between 1952 and 1961, has been used for this paper. The novels are: Die Schlafwandler: eine Romantrilogie; Der Tod des Vergil; Der Versucher; Die Schuldlosen; Die unbekannte GrbBe.
3 See Die Schuldlosen, pp. 41–50.
4 “Die Todesmystik Hermann Brochs im Tod des Vergil,” unpubl. diss. (Univ. of Miinchen, 1961), p. 120.
5 The author himself emphasized the fact that Der Tod des Vergil was a personal preparation for death. See Manfred Durzak, Hermann Broch (Hamburg, 1966), pp. 133–134.
6 The theme of the redeemer in Broch's fiction has been commented upon by a number of scholars, among them Karl Mandelkow, Hermann Brocks Romantrilogie (Heidelberg, 1962), p. 369; George Schoolfield, “Broch'sSleepwalkers: Aeneas and the Apostles,” James Joyce Review, ii (1958), 21–38; Hermann J. Weigand, “Broch's Death of Vergil: Program Notes,” PMLA, LXII (June 1947), 525–551 ; John J. White, “Broch, Virgil and the Cycle of History,” GR, XLIX (March 1966), 103–110; Cornelius van Zwoll, “Motifs and Themes in Hermann Broch's Die Sclilafwandler,” unpubl. diss. (Michigan State, 1965). However, these studies do not attempt to elucidate the significance of the various redeemer figures in the full context of Broch's theory of salvation and in the framework of all his novels. This is one goal of the present article, as well as to indicate the role of the redeemer in possible changes in Broch's attitude toward salvation.
7 The theme of a future Wertsystem based on the “neue Frommigkeit” runs through all of Broch's novels. See, e.g., Die Schlafwandler, p. 324; Der Tod des Vergil, pp. 203, 290, 413; Der Versucher, p. 230; Unbekannte GroBe, p. 95.
8 A reference, of course, to Mozart's Don Giovanni in which the young libertine is snatched off to hell by the statue of the deceased, avenging father.
9 Ziolkowski's term. See Hermann Broch (New York, 1964), p. 23.
10 See Der Toi des Vergil, pp. 47–48, 62, 162, 289.
11 See also Der Tod des Vergil, pp. 76–77, 85, 105; Unbekannte GroKe, pp. 96, 132; Die Schuldlosen, pp. 97, 162.