Description
The Twilight of the Bourgeois Gaze
Book Summary
This essay proposes a journey through the transformation of modern subjectivity through the works of some of the most representative authors of European literature and thought. From Goethe's humanist ideal to Beckett's desolation, the author analyzes how the construction of the individual, culture, and society suffered a profound and irreversible loss. An intellectual journey that reveals the exhaustion of a model of humanity that defined Modernity.
What is it about?
The book examines the process of constructing individual, social, and cultural subjectivity during the last phase of Modernity, taking as a starting point the figure of Goethe and his aspiration to reach human fullness. From there, the analysis focuses on the work of Hölderlin, Leopardi, Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, Musil, and Gide, authors who embody different tensions and crises of that ideal. The journey culminates in Kafka and Beckett, with whom that image of the human being and the project that sustained it reach their definitive exhaustion. Between the Goethean model and Beckett’s desolate landscape, a deep and vast loss has occurred that affects the unity of the experiences with which subjectivity is built.
Main themes
- The crisis of humanism and the ideal of education (Bildung) in late Modernity.
- The transformation of subjectivity from the complete individual to their fragmentation.
- The exhaustion of the "bourgeois gaze" as a cultural and aesthetic model.
- Comparative analysis of the work of Goethe, Hölderlin, Leopardi, Nietzsche, Thomas Mann, Musil, Gide, Kafka, and Beckett.
- The relationship between literature, social philosophy, and political philosophy in the construction of the modern subject.
Who is it recommended for?
It is aimed at readers interested in the history of ideas, literary criticism, and philosophy, especially those who seek to understand the evolution of European thought from classicism to the literature of the absurd. It will also be of great value to students and humanities professionals who wish to delve into the analysis of modern subjectivity through the work of canonical authors.
What this book offers
- A transversal and articulated reading of fundamental authors of European literature and thought.
- A critical perspective on the process of decomposition of the classic humanist ideal.
- Keys to understanding the relationship between literature and the construction of individual and social identity.
- A rigorous and accessible analysis of complex concepts regarding modernity and its crises.
Technical specifications
- Author: Muñoz Veiga, Jacobo
- Publisher: Editorial Biblioteca Nueva
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: Literature: history and criticism, History, Philosophy, Social and political philosophy
- Collection: Essays
- Binding: Paperback
- Edition date: May 2015
- Number of pages: 152
- Weight: 230 g
Editorial review
An essay of great intellectual density that offers a lucid and coherent synthesis of the twilight of a model of humanity. The selection of authors and the narrative thread that connects them allow the reader to trace a clear map of the transformations of modern subjectivity. Its interdisciplinary approach and rigorous style make it a reference work for those who wish to explore the literary and philosophical roots of the contemporary individual's crisis.