In the Footsteps of Kierkegaard : Modern Ethical Literature by Józef Wittlin and Paer Lagerkvist

The book is a comparative study of the works of Józef Wittlin and Pär Lagerkvist, in their youth recognized as prominent expressionist writers, and in their later years making the ethical topic the core of their works. In search for ways of expressing ethical dilemmas, the works of Søren Kierkegaard and his concept of indirect communication turned out to be an extraordinarily powerful tool for both writers, enabling them to explore the matters of ethics and morals in a way substantially different from traditional didactic literature. In the reading of Wittlin's and Lagerkvist's works undertaken in this book, the perspectives of comparative studies and the history of literature complement and make it possible to describe an important, but rarely recognized phenomenon of modern European literature: its ethical variant. Cover Dedication Table of Contents Introduction 1. Contemporary comparative studies and the comparative studies of Swedish and Polish literature 2. Józef Wittlin and Pär Lagerkvist, or the question of the ethical horizon of modernist literature 3. Ethical criticism: Notes on the method Chapter OneModern ethical literature: Genealogy and definition 1. Moral obligations of literature and changes in ethics in modernity 2. The shadow of modernisation 3. Søren Kierkegaard’s ethics of communication and the model of ethical literature by Józef Wittlin and Pär Lagerkvist Kierkegaard’s reception in Swedish and Polish literature until the Second World War33 Kierkegaard’s ethics of communication / literary communication Interpretative context: Kierkegaard and/or Nietzsche Chapter TwoEthical tasks of literature according to Lagerkvist and Wittlin 1. “I’m essentially a moralist,”2 or choosing the “non-cultural:”3 On Pär Lagerkvist4 The ambivalent meaning of bad art On the trail of a “third kind” of art Literature and art, and the question of “ethical art” Expressionism, modernity and ethical literature (a digression of a historical-literary nature) Falsification or enchantment?66 2. “I am primarily concerned with the moral side of human existence,”81 or “let’s archaise consciously:”82 On Józef Wittlin The truth and truths: The problem of language Literature facing evil – and facing good: “It is no skill to criticise the earth from the height of heaven”107 Facing the Holocaust The ethical and the aesthetic: Existential understanding of a work of art 3. Summary Chapter ThreeThe capabilities of poetry: On Ångest [Anxiety] and Hymny [Hymns] 1. On Lagerkvist Anxiety and fear Doubt in words 2. On Wittlin In the face of nothingness: Nihilism and fear Towards the reader’s ethical independence 3. Summary Chapter FourThe capabilities of prose: On Sól ziemi [The Salt of the Earth] and Dvärgen [The Dwarf] 1. Sól ziemi [The Salt of the Earth] by Józef Wittlin Pacifism as ethical literature? Modern and timeless evil Types and functions of irony The irony of a simpleton: Modifications The irony of the sender: Analogies and paradoxes Irony as an attitude Summary 2. Dvärgen [The Dwarf] by Pär Lagerkvist Three evils: Eternal, renaissance and modern Facing nihilism The chances of the first-person narrative Perspectivism Summary Chapter FiveExiles, visitors and pilgrims: Around apocryphal works 1. On Wittlin: Saint Francis of Assisi, or on imitation “Avoid the word God”40 2. On Lagerkvist: God’s witnesses Barabbas “Why do I sit here on the shore?” 3. Summary Conclusions Bibliography 1. Works by Józef Wittlin a) Literary works and essays b) Journal and monograph papers c) Letters d) Archival materials 2. Works by Pär Lagerkvist a) Literary works, essays, memoirs b) Journal papers c) Letters d) Archival materials 3. Works on Józef Wittlin 4. Works on Pär Lagerkvist 5. Works by Søren Kierkegaard 6. Works on Søren Kierkegaard 7. Theory and history of literature, comparative literature 8. Philosophy, cultural history, art history A study of works by Jozef Wittlin and Par Lagerkist. It brings a definition and description of modern ethical literature, drawing on the achievements of literary modernism and focussing on the problems of ethics. The book points to the role of Soren Kierkegaard. A study of works by Józef Wittlin and Pär Lagerkist. It brings a definition and description of modern ethical literature, drawing on the achievements of literary modernism and focussing on the problems of ethics. The book points to the role of Søren Kierkegaard.