The Fantastic problem of individuation as depicted in Gustav Meyrink's Der Golem and Walpurgisnacht
Date
1995
Authors
Zimmermann, Iris Petra
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Abstract
This thesis focusses on two novels by Gustav Meyrink, Der Golem and Walpurgisnacht which employ fantastic motifs to depict the two main themes that characterize Meyrink's work, the individual's search for the "self" and the possession of an individual by other-worldly forces. The aim of this thesis is an analysis of what constitutes fantastic literature and themes in relation to these two novels. An emphasis is placed on Jung's theory of the archetypes of the collective unconscious and the process of individuation, because both he and Meyrink consider arcane symbols as depictions of the psyche. After a detailed analysis of Der Golem it is concluded that the text constitutes what Tzvetan Todorov defines as a fantastic-marvellous text. Walpurgisnacht, however, depicts supernatural events as metaphors for "reality," which detract from the fantastic nature of that novel.