From roughly the 1880s to the 1930s, as Europe moved inexorably toward two world wars, several brilliant writers examined the gathering darkness. What did it mean, they asked, that the most advanced civilizations in history had led us to the brink of worldwide conflicts? What did these failures and tensions suggest about human nature? Like the tragedians of ancient Greece, these modern authors showed that facing the darkness can occasion insight, resilience, and transformation.
In this seminar, we will read five powerful short pieces from this period. Starting with Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilych (1886) and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899), we will move to Kafka’s Metamorphosis (1915), Hesse’s Siddhartha (1922) and Sartre’s No Exit (1944). In these works, ordinary characters navigate grief, fear, and confusion as they confront a frightening truth: What seemed to make life meaningful to them now fails to supply satisfactory answers to death and disaster. Their explorations still speak to our situation today.
These dense, challenging works reward attention to detail. For the sake of discussion, we will strongly suggest that participants get specific editions of these works, all of which are available inexpensively.
Morning seminars run from 9:30 am – 11:30 am.
