The Abandoned Victim
Cosmology and History in Christoph Ransmayr and Anselm Kiefer
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9852223 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Fatima Naqvi (0009-0000-0639-5021, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 219-235 |
| Publication date | 2004-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | German Life and Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0016-8777 • E-ISSN: 1468-0483 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.0016-8777.2004.0281.x |
| OpenAlex | W2130268742 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 1 |
This article discusses the role of victimhood in Christoph Ransmayr's apocalyptic œuvre . It draws on Ransmayr's essay on Anselm Kiefer, ‘Der Ungeborene’ (2001), and on a seminal early text, Strahlender Untergang (1982), to do so. Strahlender Untergang , in particular, considers man's double status as victimiser of his surroundings and as victim of a malevolent universe. The dialectic which man's instrumental rationality engenders is ultimately sublated in a victim myth of cosmic proportions: mankind cannot counter the entropic, destructive forces already at work in the universe. As death becomes the ultimate signifier of man's individuality and the only moment which bestows meaning on life, all historicity is erased. The text exculpates humanity from guilt for its destructive ways and envisions redemption through mystical wholeness
Aesthetics · Astronomy · Dialectic · Epistemology · Historicity (philosophy · Humanity · Meaning (existential · Mysticism · Mythology · Physics · Theology · Universe · Law · Literature and Cultural Memory · Philosophy · Psychoanalysis and Social Critique · Violence, Religion, and Philosophy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |