Vol. 10 (2021)
Condizioni di Possibilità

(Auto)ritratti di dèi decaduti: “Die Götter im Exil” di Heinrich Heine

Arianna Amatruda
Università di Firenze
Bio

Published 2021-12-09

Keywords

  • Exile,
  • Gods,
  • Mythology,
  • Fall,
  • Disease,
  • Self-Portrait
  • ...More
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Abstract

This essay aims to enlighten the motive of exile in Heinrich Heine’s Die Götter im Exil from both a historical-political and a psychological perspective. Heine’s essay offers an uncanny, yet satirical, scenario in which the author identifies with figures of fallen Greek-Roman gods, thus outlining a sort of polytheistic self-portrait. After considering the fall of his political ideals and the onset of his disease, each exiled god is analysed as a symbol of Heine’s inner laceration, whereas their exile eventually represents a performative act of leaving or dying. 

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