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

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.