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Evil, Secularism and Religion in Hermann Hesse's Demian (1919)

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Evil, Secularism and Religion in Hermann Hesse's Demian (1919) People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Larbi Ben M’Hidi University, Oum El Bouaghi Faculty of Letters and Foreign Languages __________ Department of English Evil, Secularism and Religion in Hermann Hesse’s Demian (1919) and in Selected Poems by Wallace Stevens A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in Anglo-American Studies By: HALEM Asma Supervised by: Dr. BOUGHERARA Khemissi Examined by: ACHIRI Samya 2017/2018 I Dedication I dedicate this work to my beloved parents for their unconditioned love, support and forgiveness. I also dedicate this work to Badr Eddine. It is also dedicated to my sister Amel, to my beloved Grandmother Aicha and my supportive aunts, Meriem, Khadidja and Hadjer, as well as my uncles Salim, Bachir, Lakhdar and Messaoud, without forgetting my dear Naima. II Acknowledgment First, praise be to Almighty Allah, the most merciful, without whom this work would have never been completed. Then, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Khemissi Bougherara for his patience and guidance. I would also like to thank all those supported me thorough this dissertation especially Badri and Asma Chaar. III Abstract Modern literature is usually viewed as secular. This view is based on assumptions proposed by a waning secularization thesis which argues that advancement in modernity will lead to the displacement of religion. Against this scholarship, there has recently been a resurgence of interest in religion and secularism among literary critics. The post-secular literary studies enabled reengagement with religion in works that were perceived to be secular. For twentieth century modernists, religious frameworks continue to be attractive. They have ambivalent attitudes to both religion and secularism which permits a secular reading of their works. By focusing on the secular and religious dichotomy, post-secular studies run the risk of maintaining the boundaries it set to deconstruct. This research proposes the introduction of a third element. The focus of this research is the concept of Evil in its relationship to both secularism and religion. This research, through literature review, critical analysis, as well as symbolic and hermeneutical reading, aims to engage the notion of secularism, religion and evil in the novel of Demian (1919) by Hermann Hesse, and the poems of Wallace Stevens namely “Sunday Morning” and Esthétique du Mal.” This research concludes that Evil plays as both an agent and a challenge to secularism. Keywords: Religion, Secularism, Evil, Hermann Hesse, Demian, Wallace Stevens, “Esthétique du Mal,” “Sunday Morning.” IV Résumé La littérature moderne est généralement considérée comme laïque. Ce point de vue est basé sur les hypothèses proposées par une thèse de laïcisation en déclin qui soutient que le progrès de la modernité conduira au déplacement de la religion. Contre cette thèse, il y a eu récemment un regain d'intérêt pour la religion et la laïcité parmi les critiques littéraires. Les études littéraires post-laïques ont permis de réengagement avec la religion dans les œuvres perçues comme laïques. Pour les modernistes du vingtième siècle, les cadres religieux continuent d'être attirants. Ils ont des attitudes ambivalentes à la fois à la religion et à la laïcité, ce qui permet une lecture post- laïques de leurs œuvres. En se focalisant sur la dichotomie laïque et religieuse, les études post-laïques risquent de maintenir les frontières qu'elle fixées pour se déconstruire. Cette recherche propose l'introduction d'un troisième élément. L'objet de cette recherche est le concept du Mal dans sa relation avec la laïcité et la religion. Cette recherche, à travers la revue littéraire, l'analyse critique, ainsi que la lecture symbolique et herméneutique, vise à engager de manière critique la notion de laïcité, religion et le mal dans le roman de Demian (1919) par Hermann Hesse, et les poèmes de Wallace Stevens à savoir « Sunday Morning » et « Esthétique du Mal. » Cette recherche conclut que le Mal joue à la fois un rôle d'agent et de défi à la laïcité. Mots-clés: Religion, Laïcité, Mal, Hermann Hesse, Demian, Wallace Stevens, «Esthétique du Mal», «Dimanche matin». V مص اﻷ العصر ع م يظر ليه ع أنه أ عني. يرت ها الرأ ع اعء مر من خﻻ فرضي عني مئ ، تو الد في الحداث سي ل ن الدين. في مبل ه الفرضي ك ه مخرا انع اﻻه بلدين العني بين ال اﻷبيين. مت الداس اﻷبي م بعد العني من ع اﻻت بلدين في أع ك يُظر لي ع أن عني.بلس لﻷ العصر في الر العشرين، ﻻ تا اﻷر الديي جاب لديم مواقف مق ت الدين العني م يسح براء م بعد العني ﻷعلم. لن من خﻻ الركي ع الثئي العني الديي ، فإ ه الداس تعر لر الحف ع الحد الي تدف لفي. ير ها الحث خ عر ثلث في الداس. يعد أ الشر هو عمل تحد لعني. محو ها الحث هو مفو الشر في عﻻقه بل من العني الدين. يدف ها الحث ، من خﻻ مراجع اﻷبي ، الحيل الد ، بﻹضف ل الراء الرمي الأيي ل اﻻنرا الد في مفو العني الدين الشر في اي مي )1919( لتب هيرم هيس ، قئد اﻻ سيف هي " "Esthétique du Mal" "Sunday Morning". يين ها الحث ل أ الشر يعب كعمل تحد لعني في آ احد. الكلما المفتاحي: الدين ، العني ، الشر ، هيرم هيس ، مي ، اﻻ سيف ، "Esthétique du Mal"، "Sunday Morning". VI Table of Content: noidacideD ................................................................................................................................... I taeDegdoiwonoDi .................................................................................................................... II tariscat .................................................................................................................................... III Résumé ..................................................................................................................................... IV V .......................................................................................................................................... ﺺﺨﻠﻣ Table of Content ..................................................................................................................... IV List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. IVV General VDiseidaideD .................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter One: Evil and Secularisation ........................................................................................ 4 1. Secularism and Religion ........................................................................................... 4 2. Secularism and Literature .......................................................................................... 9 3. Post-secularism ........................................................................................................ 13 4. Evil ........................................................................................................................... 15 5. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 18 Chapter Two: Affirmation of Life in Demian ......................................................................... 19 1. A brief Biography of Hermann Hesse ..................................................................... 19 2. Demian (1919) ........................................................................................................ 20 3. Religious Symbolism .............................................................................................. 23 4. Evil in Demian (1919) ............................................................................................ 24 5. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 33 Chapter three: Wallace Stevens and the Limits of Secularism ................................................ 34 1. Post-Secularism in the Poetry of Stevens ................................................................ 34 2. “Esthétique du Mal” ................................................................................................. 38 3. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 45 General Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 47 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................. 49 VII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CP The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens D Demian OALD Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 1 General Introduction: Modernism is a movement that, for many critics, started in the late 19th century and continued until 1965 (Kimmelman 321). It is an artistic movement that celebrates the present and reflects the cultural changes brought by modernity and urbanization. It was characterised by extensive artistic experimentation and innovation especially in the period preceding the First World War. Modernism is also characterised by plurality because it encompasses many different artistic currents such as Futurism, Symbolism, Dadaism, Imagism, Existentialism and many others. This plurality makes modernism difficult to define. But, generally, Modernism is described as a break with the past. Indeed the long-held assumptions about language, culture, gender roles, religion, and reality were undermined by the new discoveries such as the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud, the philosophical nihilist theories of Frederich Neitzsche,
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