Artikel
Yourcenar and Merezhkovsky : critical history and patriarchy
Verfasst von:
Christensen, Peter G.
in:
Oxford:
1990
,
273 - 285 S.
Weitere Informationen
| Einrichtung: | Ariadne | Wien |
|---|---|
| Verfasst von: | Christensen, Peter G. |
| In: | |
| Jahr: | 1990 |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Beschreibung: | |
| In "With open eyes" Marguerite Yourcenar acknowledged that from the time she was eleven she was familiar with the historical novels of Dmitri Merezhkovsky. It is not surprising to think that between 1921 and 1925 when she formulated the earliest drafts of the novel which was to become "The abys", she had in mind Merezhokovsky's thought, and, using the terms of Nietzsche's essay "On the advantage and disadvantage of history for life", we can analyze both historical novels as critical histories with respect to attitued they take towards patriarchy during the Renaissance. Merezhkovsky uses Leonardo's deistic outlook and his androgyny as much as Yourcenar uses Zeno's atheism and his homosexuality to challenge patriarchy. However, the religious and sexual challenges of Leonardo and Zeno are put in Jeopardy by their apparent indifference to morality, for their pursuit of knowledge is sometimes so abstract that they are willing both to serve tyrants and to avoid thinking about the consequences of their inventions. Ultimately, Leonardo seems to have a greater chance of leaving a legacy of social critique since he never breaks away from society as much as Zeno. | |
| Anmerkung: | |
| Literaturangaben | |
| Gesamten Bestand von Ariadne anzeigen | |
| Datensatz im Katalog der Einrichtung anzeigen | |