Kafka’s shattering of the aesthetic distance

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Kafkino slamanje estetske udaljenosti
• Author: Ante Andabak
• Mentor: Dean Duda (mentor)
• Committee member: Željka Matijašević (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Tomislav Brlek (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of Comparative literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2023-03-28, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Comparative Literature

Abstract

In this graduation paper, we are going to analyse the insightful remark Theodor W. Adorno made on more than one occasion about how Franz Kafka in his novels and short stories commands interpretation through the collapse of the aesthetic distance. Against the anti-parabolist approach which is staunchly opposed to any interpretative efforts, we are going to argue for the inevitability of, and indeed the need for, the detailed readings of Kafka’s work, sketching meanwhile an ethics of interpretation which steers clear from a hermeneutical tyranny of searching for and claiming to find the “one true meaning” of a literary text. In dealing with aesthetic distance, and at least two distinct though interrelated meanings it has in Adorno’s usage, we are going to attempt to explain why Kafka’s destruction of aesthetic distance is a key to his literary powers and popularity both with the general audience and among the scholars. We will also show why despite many similarities Kafka’s oeuvre doesn’t belong to metaphysical detective fiction. A narratological analysis of Kafka’s method for abolishing the aesthetic distance will also be provided.

Abstract (croatian)

U ovom diplomskom radu analizirat ćemo pronicljivo opažanje Theodora W. Adorna koje je više puta izrekao o tome kako Franz Kafka u svojim romanima i kratkim pričama nagoni na interpretiranje zahvaljujući uništavanju estetske udaljenosti. Nasuprot antiparabolističkom pristupu koji se oštro protivi ikakvom pokušaju tumačenja, mi ćemo se zalagati za neminovnost kao i za potrebu za detaljnim čitanjem Kafkinih djela, skicirajući usporedno s time etiku interpretacije koja se kloni hermenutske tiranije koja traži i tvrdi da nalazi “jedan pravi smisao” književnog teksta. Baveći se etetskom udaljenosti, i barem dva različita ali međusobno povezana značenja u kojim ih Adorno koristi, pokušat ćemo objasniti zašto je Kafkino uništavanje estetske udaljenosti ključ za njegovu književnu moć i popularnost koju ima kod šire publike, kao i kod eksperata. Pokazat ćemo zašto usprkos mnogim sličnostima Kafkin opus ne spada među metafizičku detektivsku fikciju. Također ćemo priložiti naratološku analizu Kafkine metode ukidanja estetske udaljenosti.

• Keywords: Kafka; Adorno; aesthetic distance; interpretation
• Keywords (croatian): Kafka; Adorno; estetska udaljenost; interpretacija
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:710718
• Study programme: Title: Comparative Literature (double major); Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra komparativne književnosti (magistar/magistra komparativne književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2023-03-29 11:47:08