Szerb Antal és D.M. Thomas Freudot olvas: A „modern esemény” mint kulturális töréspont

The study examines the differing poetic representations of Freud’s concept of the death instincts and life instincts (Beyond the Pleasure Principle) in Antal Szerb’s Utas és holdvilág and D. M. Thomas’s The White Hotel. Both novels are based on an interpretative appropriation of Freud’s writings; however, while Szerb’s work employs a more demonstrative and illustrative approach, the British novel adopts a markedly critical perspective on psychoanalytic theory. The final chapter of The White Hotel challenges the validity of the Freudian narrative by portraying genocide within the novel’s world not merely as a (temporal) consequence but also as a cause and origin, thereby invalidating the modern ideal of Bildung. The differing depictions of Freud in these novels, published in 1937 and respectively in 1981, allow for a comparative analysis of two distinct eras’ self-conceptions and views on culture.

Keywords: Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Holocaust, Bildung, Freud