Das Abbild der Gedanken von Friedrich Nietzsche in Kubins Roman „Die andere Seite“
Reflection of ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche in A. Kubin’ Book „Die andere Seite“

Summary/Abstract: In this study I attempted to draw certain parallels between the texts of Friedrich Nietzsche and Alfred Kubin. Both authors were interested in other dimensions of human existence as well as devoting attention to anything that leads to an examination of the divine and all things related to it. Boths authors’ works can be read as dark variations on the themes of weaker/stronger, controlling/controlled, passive/active, real/unreal, and good/bad. In these polarities there is the motif of the eternal principle hidden that is impossible to escape; and of course there is that other theorem of Nietzsche’s of “the return of the selfsame” which keeps repeating itself and therefore appears as fatal. The premise of this work is the perception and cognition of the world (reality as illusion, dreams that take the form of reality experienced by us, their mutual reflection, etc.), while the second part is focused on the field of art, beauty, religion and their influence on human life. I already pointed out a few joint crucial ideas at the very beginning of this study when describing the town of Perla (alternatives between life and death, reality and dream, day and night) and its inhabitants (extraordinarily sensitive individuals). I tried to analyse the inability of an individual to perceive wholly anything new or absolutely different despite their age-old quest to be conscious of everything he is doing. Related to this are difficulties that communication carries: the symbolic nature of language enables us to portray precisely only the surface and not the depth of experienced reality, feelings or abstract perceptions. Moreover I turned my attention to the problem of human antiquarian attitudes towards history and art, to which is closely related the theme of the artificial nature of art presentation. The religious sphere represents a separate unit of thought (strictures on Christian dogma, cristicism thereof) and the problem of Apollonian and Dionysian elements referring to the vertigo of the ancient world. Kubin’s book would often be deprecated by some readers as an emanation of a pathological or “hopped-up” mind. Primarily the pictures of sexual orgies, the themes of lecherousness, debauchery and the passions were considered provocative. These elements are surely present yet always make one aware of the fact that even the senses can become a part of the mystic path while seeking transcendence. I consider staggering the description of the other space-time in particular where everything becomes an intersection with itself. My intention was to demonstrate that both authors undergo a certain kind of mystic pilgrimage that dones through seeking, the mysterious interaction between a subject and an object, confusion of the world (thus the “gap” between the original mental state and existence) and final enlightment.

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