Arnošt Kraus on A.G. Meissner and Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling Cover Image

Arnošt Kraus on A.G. Meissner and Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling
Arnošt Kraus on A.G. Meissner and Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling

Author(s): Martin Humpál
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature
Published by: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Nakladatelství Karolinum
Keywords: Arnošt Kraus; August Gottlieb Meissner; Søren Kierkegaard; Frygt og Bæven; Fear and Trembling; German literature; Danish literature; Danish philosophy; crime story; crime fiction

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the question of a potential connection between August Gottlieb Meißner’s short story “Mord aus Schwärmerey” (Murder out of Zealotry), also known as “Die geopferten Kinder” (The Sacrificed Children), and Søren Kierkegaard’s work Frygt og Bæven (Fear and Trembling). In 1938 the Czech scholar of German and Scandinavian studies Arnošt Kraus put forward in the journal Danske studier the hypothesis that Kierkegaard might have been influenced by Meißner’s story. The present article explicates Kraus’s argumentation and assesses its possible validity.

  • Issue Year: 2019
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 83-88
  • Page Count: 6
  • Language: English