Tag: Doppelganger

“Ombra”, the chivalrous arabesque of the poet who anticipated the fantasy-quest and… Jung

Published on: Last updated on: Written by: Categorized into: Esotericism, Italian Literature, Characters, Guests Book

The short story "Shadow" by the poet Sarah Dana Loring, originally contained in the "Arabesques" published in 1872 under the name of her husband Richard S. Greenough, is emblematic of the author's foresight in anticipating certain literary strands such as Sword & Sorcery and even some conceptions of the philosophy of the deep Jungian. Now available in Italian thanks to Dagon Press.

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The human being as multiplicity: mask, "doppelgänger" and puppet

Published on: Last updated on: Written by: Categorized into: Esotericism, Philosophy, Italian Literature, Mito, Characters, Psychology

Since modern man has dramatically realized that the unity of the human being is an illusion some of the highest minds of his consortium have sought - in a uncanny game of masks, mirrors and dolls - to understand how to integrate one's infinite personalities and overcome the existential nihilism that such masks potentially offer: from ETA Hoffmann's “The Sandman” and EA Poe's “William Wilson” to Hermann Hesse's “The Steppe Wolf”; from the contemporary cinema of Roman Polanski and David Lynch to Thomas Ligotti's "marionette metaphysics" and HP Lovecraft's "cosmic horror".

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Reality, illusion, magic and witchcraft: the "uncanny" in ETA Hoffmann's "Nocturnes" (II)

Published on: Last updated on: Written by: Categorized into: Esotericism, Italian Literature, Characters, Guests Book

After the analysis of "The Sandman", the treatment of the second part of our essay on ETA Hoffmann focuses on other "Nocturnes" in which the previously anticipated 'disturbing' themes are treated, and also other more specifically 'demonic-witches' themes.

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