On the Marble Cliffs
OCLC 255948132 | | |
Preceded by | Afrikanische Spiele , (African games) | |
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Followed by | Heliopolis |
On the Marble Cliffs (
Synopsis
The peaceful and traditional people, located on the shores of a large bay, are surrounded by the rough pastoral folk in the surrounding hills, who feel increasing pressure from the unscrupulous and lowly followers of the dreaded head forester.[1] The narrator and protagonist lives on the marble cliffs as a botanist with his brother Otho, his son Erio from a past relationship and Erio's grandmother Lampusa. The idyllic life is threatened by the erosion of values and traditions, losing its inner power. The head forester uses this opportunity to establish a new order based on dictatorial rule, large numbers of mindless followers and the use of violence, torture and murder.[3]
The tale may readily be understood as a parable on
Its sharp disapproval of violent masses, as well as its prediction or description of
The work is typical for Jünger's Aestheticism that responds to destruction with placidity. It displays the determination to conserve values even in the face of annihilation, perhaps all the more so because the victory of the mindless masses follows brutalization as a virtual force of nature.
Notes
- ^ JSTOR 40088083.
- JSTOR 40097963.
- JSTOR 10.3138/9781442677838.40.
External links
- Jünger, Ernst (1947). On the Marble Cliffs. Translated by Hood, Stuart. New Directions. English Language copy of the book.