Western Modernist Literature and the Bible

Author: Sun Caixia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: The Bible is a fundamental text in Western literature and continues to exert influence in modernist literature. However, 20th-century Christianity has shifted from a religious model to a cultural one, moving from simple faith to guiding people to focus on the essence of life. As a result, the influence of the Bible in Western modernist literature has become more subtle and latent compared to earlier literature. Many modernist writers reflect, in a roundabout way, the fear of existence and self-doubt of modern people by borrowing biblical archetypes and reconstructing Christian doctrines. The root cause of such experiences is the marginalization of religious spirit in the modern world. It can be said that the borrowing of the Bible in modernist literature has moved beyond simple retellings of biblical stories and schematic illustrations of Christian doctrines, reaching a deeper level with more modern and cultural connotations. This book selects 21 works by 7 writers—Kafka, Eliot, Yeats, and others—that have a genuine spiritual connection with the Bible for theological interpretation. It analyzes the theological ideas embedded in these works, such as the biblical worldview, human nature theory, eschatology, Christian doctrines like original sin, salvation, the search for the father, and resurrection, as well as biblical archetypes like the Antichrist, the prophet, and Moses. Through this, it explores the spiritual essence of modernist literature. This book is a monograph on this topic in China, with original significance in many aspects.