Puzzles of the Body

This concise study analyzes the motif of the labyrinth in Kafka's Prozeß, Hesse's Steppenwolf, and Mann's Zauberberg as a signifier of the cultural crisis of the early 20th century. Josef K., Harry Haller, and Hans Castorp seek the meaning of life in confusing, labyrinthine worlds. Dr. Kenosian links the thematic configurations relating to the figures' process of self-realization to the thinking of Nietzsche and Heidegger who, either explicitly or implicitly, rethink the significance of corporeality for philosophy.