Functions of Art and the Role of the Artist in Ivan Cankar and Thomas Mann Works

Abstract

The article focuses on the comparison between the German writer Thomas Mann and the Slovenian writer Ivan Cankar, a topic that has not yet been treated in Slovenian comparative literature. Since the early works of both authors belong to the same time, i.e. the fin de siecle period, there are probably a number of similarities which the article cannot, of course, fully treat. It therefore focuses on the question of the function of art and the role of the artist in society at the turn of the century. The analysis shows that the differences between the two are rooted in the different cultural and social contexts in which the authors worked, and are related to the function of art in each society at the time. However, the similarities emerge more at the level of the texts themselves, which thematise in a very similar way the function of art and the role of the artist. In particular, this is about going beyond the aesthetic conception of literature and seeking a socially effective legitimation and positioning of the writer in modern society.

Keywords

• ivan cankar
• thomas mann
• function of art
• role of the artist
• modernist literature
• ethical dimension of literature