Opposition "Germanism / Humanism" in the Novel by V. Blasco Ibáñez The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Tale of L. N. Andreyev The Kaiser and the Prisoner

Abstract

This article studies the antithesis of ‘Germanism’ and humanism, considered as the principal problem in the comprehension of the posture of V. Blasco Ibáñez and L. Andreyev during the First World War. Both writers expose the barbarity of the ‘Prussian Civilisation’, which they counterbalance with the human values of ‘Old Europe’. The most significant examples of this comparison are represented by the novel The four horsemen of the Apocalypse by Blasco Ibáñez and the short story by Andreyev entitled ‘The Kaiser and the Prisoner’. In these works, the ideological basis of ‘Germanism’ is explored by both writers, while the confl ict between ‘Germanism’ and humanism is conveyed through the contrast between the two antagonists, one of whom embodies the evil of ‘Prussian Civilisation’, while the other symbolizes the march of Europe towards salvation.