In Search of Meaning in Context: Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle

Abstract

Every culture is conquering of life, unification of all manifes­ tations of life (that is, of course, never unification of concepts) with such force that whatever part we approach from a totality of life, we have to see, deep down, same thing. In real culture, everything becomes symbolic, because everything is expression­ and everything is equally only expression-of only important thing: manner of reaction to life, manner with which to­ tal self of individual turns toward totality of (Lukacs 1977:424)2 These words come from one of those uniquely personal essays that Gyorgy Lukacs wrote during first decade of twentieth century, and that provided basis for his major book on aesthetics, Soul and Forms (1978). What does Lukacs want to say here? First and foremost, that there is an immediate connection between life and art; accordingly, in art the only important thing [is] ... manner with which total self of individual turns toward totality of life. But Lukacs goes further: he emphasizes fact that connection is between totality of life and totality of artwork. Art is symbolic, but not because its individual el­ ements have symbolic meaning with reference to an everyday reality. The symbolism of art lies in that it is, in its totality, an emotional/intellectual response to underlying question oflife. For Lukacs, there is essentially one way to respond with a total work to totality of life, though this allows for infinite artistic solutions. The key is in inward-turning direction of art, meaning that it exclusively represents struggles of soul. This does not mean psychological drama, but rather an emotionally dense, imaginary stage for artwork that in its symbolic connections is as complex and contradictory as reality. According to Lukacs, only such a narrowing of subject allows art to face drama of reality: