The Ordeal of a Sixth-Century Josef K: Boethius’ De Consolatione Philosophiae as a Modernist Drama

Abstract

In recent scholarship, several views have been propounded on the argumentative inconsistencies in Boethius’ De consolatione Philosophiae and the inconclusiveness of its ending. In this article, it is argued that modern scholars still, perhaps unconsciously, adhere to aristotelian concepts of unity, coherence, and closure, which may not be helpful in assessing what Boethius is really trying to say. When analysed from a perspective usually associated with modernist literature, it becomes clear that Boethius’ swan song is neither a deconstruction of “pagan” philosophy nor an implicit plea for Christian spirituality but a an existential drama in which religion and philosophy do not provide any consolation.