Book contents
- Norman Mailer in Context
- Norman Mailer in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- A Note on References and Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Literary Influences
- Part II Form and Genre
- Part III Political Contexts
- Part IV Philosophical and Cultural Contexts
- Chapter 16 Totalitarianism
- Chapter 17 The Hipster
- Chapter 18 Existentialism and Manichaeism
- Chapter 19 Technology
- Chapter 20 Violence
- Chapter 21 Race
- Chapter 22 Judaism
- Part V Gender and Sexuality
- Part VI Profiles and Literary Biographies
- Part VII Mailer’s Legacy
- Primary Bibliography
- Selected Secondary Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 18 - Existentialism and Manichaeism
from Part IV - Philosophical and Cultural Contexts
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2021
- Norman Mailer in Context
- Norman Mailer in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- A Note on References and Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Literary Influences
- Part II Form and Genre
- Part III Political Contexts
- Part IV Philosophical and Cultural Contexts
- Chapter 16 Totalitarianism
- Chapter 17 The Hipster
- Chapter 18 Existentialism and Manichaeism
- Chapter 19 Technology
- Chapter 20 Violence
- Chapter 21 Race
- Chapter 22 Judaism
- Part V Gender and Sexuality
- Part VI Profiles and Literary Biographies
- Part VII Mailer’s Legacy
- Primary Bibliography
- Selected Secondary Bibliography
- Index
Summary
While Manichaeism and Existentialism would seem to be two very different topics, they are intricately connected in Mailer’s work. Though as a young man Mailer maintained atheistic beliefs, his ideas shifted in the mid-1950s, and his evolving theory of existentialism became intricately tied to his developing spiritual ideology, which by the 1960s was shaping most of his writing. While he borrowed ideas from famed existential theorists like Kierkegaard and Sartre, Mailer formulated his own unique brand of existentialism, one that included the possibility of a God. The crux of existentialism in Mailer’s mind, as this chapter explains, was the ability to face down the unknown with courage, which in turn meant confronting the Manichaean idea that an imperfect God was constantly at war with the Devil.
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- Norman Mailer in Context , pp. 202 - 211Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021