Article

Name: Faust and Hamlet as the archetypal heroes of German culture: methodol-ogy of philosophical anthropology and the study of the problem of national mentali-ty

Authors: M. S. Kuvshinova

Russian State University for Humanities

Abstract: The article is devoted to the comparative analysis of two key figures of German culture, Faust and Hamlet. The author considers the reasons of these characters' presence in the German mentality, process of their evolution through centuries, various interpretation features of their perception. On the ground of discussion about "the chosen one" motive of these two heroes the author appeals to another key figure in the German cultural tradition – Mephisto. This evil genius personifies all dark and both elevated features of German national character. The article analizes such original cultural motives as "the chosen one" motive, alter-idem motive, collision of dealing with devil, protestant ideas and their influence on the formation of German national identity. Protestant ethics determined peculiarities of heroic character and developed in the images of Faust and Mephisto, both originally German figures, and Hamlet who became a personification of the national chosen one by the influence of German interpretations.

Keywords: Interpretation, mentality, hermeneutics, theatre studies, trickster, Protestant ethics, cultural dualism

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