The Dionysian and the Aesthetics of the Impossible: Contributions of the Young Nietzsche to the Modern Fantastic

Abstract

While the relevance of the writings of the young Nietzsche to studies of the supernatural in fiction might not be immediately obvious, this article argues that Nietzsche’s view on the Dionysian can enrich the analysis of the forms and structures of the modern literary fantastic. The philosophical concepts of limit as logos and of conflict with the hegemonic paradigm of literary realism are the cornerstones of my argument. These two aspects are examined in relation to a series of nineteenth-century French, English, and Spanish fantastic short stories. The final section illustrates how this theory of the Dionysian fantastic can be applied to Maupassant’s 1887 work “Le Horla,” one of the most influential texts in the history of modern fantastic literature.