Del lado encantado de la modernidad: mesianismo y ocultismo en las novelas expresionistas de Gustav Meyrink

Abstract

This article analyses the work of the Austrian novelist Gustav Meyrink (1868-1932), who, between the years 1913 and 1927, published five fantastic novels in which several elements of late Twentieth Century Occultism prevail, in contrast to the historical context in which they were written, compelled by positivist scientism. From these esoteric and expressionist texts, we can build insight into a reading of modernity influenced by theosophy and eastern religions, as well as other spiritual currents, which show the multiple complexities of modernity.