Eschatologisch-Soteriologische Aspekte in Cormac McCarthy’s Roman: „The Road/Die Straße“

Abstract to: Eschatological and Soteriological Aspects in Cormac McCarthy’s Novel „The Road“ - My deliberations emanate from the fact that McCarthy’s “The Road” was praised by the critics as the “book nearest approaching the Old Testament in the history of literature”. In the first instance, in this essay, consideration was given as to the philosophical-metaphysical foundations of this work of McCarthy’s as a whole. Moreover, connections with the Ontology of Martin Heidegger were established and, in particular, consideration with regard to his understanding of Humanity. These philosophical ways of thinking were, very briefly, applied to an early work of McCarthy’s, “Outer Dark”.In the main part of the deliberations I focus on the aspects and elements of the Judeo-Christian traditions which can be detected, in quantitatively large numbers, in McCarthy’s novel “The Road”. Nevertheless, these traditions found their way into world literature to which McCarthy refers directly or indirectly. A large part ofmy text analysis is devoted to the hidden parts of the eschatological-soteriological literature, as they appearagain in the novel “The Road”.Decisive, however, is that the loan which McCarthy takes in hand from the eschatological-soteriological characterised literary tradition, not only in a hyperbolical manner for his own literary purposes rather over and above the apocalypse of our time and the therefrom emerging redemption in the form of the Father-Son-Relationship, which is commemorated over and beyond death. McCarthy’s most important message exists not merely therein that the human race itself – deservedly – prepares its own end, rather the by far happier hopeful message that the book conveys, is the most important assertion of belief that St. Paul in the first Letter to the Corinthians undertakes: That the world, from pain, sorrow and ashes, may rise again in beauty and grace – presupposing we have not lost its supporting foundations: Belief, Hope and Love (1 Cor 13,13)