The "Grotesque" Theme of the HJero in the Cave, from 17th Century to the Present

FAIN: FA-10970-74

Kurt Weinberg
University of Rochester (Rochester, NY 14627-0001)

To critically examine the metaphor of "the hero in the cave" (the allegorical struggle between man's "lower"--animal and "higher"--intellectual nature) in the history of literature, focusing particularly on a period of three centuries. This study deals with an evolution in Western thought which had an impact on intellectual factors underlying the American Revolution, and beyond it, contemporary civilization.