Abstract
This dissertation explores the intersections of emotion and Protestant theology in late-16th-century German literature. The project demonstrates the availability of even secular texts to confessional readings through the analysis of representations of emotions. Post-Reformation texts practice an emotional exemplarity that highlights the effects - including the spiritual effects - which emotional experiences have on the individual. I argue that narrative representations of emotions at this moment reflect anxieties about the nebulous nature of faith, and its central role in Protestant salvation. Close readings of widely-read texts such as the 1587 Faustbuch, Melusine, and Hans Sach's Judith: ein Comedi, among others support this claim.
Committee Chair
Gerhild S Williams
Committee Members
Lynne Tatlock, Matt Erlin, Christine Johnson, Abram Van Engen
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Author's Department
Germanic Languages and Literatures
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
Winter 12-15-2014
Language
English (en)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7936/K7QV3JP3
Recommended Citation
Leeper, Georgia Anna, "Feeling Doctrine: Religious Meanings of Emotion in Sixteenth-Century German Literature" (2014). Arts & Sciences Theses and Dissertations. 365.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.7936/K7QV3JP3
Comments
Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/K7QV3JP3