Religious motifs in rainer maria rilke’s the notebook of malte laurids brigge and the life of the virgin mary

The turn-of-the-century brought major changes in the field of technology and natural sciences, economy and industry. The development and growth of metropolitan cities was one of the important phenomenons of this time. Darwin and his theory acquired many admirers. Nietzsche's famous proclamation 'God is dead' (Neitzsche, Freidrich, Die fröhliche Wissenaschaft, Bd. 3, München: Schmitz, 1954, P. 481) and his theory of 'Superman' aroused an extreme excitement at the turn-of-the-century. In the alternating mood of euphoria and apocalypse. Nietzsche declares the end of traditional religion and the belief in God. Religion is displaced from its supreme position and a whole new set of ideas and values emerge in Europe. They lead to a shift in the attitudes towards faith and religiosity. However, religion does not disappear from everyday life or from the art. Poets like Rainer Maria Rilke, Hermann Hesse, Robert Frost, Khalil Gibran, Stefan Georg and thinkers like Rudolf Otto, Emile Durkheim engage with religious themes and motifs. According to the German theologian Friedrich Wilhelm Graf, religion is a central theme of cultural-political discourses and academic debates at the turn-of-the century.