Friedrich Dürrenmatt und die Mythen

Antike Figuren im Spiegel der Moderne

Abstract

Friedrich Dürrenmatt does not use ancient myths as historical narratives but as conceptual models to reflect on the conditions of modern human existence. Four central tendencies can be identified in his literary and artistic work.

First, he reverses roles and perspectives by placing marginalized or seemingly threatening figures such as the Minotaur or the Pythia at the center and by breaking familiar mythological structures. Second, he humanizes the figures: the Prometheus, Atlas, Sisyphus or Leonidas no longer appear as superhuman heroes but as vulnerable, failing and persistent beings. Third, he updates the myths by transferring them into modern contexts – for example, Midas as an industrialist or the labyrinth as a hall of mirrors. Fourth, he uses mythical figures as theoretical models or points of identification, as in the ‘most unexpected turn’, in which chance replaces fate.

Dürrenmatt does not see modernity as the opposite of myth but as its continuation under changed conditions. The conflicts between freedom and constraint, order and chaos, or power and powerlessness persist. For this reason, his mythic models retain their relevance in a globalised and technologically accelerated world.