Abstract

Lukács and Twentieth Century Literature Tough he elaborated a robust system of Marxist aesthetics whose categories enabled him to formulate a brilliant analysis of the 19th century realist novel, Lukács proved unable to understand the literature of the 20th century. In fact he either ignored or regarded as “decadent” almost all the major representatives of the avant-garde, such as Proust and Kafka. is was not due to the intrinsic limitations of the aesthetic categories themselves. It was rather an effect of his “optimistic” vision of the historical period following after the 1917 Revolution and the hypothesis of the development of socialism. is led him to regard as anti-realist the alleged “pessimism” of the avant-garde. Towards the end of his life, Lukács did however adopt a more critical position towards “real socialism”. He thus moved towards a more positive understanding of the literature of his time