Religious Personality in the Modern Era in Psychological Prose: "Confessions of a Beautiful Soul" by Goethe

Abstract

The article makes an attempt of psychological interpretation of “Confessions of a Beautiful Soul” - the sixth book of Goethe's famous novel “Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship”. The author examines the text of German writer in line with hermeneutical and phenomenological traditions of contemporary psychology of religion, using the ideas of L. Vygotskij (“The Psychology of Art”) and L. Ginsburg (“On the Psychological Prose”) while analyzing the artistic component of the artwork, elements of contemporary Russian developmental psychology. Questions of Goethe's authorship and his attention to the world of religious experience of the female character of the novel are under discussion. Three main elements of psychological investigation of the novel are examined: the artistic method of Goethe; stages of formation of religious life of the character, the role of religion in the processes of socialization and individuation of her person; interaction of religious sense with other spheres, forms and functions of psychical life. The article comes up with a number of conclusions concerning patterns of personal religious life in the modern times.