Sartor Resartus · Theme
The Heroic and Individual Self
How Sartor Resartus develops The Heroic and Individual Self.
The narrative emphasizes the importance of the individual's inner strength, self-reliance, and heroic struggle against external circumstances, celebrating figures like the toiling craftsman and the inspired thinker as models of human dignity.
Where it surfaces
- Pedagogy
Teufelsdröckh's sense of being 'like no other' and his poetic elevation amid civic depression highlight his unique, heroic individuality.
- Getting Under Way
The chapter emphasizes the individual's struggle against external constraints and internal confusion, framing Teufelsdröckh's journey as a heroic monodrama.
- VII: The Everlasting No
Teufelsdröckh's internal battle and his eventual 'Everlasting No' represent a heroic assertion of the self against despair and a meaningless universe.
- IX: The Everlasting Yea
Teufelsdröckh's call to shape one's Ideal from one's condition, and to be heroic and poetic, underscores the theme of individual self-realization and heroism.
- VII: Organic Filaments
Hero-worship is presented as a universal and enduring cornerstone of politics, with examples from Voltaire's Paris to the nature of kingship.