Il dilettante come vittima sacrificale del genio nel romanzo "Der Untergeher" di Thomas Bernhard

The comparison with the reflections on genius and his aporias present in the works of Moritz, Wackenroder, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Thomas Mann or Süskind allows us to consider in a new light the representation of the relationship between genius and dilettante contained in Thomas Bernhard’s novel Der Untergeher. In fact, this comparison shows how the dilettante is only the other side of the genius, explaining on the one hand why only the dilettante can write about the genius, on the other hand why the suicide of the dilettante must be understood as an extreme sacrifice offered to the genius. It also allows us to understand other aspects of genius, such as its hatred of nature, its inhumanity and its alienation, its monstrosity and its contempt for the public.