The Existential Self: A Journey through the Fictional World of Peter Handke’s The Afternoon of a Writer

Abstract

The paper The Existential Self: A Journey through the Fictional World of Peter Handke’s The Afternoon of a Writer attempts to identify the existential precariousness of a writer and his search of self identity. The feeling of bereftness and barrenness in existence makes man alienated from himself, fellow men, nature, cosmos and God. Though human beings are free to choose and take decisions in their day-to-day lives, they are chained not only by the society but also by the abrupt situations of freedom, fear, dread, despair, anxiety, indecisiveness and alienation. The paper attempts to reveal the disconnection of the protagonist from the external world through many fleeting moments that reflect his existential struggle.