UC Davis

This dissertation examines the evolving figure of the devil in German literature from early folklore to twentieth-century psychological modernism. Rather than treating the devil as a static theological symbol, this study explores how German authors reconfigure him as a narrative device reflecting cultural, moral, and psychological anxieties. It argues that the devil in German texts transitions from an external religious adversary into a manifestation of internal conflict, shaped by changing historical and philosophical contexts.The dissertation is structured in three chapters. The first chapter analyzes selected tales from the Brothers Grimm, where the devil emerges as a folkloric trickster, legalistic, bound by contracts, and often outwitted, highlighting how oral traditions transform theological ideas into culturally digestible narratives of morality and social control. The second chapter explores the Romantic literature of E.T.A. Hoffmann, where the devil takes on a more ambiguous role, symbolizing madness, the uncanny, and psychological fragmentation. Here, the figure destabilizes the boundary between self and other, influenced by Freudian concepts of repression and the uncanny. The third chapter focuses on Hermann Hesse, particularly in Steppenwolf, where the devil evolves into a Jungian archetype of the "shadow," a projection of the repressed self. In this modernist context, the devil becomes essential to the protagonist’s psychological integration and existential transformation.Through close readings and theoretical engagement with scholars such as Jeffrey Burton Russell, Scott Bruce, Jack Zipes, and Carl Jung, this dissertation argues that German literature internalizes and reimagines the devil to reflect the psychological and spiritual disintegration of modern subjectivity. The devil is no longer just a symbol of sin but a structural force within narrative and selfhood. This work contributes to broader discussions on the intersections of folklore, psychoanalysis, and literary modernism by positioning the devil as a malleable figure that mirrors the evolving relationship between narrative, morality, and the unconscious in German literary history.