Alegoria e história natural no Trauerspiel-Buch de Walter Benjamin

Abstract

This research examines Walter Benjamin's philosophical trajectory in rehabilitating allegory in The Origin of German Trauerspiel (Ursprung des Deutschen Trauerspiels) and its connection to the concept of natural history in two distinct senses: Naturgeschichte, understood as a paralyzed history that takes on the appearance of nature; and Natürliche Geschichte, a history devoid of human intervention. To develop this approach, Benjamin formulates two central critiques: (1) a critique of knowledge and subjectivism in historiography, presented in the “Epistemo-Critical Preface” (Erkenntniskritische Vorrede); and (2) a critique of the aesthetics of the symbol, which contributed to the devaluation of allegory, discussed in the second part of his work, titled “Allegory and Trauerspiel” (Allegorie und Trauerspiel). In the first stage of this study, the focus is on demonstrating how Benjamin proposes a “philosophical history” structured around the category of origin (Ursprung), seeking to overcome the dichotomy between historical contingency and timeless ideas. Here, the concept of natural history assumes a central role in sustaining an objective view of history, wherein any inquiry into reality must necessarily emerge from a concrete historical interpretation. Our thesis argues that, through this effort, Benjamin offers philosophy a renewed perspective for rethinking the relationship between permanence and change within history. In the second stage, we undertake a reassessment of the concept of allegory in Walter Benjamin, addressing the distances and critiques he presents regarding the historical construction of the concept in Romanticism. Our hypothesis is that the suppression of Baroque allegory in favor of the symbol during the 18th century did not stem merely from a conflict of aesthetic values. The privileging of the symbol is also linked to the negative knowledge provided by the temporality of allegory, which exposes the illusion of a stable and timeless self. In the aesthetics of the symbol, Benjamin identifies an attempt to conceal the decay and fragmentation inherent to life. The analysis of Benjamin’s study, along with the works of authors who contributed to this discussion, leads us to conclude that allegory was marginalized because confronting it means facing the conflict between the self and its temporal condition