Teoría, mesianismo y redención: Theodor Adorno

Abstract

This article proposes a first approach to explore the relationship between messianic thought and literary theory. In the first place, I will present a provisional theoretical framework to assess the concepts and presuppositions behind what we name here messianic thought and theory. During the twentieth and twenty-first century, certain intellectuals have amalgamated some ideas and conceptualization of messianic thought along with literary theory, enriching their political interventions. In the present article, I will focus on Theodor Adorno's theory, particularly his writings on Kafka, where we can see the influence of the messianic thought of his friend Walter Benjamin. The aim here is to reinstate in Adorno's ideas the unresolved tension between theology and secularization, between theology and materialism, often disregarded by criticism, and therefore read Adorno's essays in a truly dialectical and negative manner. Because, for Adorno, “redemption” is another way to name “critique”