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Otto Maria Carpeaux (March 9, 1900 – February 3, 1978), born Otto Karpfen, was an
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
-born
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian
literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. ...
and multilingual scholar.


Career overview

Carpeaux was born Otto Karpfen in 1900 in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
,
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, to a
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish family, and lived there until 1939. At the age of 20, he enrolled at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...
to study Law. In 1925, he received a PhD in letters and philosophy and began working as a journalist. Later, he also studied exact sciences and
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
in
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
,
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
and
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
,
comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...
in
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...
, and
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
. At some point in his life, Karpfen converted to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, adding ''Maria'' to his name and using ''Fidelis'' as his surname for some time. This conversion was evident in his political books (such as ''Wege Nach Rom'') and his thinking, and led to his participation in the
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...
government of
Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuß (alternatively: ''Dolfuss'', ; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ...
. When the
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germa ...
occurred and the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
took over Vienna, Carpeaux fled to
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
. He stayed there for about a year and, at the break of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, he went to
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Carpeaux did not speak Portuguese at first, and he mastered the language on his own, eventually also frenchifying his lastname to "Carpeaux", considering that it would seem more prestigious among Brazilian intellectuals. At first, he was given a simple rural job, but he gradually established himself as a literary critic. His first published article was on
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...
, on the newspaper ''
Correio da Manhã ''Correio da Manhã'' () is a Portuguese daily newspaper from Portugal. Published in Lisbon, it is the most circulated daily newspaper in Portugal. History and profile ''Correio da Manhã'' was established in 1979. The paper is based in Lisbon ...
'', something he did out of desperation when living under severe conditions. He was to introduce writers such as
Robert Musil Robert Musil (; 6 November 1880 – 15 April 1942) was an Austrian philosophical writer. His unfinished novel, '' The Man Without Qualities'' (german: link=no, Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften), is generally considered to be one of the most importan ...
and Kafka to Brazilian audiences, along with the literary criticism of
Wilhelm Dilthey Wilhelm Dilthey (; ; 19 November 1833 – 1 October 1911) was a German historian, psychologist, sociologist, and hermeneutic philosopher, who held G. W. F. Hegel's Chair in Philosophy at the University of Berlin. As a polymathic philosopher, w ...
,
Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce (; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a li ...
,
Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin (; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German Jewish philosopher, cultural critic and essayist. An eclectic thinker, combining elements of German idealism, Romanticism, Western Marxism, and Jewish ...
and others. His first book in Portuguese came in 1942, ''A Cinza do Purgatório''. Two years later, he became director of Fundação Getúlio Vargas library. He also published essays on philosophers and sociologists such as
Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas p ...
, as well as on Brazilian writers he came to discover when in the country, writing on
Carlos Drummond de Andrade Carlos Drummond de Andrade () (October 31, 1902 – August 17, 1987) was a Brazilian poet and writer, considered by some as the greatest Brazilian poet of all time. He has become something of a national cultural symbol in Brazil, where his wi ...
e
Graciliano Ramos Graciliano Ramos de Oliveira () (October 27, 1892 – March 20, 1953) was a Brazilian modernist writer, politician and journalist. He is known worldwide for his portrayal of the precarious situation of the poor inhabitants of the Brazilian ''sert� ...
. Perhaps the peak of Carpeaux's production was his eight-volume ''História da Literatura Ocidental'' (''History of Western Literature''), available only in Portuguese, in spite of being in public domain. Carpeaux took eight years to write his masterwork, from 1941 to 1947. Late critic José Lino Grünewald labelled it one of the brightest moments of the language in prose, despite the fact that Carpeaux was not a native speaker. It is also unique in that it focuses on creating links between all periods, in order to create an organic vision of the literary history he is telling. The book also include more than 8,000 brief criticisms and expositions of the majority of the figures discussed along the way, minus the ones cited in passing; all are dealt with in their original languages, both in expositions and quotations and in the bibliography offered. The total bibliographical amount of cited works is on the merge of 30,000 books or more. In this series, Carpeaux begins with an analysis of classical Greek and Latin literatures and proceeds until the twentieth century avant-garde movements such as
surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
and
dadaism Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...
, encompassing every major literary establishments in between. For this reason, it has been called "definitive, encyclopaedic and multidisciplinary, a fundamental work in Brazilian literary and cultural bibliography". To
Antonio Candido Antonio Candido de Mello e Souza (July 24, 1918 – May 12, 2017) was a Brazilian writer, professor, sociologist, and literary critic. As a critic of Brazilian literature, he is regarded as having been one of the foremost scholars on the subject ...
, Carpeaux's "universal vision allows him to surmount the eventual limitations of critic nacionalism, whose historic function is important in certain moments, but which must not serve to obliterate the true dimension of the literary phenomena, which, through its own nature, is transcendental as well as national. Carpeaux demonstrates in other moments how
Brazilian literature Brazilian literature is the literature written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, including works written prior to the country's independence in 1822. Throughout its early years, literature from Brazil followed the literary t ...
benefits from being seen in a double perspective, such as his, capable of increasing insight and break routine." Never abandoning his abomination to militarism and tyranny, Carpeaux opposed to the Brazilian Military Regime and abandoned his literary writings by 1968, in order to participate more actively on political debate. However, he did participate in the composition of an encyclopedia called ''Mirador''. He maintained his convictions as a right-wing thinker, and died of a heart attack in 1978. Recently, his essays have been compiled by Brazilian philosopher and journalist
Olavo de Carvalho Olavo Luiz Pimentel de Carvalho (29 April 1947 – 24 January 2022) was a Brazilian polemicist, self-proclaimed philosopher, political pundit, former astrologer, journalist, and far-right conspiracy theorist. From 2005 until his death, he live ...
, with an added introduction. Critic Mauro Souza Ventura released ''De Karpfen a Carpeaux'', a study in the life and work of Carpeaux. Carpeaux's other works include a dense history of German literature, several books of literary criticism, a popular history of Western music and various political writings.


Works

* (1942). ''Cinza do Purgatório''. Rio de Janeiro: Casa do Estudante do Brasil (Departamento Cultural). * (1943). ''Origens e Fins''. Rio de Janeiro: Casa do Estudante do Brasil (Departamento Cultural). * (1951). ''Pequena Bibliografia Crítica da Literatura Brasileira''. Rio de Janeiro: Ministério da Educação e Saúde, Serviço de Documentação etras e Artes, 1964 * (1953). ''Respostas e Perguntas.'' Rio de Janeiro: Ministério da Educaçao e Saúde, Serviço de Documentaçao. * (1953). ''Retratos e Leituras''. Rio de Janeiro: Edição da "Organização Simões". * (1958). ''Presenças''. Ministério da Educação e Cultura, Instituto Nacional do Livro. * (1958). ''Uma Nova História da Música''. Zahar osé Olympio, 1967; Alhambra, 1977; Ediouro, 1999 ** ''O Livro de Ouro da História da Música: Da Idade Média ao Século XX'', Rio de Janeiro: Ediouro 2001. * (1959–66). ''História da Literatura Ocidental'' (8 Vol.) Rio de Janeiro: Edições O Cruzeiro lhambra, 1978–87; Editora do Senado Federal, 4 Vol., 2008; Leya Brasil, 10 Vol., 2012Siscaio, Sérgio
"Carpeaux: Três Mil anos no Bolso,"
''Diário do Comércio'', Janeiro de 2013.
* (1960). ''Livros na Mesa, Estudos de Crítica''. Rio de Janeiro: Livraria São José. * (1963). ''Novelas Alemãs''. São Paulo: Editora Cultrix. * (1964). ''A Literatura Alemã''. São Paulo: Editora Cultrix ova Alexandria, 1994 * (1965). ''A Batalha da América Latina''. Rio de Janeiro: Editôra Civilização Brasileira. * (1965). ''O Brasil no Espelho do Mundo''. Rio de Janeiro: Editôra Civilização Brasileira. * (1968). ''As Revoltas Modernistas na Literatura''. Rio de Janeiro: Ed. de Ouro. * (1968). ''Tendências Contemporâneas na Literatura. Um Esbôço''. Rio de Janeiro, Ed. de Ouro, 1968. * (1968). ''Vinte e Cinco Anos de Literatura''. Rio de Janeiro: Editôra Civilização Brasileira. * (1971). ''Hemingway: Tempo, Vida e Obra''. Bruguera. * (1976). ''Reflexões e Realidade''. Rio de Janeiro: Fontana. * (1978). ''Alceu Amoroso Lima''. Paz e Terra. * (1992). ''Sobre Letras e Artes''. São Paulo: Nova Alexandria. * (1999). ''Ensaios Reunidos, 1942-1978'' (Vol.1). Rio de Janeiro: UniverCidade Editora. * (2005). ''Ensaios Reunidos, 1946-1971'' (Vol.2). Rio de Janeiro: UniverCidade Editora. * (2014). ''Caminhos para Roma: Aventura, Queda e Vitória do Espírito.'' São Paulo: Vide Editorial.


References


Further reading

* José Maria e Silva
"A Missão Civilizatória de Otto Maria Carpeaux,"
''Jornal Opção'', 8 de agosto de 1999. *
Olavo de Carvalho Olavo Luiz Pimentel de Carvalho (29 April 1947 – 24 January 2022) was a Brazilian polemicist, self-proclaimed philosopher, political pundit, former astrologer, journalist, and far-right conspiracy theorist. From 2005 until his death, he live ...
, "Otto Maria Carpeaux." In ''Portuguese Literary & Cultural Studies''. Special Issue, No. 4. João Cezarde Castro Rocha (org.), University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, 2000. * Pedro Maciel
"O Historiador das Idéias,"
''Digestivo Cultural'', Novembro 2002. * Sérgio Augusto
"O Melhor Presente que a Áustria nos Deu"
''Digestivo Cultural'', 2002. * Mauro Souza Ventura, ''De Karpfen to Carpeaux''. Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks, 2002. * José Roberto Teixeira Leite. ''Di Cavalcanti e Outros Perfís''. São Paulo: Edifieo, 2007. * Leandro Konder

''Revista Espaço Acadêmico'', No. 82, 2008. * Ivo Barroso

''O Estado de São Paulo'', Novembro de 2008. * Mauro Souza Ventura
"Otto Maria Carpeaux Leitor de Walter Benjamin,"
''GHREBH'', Vol. 1, No. 15, 2010. * Ademir Luiz da Silva
"O Maior dos Escritores de Segunda Ordem: A Polêmica Crítica Carpeaux-Mann,"
''Via Litterae'', Vol. 2, No. 2, jul./dez. 2010. * J. C. Guimarães
"Carpeaux e Alguns Profetas,"
''Jornal Opção'', No. 1889, Setembro de 2011. * Franklin Jorge
"Otto Maria Carpeaux e a Literatura,"
''Blecaute'', Ano 4, No. 12, Setembro de 2012. * J. C. Guimarães
"A Odisseia do Espírito,"
''Jornal Opção'', No. 1948, Novembro de 2012. * J. C. Guimarães
"A Odisseia do Espírito: Final,"
''Jornal Opção'', No. 1949, Novembro de 2012.


External links

Online works
''História da Literatura Ocidental''
(4 volumes) on Federal Senate's website
O Bárbaro Barbado













Poesia e Ideologia
Other
Mauriac e Seus Críticos



A Primeira Entrevista, no Brasil, de Otto Maria Carpeaux



Carpeaux, um Gênio, Humilhado e Ofendido no Correio da Manhã



“Reacionário” ou “Progressista”? A Disputa Acadêmica e Editorial em Torno da Memória de Otto Maria Karpfen/Carpeaux

Outro Retrato do Brasil: Cultura e História na Obra Crítica de Otto Maria Carpeaux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpeaux, Otto Maria 1900 births 1978 deaths Austrian emigrants to Brazil Brazilian people of Austrian-Jewish descent Brazilian Jews Austrian literary critics Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss Brazilian literary critics Brazilian anti-communists Brazilian Roman Catholics Austrian Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism University of Vienna alumni