Publication Details

Abstract

In the history of Kierkegaard studies, A Literary Review has often been hailed as the Danish philosopher’s main contribution to the field of social-political philosophy. Although this aspect of the work has been explored in some detail, only few commentators have taken the time to study the background of it, i.e., the book which Kierkegaard purports to analyze in the review, namely Two Ages by Thomasine Gyllembourg. The present article explores the relation between Gyllembourg’s novel and A Literary Review with an eye to determining what influence Gyllembourg’s work might have had on Kierkegaard. It is argued that Gyllembourg’s novel served primarily as an occasion for Kierkegaard to further develop ideas that he was already concerned with previously in connection with his authorship.