Ciprian Valcan

French and German Cultural Influences in Cioran's Work Ciprian Valcan

My thoughts will be organized along two axes, one in the field of cultural history, the other in that of comparative studies. Accordingly, in the first stage I make every endeavour to describe the Romanian cultural environment where the presence of and, subsequently, the confrontation between French and German cultural influences take shape, and I highlight the recurrent themes that have to do with attempts to define Romanian culture. The purpose of this undertaking is to introduce the reader into the complex aspects of the confrontation between French and German cultural influences in interwar Romania. I then consider the attitude of Cioran?s generation, laying emphasis on the reasons why the most prominent representatives of the young interwar intellectuals declare themselves admirers of German culture and fierce opponents of the French model. In the second stage of the research I move on to a comparative study, examining Cioran?s intellectual engagement with a number of German and French authors, such as Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Weininger, Pascal, the moralists, and Valéry.