Debating the Techniques of Expression: Lukacs, Brecht, and the Aesthetic Conflict between Realism and Modernism

Abstract

In 1930s Georg Lukacs and Bertolt Brecht engaged in a stimulating debate on the efficacy of modernism and the commitment of modernist writers. The debate produced some of the important arguments on aesthetics and politics, artistic autonomy, and the suitability of mode of expression for representation of individuals in the backdrop of capitalism. Lukacs denunciated the modernist technique of stream of consciousness and more specifically the absence of historicity in the writings of modernist novelist. He believed realism is better art for portraying the individuals trapped in capitalism. Brecht, however, rejected Lukacs' criticism of modernism on the ground that his views are conservative; he argued that the mode of expression in a literary epoch is characterized by the socio-economic problems of the age and therefore, the contemporary artists can use newer techniques to respond to these challenges and thus, they cannot be compelled to employ the techniques used by their predecessors. This paper intends to reexamine the realism-modernism debate from a fresh perspective to gain insight into the question of form, content, and literary commitment.