The dissertation “Alchemistic features in the novels of Gustav
Meyrink/Alchemistische Züge in den Romanen von Gustav Meyrink” addresses the question of how alchemy is reflected in the works of the author and the extent to which it constitutes the intellectual profile of his novels. As a basis for the analysis I chose the books The Golem/Der Golem (1915), The White Dominican/Der weiße Dominikaner (1921) and The Angel of the West Window/Der Engel vom westlichen Fenster (1926), in which, in my opinion, Hermetic art plays a very significant role. I try to show how uniquely Meyrink integrates the Royal Art into the conception of his works. Alchemists call their efforts a Great Work/Opus Magnum. I perceive the Opus Magnum and its individual components (putrefaction, albedo, rubedo) in selected works as a structure that is expressed both comprehensively (e.g. in how Meyrink handles the subject matter, the characters and the space), as well as in particular moments (e.g. in individual motifs). The Great Work can be seen as a red thread that runs through all the aforementioned novels. Furthermore, in the book The Golem I also took account of Tarot symbolism, because between alchemy and Tarot mysticism there can be found many points of contact. The aim of the work itself is to explain the most important ideas of the art of spiritual alchemy and thus to point out the
interesting parallels in Meyrink’s work.
