Leo Lowenthal 
Literature and the Image of Man 

This volume’s predominant theme is bourgeois mentality and its historical development. The works of Lope de Vega, Calderón, Cervantes, and Shakespeare, among others, are analyzed within the historical framework of the decline of feudalism and the rise of the absolute regimes. Those of Moliére and Goethe are set against the background of an evolving and consolidating bourgeois society in Western Europe.

About the author

Leo Löwenthal (1900-1993) was a sociologist known for his association with the Frankfurt School. He began his career by joining the then newly-formed Institute for Social Research and becoming managing editor of its journal Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung. Soon thereafter he migrated to the United States where he held various positions, including research director for Voice of America, the Stanford Center for the Advanced Study of the Behavior Sciences, and finally settled in the department of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. His books (which were published in German and English) include Literature and Mass Culture, Prophets of Deceit, and Literature and the Image of Man.