The collapse of life plans; paradoxes of combination of historical personality (based on the novel by L. Feuchtwanger “The Ugly Duchess Margarita Maultasch”)

Lion Feuchtwanger is known mainly as the creator of historical novels and voluminous epic canvases. However, all his thoughts are directed to the future. With a certain reservation, we can say that he tried on the past to the realities of his time. Until his death, he was concerned with the key question: what are the paths, prospects and main driving forces of events distant from the 20th century in visual comparison with those changes in German society, which he directly witnessed. In a narrow sense, these were the writer’s attempts to resolve the “damned issues” concerning his own nation. In broad terms – philosophical reflections on the fate of humanity. Thus, his work objectively went beyond the national framework, enriching itself with universal and deeply humanistic content.