Pandora, destined to see the illuminated, not the light

Abstract

Pandora is a festival drama (a “Festspiel”) written by Goethe right before he penned Elective Affinities. Although it is not very well known, this unfinished piece has nevertheless received attention by several thinkers. In this essay, I comment on and analyse Pandora drawing from the critical approach by Adorno and Benjamin to literary work. I also acknowledge the distinction between allegory and the symbolic, as Goethe conceived it. First, I review the Germanist studies on Pandora and take their main motives into consideration. Then, I examine the philosophical interpretations of Pandora, which I consider place the emphasis on its allegorical function. Finally, focusing precisely on the role of the goddess Pandora (the absent centre in the work), I show that the writing in this piece inches towards the symbolic.