Demonic transcendence. The Faustian motif in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining

摘要

The interrelationship between literature and cinema is usually reduced merely to the connectionbetween a book and its screen adaptation. Thus, a great many of the viewers of Stanley Kubrick’sThe Shining would analyze its relation and fidelity to Stephen King’s novel. The reasoning presentedin this essay stands in opposition to this tendency because various minor details of a moviemay refer to other literary texts as well. In addition, a link to other works of art is often more meaningfuland relevant than a reference to a book which was the basis of an adaptation. Therefore, itcan be demonstrated that Kubrick alludes to Johann Wolfgang’s Faust in a variety of ways in TheShining. The comparison of the movie’s protagonist with the eponymous character of the playmakes it easier to comprehend the cinematic character’s complex personality. This explains thecontent of The Shining even though the plot is based upon another literary text.