Rainer Maria Rilke and His Mystical Russia. A Portrait of the Sense of Home of an Eternal Pilgrim

Abstract

This article concerns the problem of searching for the true home(land) by one of the greatest poets and writers of the German Modernism, Rainer Maria Rilke and its reflection in his earliest and most famous works: “The Sacrifice of the Lares” (1895), “The Book of Hours” (1899) and “The stories of God” (1900). It shows the long way of an eternal pilgrim, who tries to find his true home. After leaving Prague, together with his great love Lou-Andreas Salomé he undertakes two extensive trips to Russia in 1899 and 1900, impressed by the deep and mystical relationship between the ordinary people and their land as well as God. He is convinced that he has finally found his true home in the untouched nature of Russia.