The Limits of Exoticism: Auerbach, Europe, and Bullfighting

ABSTRACT

This essay examines the notion of exoticism in the philology of Auerbach from two related points of view. Firstly, it discusses the absence of Spanish literature from the first edition of Mimesis; secondly, it analyses a contemporary literary excerpt on the Spanish bullfight. Thus, it aims to show that such philology draws a certain idea of Europe and, equally important, of what Europe is not.

KEYWORDS:
Erich Auerbach (1892-1957); literature; exoticism; Europe; bullfighting