Hannah Arendt

About this book

Twenty-five years after her death we are still coming to terms with the controversial figure of Hannah Arendt. Interlacing the life and work of this seminal twentieth-century philosopher Julia Kristeva provides us with an elegant sophisticated biography brimming with historical and philosophical insight. Centering on the theme of female genius Hannah Arendt emphasizes three features of the philosophers work. First by exploring Arendts critique of Saint Augustine and her biographical essay on Rahel Varnhagen Kristeva accentuates Arendts commitment to recounting lives and narration. Second Kristeva reflects on Arendts perspective on Judaism anti-Semitism and the "banality of evil." Finally the biography assesses Arendts intellectual journey placing her enthusiasm for observing both social phenomena and political events in the context of her personal life. Drawing on fragments of Arendts most intimate correspondence with her longtime lover Martin Heidegger and her husband Heinrich Blucher excerpts from her mothers "Unser Kind" (a diary tracking Hannahs formative years) and passages from Arendts philosophical writings Kristeva presents a luminous story. With a thorough thematic index and bibliographical references Hannah Arendt is a major breakthrough in the understanding of an essential thinker.