The Reflexive Character of Franz Werfel’s Interior Monologues in Listen to the Voice

Abstract

The interior monologues in “Listen to the Voice” by Franz Werfel constitute truly moments of the protagonist’s deep introspection and reflection. The main character stands for the salvation of humankind’s messenger. The monologue is Jeeves’ direct communication device, an element which assumes the shape of an oral exchange transmitted to the interlocutor. The incarnation of the messianic Jeremías in a contemporary character implies the power of redemption, since even when the tragic hero must die; he endows us with his life to restore order. Werfel’s grandeur cannot be denied. He stands out for having a deep understanding of the human heart. Werfel’s recreation of the text emphasizes that “the truly human concerns are perennial and, for their intelligence and recreation, they require equally perennial sources”. In “Listen to the Voice” the soliloquy is constructed as a light and, at the same time, as a subtle and plain mesh upon which the spiritual images and ideas are developed, and from this mesh the reader can easily perceive what goes through Jeeeves’ mind.