Halldór Kiljan Laxness, Daoism and Mysticism

Abstract

This article points out Daoist influences on some major characters in Halldór Kiljan Laxness’s novels. A good friend of his and a supporter, who also happened to be a Theosophist, lent him the ancient classic Daodejing (known in Icelandic as Book of the Way) by the ancient Chinese sage Lao Tse, which was first published in Icelandic in 1921. Laxness wrote that there was no book that he loved more than this one during all his life. The German sociologist Max Weber presented the theory that religions implicitly or explicitly provide different kinds of orientation to salvation: this-worldly or other-worldly; mystical or ascetic. Following Weber’s conceptualization, my claim is that Daoism, as it was presented among Theosophists in the West, can be characterized as innerworldy mysticism. Its main characteristics are relativism, anti-authoritarianism, tolerance, pacifism, inactivity, peacefulnes and kindness. During his lifetime, Laxness was periodically impressed by authoritarian ideologies, notably the Roman Catholic Church and Stalinism. My suggestion is that the impact of authoritarian values and worldview were mitigated through the lens of Daoism, resulting in a more balanced presentation of the main characters in his novels that resonated well with the sentiments of his readers and enabled him to become the writer that he was. Together, then, Daoistic and authoritarian views can be seen as making up a kind of yin and yang symbiosis in his literary works.