Identity Crisis and Spiritual Sterility In T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land": A Critical Analysis of Modern Man's Condition

Abstract

This study examines the ontological crisis of modern consciousness in T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" (1922) through Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's framework of self-consciousness and recognition theory. Using qualitative literary analysis and hermeneutic close reading techniques, the research analyzes specific textual episodes across the poem's five sections to demonstrate how contemporary humanity fails to achieve authentic selfhood. The study applies Hegelian categories of "For-itself," "In-itself," and "For-other" to reveal systematic breakdowns in recognitive relationships essential for genuine self-awareness. Findings suggest that modern individuals often exist in a pre-dialectical state, characterized by spiritual sterility, ineffective communication, and existential fragmentation. The textual analysis reveals how Eliot's fragmented poetic structure formally embodies the consciousness fragmentation it depicts, creating literary testimony to broader cultural and philosophical crises. The research demonstrates that characters throughout "The Waste Land" remain trapped in ontological paralysis, unable to engage in the struggle for recognition that Hegelian philosophy identifies as fundamental to authentic human development. The study's interdisciplinary methodology bridges literary criticism and philosophical analysis, revealing the poem's continued relevance for understanding contemporary challenges to authentic selfhood in an age of digital fragmentation.

Keywords: Hegelian self-consciousness; T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land"; ontological paralysis; recognition theory