Re: Die Schere: 21

["Olaf Schröter" <olaf.schroeter@gmx.de>]

Boris Mayer schrieb:

> Dear listmembers,
>
> can anyone help me in understanding #21? What does Juenger mean by
> "traechtig", is it that there are always possibilities on the way that can
> be grasped? Gary translated it as "bearable", which in my understanding
> would be "ertraeglich" and changes the meaning of the sentence. But how
> should this "pregnancy" of the way be pictured on a screen? I really don't
> understand what EJ wants to say with the first three sentences of this
> paragraph.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Boris

Hello there Boris,

half the time I don't know what Jünger is on about either. But then we have to
be careful not to take his works as the new kind of gospel. Sometimes he, in
my opinion anyway, is simply talking through his hat. And I deserve to be
flamed for that heretic thought ;-) And sometimes it helps to read that same
passage again after a coupla months, and suddenly it's all evident what he's
saying. He is that kind of author.

I would have thought that Bertil would give it a shot, but I'll try anyway...
Seems a little weird to answer you in English, as it is Konstanz, DE and not
Konstanz, PA. Well, whatever...

First, the distance from Mars to Earth means something entirely different to
Ernst Jünger, who grew up pre-motor flight and in the heyday of Jules Verne
than to us post-Star Trek people. It just means veerryyy long. The whole book
"Die Schere" is basically is about his own death approaching. And the final
attempt to invest his (and our) existence with MEANING in the face of reality
and the world outside. That has been his main concern since "Stahlgewitter".

And of course you can't "abfangen" a "Weg" but only something that travels on
it, a ray of light, a TV signal even, to make that "Bildschirm"-metaphor
complete.

So, the passage: It (imho) means every life is meaningful ("trächtig" I read
as meaningful or as "full of possibility of meaning" anyway) at every stage,
so that, no matter where and when it ends, at least part of it's meaning/sense
has been fulfilled: "...die Aufgabe erfüllt". There may have been myriads of
other possibilities, of ways to travel, but this is the one consciously or
unconsciously chosen. And it is good. Amen.

Greetings from Berlin

Olaf

ps there's been a review of Noack's book and one by a Horst Seferens in
yesterday's ZEIT (Nr. 42, p. 50) which I'll try to  ocr and post later.