DIE SCHERE #44: Notes 2

[Rebing@t-online.de (Rebing)]

DIE SCHERE #44: Notes by Günter Rebing

I read the enigmatic passages in this text, particularly at the beginning, as 
poetic attempts at communicating the exceptional mood of awe and horror felt in 
the presence of death. To be more precise: EJs attempts to communicate the 
feelings he has when reading or recalling two specific death scenes in modern 
literature: the penultimate chapter of Dostoyevsky's novel THE IDIOT (1868/69) 
and a short story by Thomas Wolfe (which I haven't been able to find). 

The enigma of death evokes enigmatic images here. Any translator is faced with 
particular difficulties if the meaning is not clear even in the original text. 
What does the light become "durchlässig" (permeable) for? For darkness? For the 
mystery of death? For another light from the Beyond? Dostyevsky mentions several 
times in that night scene that the prince trembles and his heart beats wildly (In 
the Rahsin translation: Das Herz des Fürsten schlug so laut, daß es, wie es 
schien, im Zimmer zu hören war, bei dem toten Schweigen, das hier herrschte.). 
These are ominous signs because the prince is an epileptic. But EJ intensifies: 
Sein Herz pocht an die Wand - meaning the wall of his chest, but deliberately 
adding a surrealist meaning by just putting "Wand" (wall). 

The caustic judgment on modern literature implied in the last sentence must come 
as a surprise. Elsewhere EJ has shown that he respects and estimates highly 
numerous modern writers. However, his judgment in this particular context seems 
provoked by the apparent rarity of texts that make the reader aware of the 
transcendental nature of death. We have to keep in mind that DIE SCHERE is 
essentially an enquiry into the nature of death and of what might come after it.