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.
