Repetition

Repetition

March 11, 2016

Outside Reading: Soren Kierkegaard/Repetition

Repetition is one of Kierkegaard’s shorter works written under the pseudonym of Constantine Constantias. The book fits both philosophical discourse and novel into one, dealing with the metaphysical idea of repetition within the narrative context of a man who experiences deep anxiety from the loss of his lover. At the onset of the book he tells the writer that he intends to substitute repetition for the Platonic idea of recollection. Modern man needs a new way of acquiring knowledge. Recollection is the belief that the soul contains all knowledge. It is while making the traumatic journey from the higher realm of Forms to the lower realm of the material, inhabiting a body, that the soul forgets the knowledge that inheres within it. Thus, Plato teaches that all knowledge must be recollected by the help of a teacher, whom he compares to a mid-wife. 

In a word, repetition is receiving knowledge, not through recollection, but as revelation from an unknown. It is a gift that can only be received through willful submission and the risk of love. The heartbroken, dramatic young man in Kierkegaard’s story seeks a revelation that will subdue his inner unrest, seeking out the mentorship of Constantine for help. Constantine, however, seems to be pessimistic about love and women in general, wanting nothing more than for the young man to move on. Here, it is likely that Kierkegaard is writing with his own life story in mind. As a young man himself, Kierkegaard severed engagement ties with his fiancé Regina Olsen for reasons that are not fully known. The event was a pivotal point in his life are finds expression in the indecision of the young man in Repetition. At the core of Repetition is the exploration of whether or not meaning can be found within or regained after suffering. To resolve this, Kierkegaard turns to the Biblical figures of Abraham (Fear and Trembling) and Job (‘Job Discourse’), two men who plunged themselves into the absurdity or faith with passionate inwardness and came out of the waters with renewed faith and praise.