(L'Attente l'oubli)
T ra ra ns ns la la te te d
Maurice Maurice Blancho Blancho
Univ Univer ersi sity ty of Nebr Nebras aska ka Pres Pres
Linc Lincol ol
an
Lond London on
J oh oh n C re re g
Mauric Mauric L 'A 'A t te te n t
Translation
1 99 99 7 b y t h
All r ig ig ht ht s r es es er er ve ve d
Contents
Blanch Blanchot, ot,
Edit Editio ions ns
I 'o 'o l lb lb l
Gall Gallir irna nard rd
]96~ ]96~
n iv iv e s itit y o f N eb eb r s k
M an an uf uf ac ac tu tu re re d
th
U ni ni te te d
P re re s
t at at e
Am ri
requirements
A me me ri ri ca ca n
N at at io io na na l
S ta ta nd nd ar ar d f o I nf nf or or ma ma titi o
Materials, l ib ib ra ra r
o f C on on gr gr es es s
ANSI
Z39-4
S ci ci en en ce ce s
4·
C at at al al og og rn rn gg- in in -P -P ub ub li li ca ca ti ti o
D at at a
Blan Blanch chot, ot, Maur Mauric ice. e. [L'A [L'Att tten ente te l'oub l'oubli. li. Engl Englis ish] h] Awaiti Awaiting ng oblivi oblivion on
lSBN
L'attente J 'o ub ub l
0-8° 0-8°32 32-1 -12) 2)77-
I. G re re gg gg , J oh oh n
M au au ri ri c
Blanchet;
(clo (cloth th alk. paper) II. 'fitle.
] 91 91 4
P Qz Qz 60 60 3. 3. L3 L3 34 34 3A 3A 8j 8j 1
1 99 99 7
Ill. Series.
8 43 43 '· 91 91 22- dc dc z
96-273 96-273
u bl bl ic ic at at io io n
o f t hi hi s t r n sl sl at at io io n w a a s i st st e
om th
r en en c
M in in i t r
by
o f C ul ul tu tu r
g ra ra n
of
Translator Translator's 's introductio introductio
vii
Awaiting Awaiting oblivion oblivion
Mauric Mauric L 'A 'A t te te n t
Translation
1 99 99 7 b y t h
All r ig ig ht ht s r es es er er ve ve d
Contents
Blanch Blanchot, ot,
Edit Editio ions ns
I 'o 'o l lb lb l
Gall Gallir irna nard rd
]96~ ]96~
n iv iv e s itit y o f N eb eb r s k
M an an uf uf ac ac tu tu re re d
th
U ni ni te te d
P re re s
t at at e
Am ri
requirements
A me me ri ri ca ca n
N at at io io na na l
S ta ta nd nd ar ar d f o I nf nf or or ma ma titi o
Materials, l ib ib ra ra r
o f C on on gr gr es es s
ANSI
Z39-4
S ci ci en en ce ce s
4·
C at at al al og og rn rn gg- in in -P -P ub ub li li ca ca ti ti o
D at at a
Blan Blanch chot, ot, Maur Mauric ice. e. [L'A [L'Att tten ente te l'oub l'oubli. li. Engl Englis ish] h] Awaiti Awaiting ng oblivi oblivion on
lSBN
L'attente J 'o ub ub l
0-8° 0-8°32 32-1 -12) 2)77-
I. G re re gg gg , J oh oh n
M au au ri ri c
Blanchet;
(clo (cloth th alk. paper) II. 'fitle.
] 91 91 4
P Qz Qz 60 60 3. 3. L3 L3 34 34 3A 3A 8j 8j 1
1 99 99 7
Ill. Series.
8 43 43 '· 91 91 22- dc dc z
96-273 96-273
u bl bl ic ic at at io io n
o f t hi hi s t r n sl sl at at io io n w a a s i st st e
om th
r en en c
M in in i t r
by
o f C ul ul tu tu r
g ra ra n
of
Translator Translator's 's introductio introductio
vii
Awaiting Awaiting oblivion oblivion
Translat Translator's or's introduc introduction tion
L ''A A tttt en en t e
Maur Mauric ic
in
/ ''oo u bl bl i
Blan Blanch chot ot's 's oeuv oeuvre re bein bein
to
hi most most expe experi rime ment ntal al atte attemp mp
tw
i ct ct o
c om om pa pa ti ti bl bl e m od od e
o f w ri ri ti ti ng ng : n ar ar ra ra ti ti o
e xp xp la la in in in in g w h t hi hi s w or or k
a s r e e iv iv e
ti part partic icul ular ar genr genre, e, thre thre thre thre
On
o ul ul d a rg rg ue ue , a s d o t'
la
f ra ra gm gm en en ta ta ti ti o
to la read reader er
in Th
s o l it it tl tl e c ri ri ti ti ca ca l attention.l
esse essent ntia ia resp respon onse se
avid avid an well well-i -inf nfor orme me
is
an
rg
in
to
ca be give given, n, foll follow owin in
of Blan Blan hot. hot.
Ro er
ap rt
ti
th
L ''A A tttt en en t
In
in
l 'o 'o u bl bl i Nouvelle
occasi sion on of th book book's 's publ public icat atio ion, n, howe howeve ver, r, Revue Fransaise on th occa Mich Michel el Degu Degu prop propos oses es b u m or or e e va va si si v t h l'oubli
th
seco second nd solu soluti tion on whic whic o f L ap ap or or te te ,
c c p ie ie s s om om e s or or t o f m i d l
a n f iicc ti ti o
De uy
isles cate catego gori rica ca
s u g es es ti ti n gr un
th
e tw tw ee ee n
L'Attente
h il il os os o h y
o te te s t ha ha t " th th e b eg eg i n in in g o f t h b o
t o p la la c i t w it it hi hi n t h
a rr rr at at i
t ra ra di di ti ti on on ,
b u h e a ls ls o o in in t
work work's 's apho aphori rist stic ic cont conten ent, t, exce excerp rpts ts of whic whic ic io
in
if
pp ar to th
appe appear ared ed thre thre year year
iche iche
ouca oucaul ult, t, wh
such such asphilo asphiloso soph ph of L ''A A tttt en en t an
woul woul
pref pref
an fict fictio io in orde orde to char charac acte teri rize ze th lang langua uage ge
"The dist distin inct ctio io l 'o 'o ub ub lili : "The
'cri 'criti tici cism sm is prog progre ress ssiv ivel el
L ''A A tttt en en t
l 'o 'o u bl bl i
ot to rely rely on an oppo opposi siti tion on
angu anguag ag
betw betwee ee
weak weak
'nov 'novel els, s, 'nar 'narra rati tive ves, s,
ed in
la
ho
co tain tain
half half as
essa essays ys as th in L'Arche
orig origin inal ally ly publ publis ishe he
firs first. t. In th se lo ge piec pieces es
and Critique, Blanch Blanchot ot restri restricts cts
hims himsel el to writ writer er of th nine ninete teen enth th an twenti twentiet et cent centur urie iea= a=-w -wit it
unti until, l, in
alon alon is allo allo ed to peak peak-s -s-w -wha ha
is
he will incessantly
kind kind of pant panthe heon on of exem exempl plar ar writ writer er towho
one's one's isneith isneither er ficti fiction on no refle reflect ctio ion, n, neit neithe he alre alread ad said said no neve neve yet said." said."
year year an book book
Fo caul caul
accu accura rate tely ly iden identi tifi fies es th
th ee basi basi
that that make make up Blan Blanch chot ot's 's oeuv oeuvre re th elab elabor orat at
type type
of text text
nove novels ls of th
Nietzsche.
1940 1940s; s;
L ''E E s pa pa c e
the paredpared-dow dow
narrat narrative ive
late 1940 1940San San th 1950 1950s, s, (recits) of th late
Th
whic whic
rise rise
omen oments ts th
inftni
ar
co
simila simila scenes scenes foun
of
read read li
dist distil illa lati tion on
Fouc Foucau ault lt corr correc ectl tl
rema remark rk
traj trajec ecto tory ry foll follow owed ed by Blan Blanch chot ot's 's lite litera rary ry hist histor or th writ writin in
of
in hi nove novels ls an th crit critic ical al essa essays ys that that span span
hi enti entire re care career er More Moreov over er of work work
that that esca escape pe gene generi ri
ha le
to come come Mall Mallar arme me Kafk Kafka, a, Char Char Hold Holder erli lin, n, an
that that th
him to
clas classi sifi fica cati tion on an whos whos
s pa pa c
1932), Le Livre
Literature,
l itit fifi ra ra ir ir e
(1969; T h e I nf 1993), and L'Amitii nf in in itit e C o n ve ve rs rs at at io io n , 1993),
re
ompr ompris ised ed al os ex lusi lusive vely ly of co trib tribut utio io
the N o uv uv eell l
L'Amitii it is
R £ vu vu e F r an an fa fa is is e
(1971),
he
ad
to
inso insofa fa
as
fr
closel resembles resembles F a hete hetero roge ge eous eous
(1955;
oenir (1959), L'Entretien
Pa
and
coll coll ctio ctio
uf
of piec pieces es writ writte te
betw betwee ee
1950 1950
effec effec is to cont contes es th boun bounda dari ries es thou though gh to sepa separa rate te th acti activi viti ties es of fict fictio io into into tw
an
refl reflec ecti tion on or crit critic ical al read readin in
clea clearl rl defi define ne
disc discip ipli line nes. s. Th
disc discou ours rses es of phil philos osop ophy hy an sali salien en feat featur ur be
of L 'A 'A t e nntt e
bypa bypass ssed ed is thus thus
cont contra rary ry th
tens tensio io
fict fictio io
l ou ou U ot
an
crea creati tive ve writ writin ing, g,
oppo opposi siti tion on betw betwee ee
that that Degu Degu
sees sees as th
th
ar
os
them themat atic ic unit unit that that hi firs firs tw coll collec ecti tion on
do ot th
divi divide de
an impl implic icit it thre thread ad of
bu that that Fouc Foucau ault lt view view as havi having ng
ew or part partic icul ular ar to thiswor thiswork. k. On th
betw betwee ee
thes thes
tw
disc discou ours rses es resi reside de at th
very very hear hear of Blan Blanch chot ot's 's enti entire re lite litera rary ry ente enterp rpri rise se With With th poss possib ible le exce except ptio io crit critic icis is
of L au au ma ma mo mo n
Fa
Pa
(194 (1943) 3) th
book of e t Sa Sa de de , hi book
fo publ public icat atio io
os ecle eclect ctic ic of thes thes
in peri period odic ical als. s.
of M o lr lr y D i c
of litera literary ry critic criticism ism viii
essa essays ys they they poss posses es
that that have have titl titles es an
se tion tion toge togeth ther er in such such
book book ar
wa that that ther ther is
sustai sustained ned progre progressi ssive ve develo developme pment nt throug throughou hout. t. L ''E E n tr tr et et ie ie n prec preced eded ed it byvirtu byvirtu
f:ro f:ro
th
tw
multip ipli lici city ty of form forms, s, L ''E Init mult E n tr tr et et ie ie n chat chat's 's
ex (a
de
last last tw
(1 73
book book
ajor ajor
T h S te te p N o
frag fragme ment ntar ar
text texts. s.
prefigures res BlanBlani nf nf in in i prefigu
ooks ooks wh ch ar
Beyond, 1992) 1992) an
frag frag enta entary ry
L 'E 'E cr cr i u r
desastre (1930; T h e W r itit in in g oj the Disaster, Disaster, 1986) Like L ''A A tttt en en t an th Fren French ch baro baroqu qu and Camus's Camus's L'Etranger.
Pa
ufe
(1949; T h
ficti fiction on rang rang
poet poet to Gion Giono' o' Hi seco seco
Wo
book book
F ir ir e 1 99 99 5) 5) ,
i nf nf in in i
that that imme immedi diat atel el
of it styl stylis isti ti vari variet ety, y, fo it cont contai ains ns no only only
conv conven enti tion onal al essa essays ys bu also also dial dialog ogue ue an
Le P a
rele releas ases es of crit critic ical al stud studie ies, s, tran transl slat atio ions ns poet poetry ry an rend rendit itio io
argu argu en ties ties thes thes
dail dail Le Journal
je
from daVinci's daVinci's Notebooks
of prev previo ious usly ly publ publis ishe he
into into se tion tion
coll collec ecti tion ons, s, co tain tain
near nearly ly sixt sixt arti articl cles es that that orig origin inal ally ly appe appear ared ed in th
d e s D e b a tsts .
co pila pilati tion on
howe howeve ver, r, is dist distin ingu guis ishe he
ar by thei thei very very natu nature re fragm fragmen enta tary ry in that that they they ar made made
up of essa essays ys that that were were firs firs writ writte te
's
du
f 'o 'o u b/ b/ i
thes thes work work ar uncl unclas assi sifia fiabl ble, e, whic whic is no to say,ho say,howe weve ver, r, that that no diffe differe renc nces es exis exis amon amon sett settin ing, g, an
stor stor li
minimum), L'Atfente
th thre three. e. Beca Becaus us it poss posses esse se
char charac acte ters rs
(alt (altho houg ug thes thes elem elemen ents ts ar redu reduce ce
to
I' oubli isundou isundoubt bted edly ly more more of narr narrat ativ iv work work ix
than than th othe othe two. two.L e P a s a uhowever, r, als contai contains ns u- de de Ja Ja , howeve
narrat narrative ive
invo involv lves es hi
dime dimens nsio ion, n, forit comp compri rise se no onlyapho onlyaphori rism sm an leng length thie ie pros pros pass passag ages es of
refl reflec ecti tive ve or phil philos osop ophi hica ca
an vign vignet ette te
that that coul coul be exce excerp rpts ts from from or prep prepar arat ator or
fo hi fict fictio ion. n. More Moreov over er thin thinke kers rs ar
fe
an
an
L 'E 'E c ri ri tu tu r
fa betw betwee ee
othe othe ha d, exhi exhibi bits ts fewe fewe dial dialog ogue ue
odes odes of
no narr narrat ativ iv
sket sketch ches es
Holo Holoca caus ust, t, fo exam exampl plee-an an
an
riti riti g: ther ther
ar only only tw th
th scie scie ce of etym etymol olog og
wide wide
subj subjec ects ts this this book book come come
dist distan an cous cousin in of hi earl earlie ie crit critic ical al comp compil ilat atio ions ns
of A w ai ai titi n
sett settin in
O b lili vvii o
stri stripp pped ed of an refe refere re ce imal imalis is
iver iverse se
armc armcha hair ir an
plac plac ha also also been been redu reduce ce li
co cern cern
th
re lity lity in favo favo of
in
bed, bed, an
ever everyt ythi hing ng take take plac place. e. What What take take
to th bare bare esse essent ntia ials ls Th
rela relati tion onsh ship ip betw betwee ee
an an
of th
betw betwee ee
ever ever does does an
aiti aiti
fo
vain vainly ly tryi tryi
omet omethi hi
basi basi stor stor
wo an wh
to happ happen en to th
to re em er so ethi ethi
th
that that
ay
alre alread ad have have happ happen ened ed to them them Th abst abstra ract ct sett settin ing, g, lang langua uage ge an plot plot of A w ai ai titi n
O b lili vvii o
say,hi say,hi port portra raya ya of th
sh
ho
fa
la chet chet ha co
pani panicc-st stri rick cken en city city in hi thir thir
ig h res-Hast (I 948; T h M o s H ig
from from
nove novel, l, Le
996),whic 996),whic abound abound in charac character ters, s, aman an
in
work work in prog progre ress ss Th
woma woman, n, th
of
hi alte alte ego, ego, th
ou in th
al lead lead also also
myst myster erio ious us unkn unknow owab able le
unse unseiz izab able le
figu figure re of th dehors, the outsid outside. e. of th rela relati tion onsh ship ip of th
real really ly ex ects ects of hi
some somewh wher ere, e, to thro throug ug
ne
prel prelim imin inar ar
is that that
tw
inte interl rloc ocut utor ors, s, wh
sh
writ writ thei thei st ry "t at sh woul woul
awar awaren enes es that that they they will will reac reac evol evolut utio iona nary ry stag stages es
"ess "essen enti tial al soli solitu tude de of th writ writer er wh
ha
is to
them them Dani Daniel el Wilh Wilhem em sugg sugges ests ts that that th real real "act "actio ion" n" take take plac plac else elsewh wher ere: e: "Dis "Disco cour urse se make make neit neithe he th even even of wait waitin in no that that of forg forget etti ting ng pres presen ent; t; it does does no turn turn such such an even even into into an actu actual al that that is or ca be name named. d. This This even even is undo undoub ubte tedl dl
othe othe than than what what happ happen en in this this stor stor
oe
so with with resp respec ec
spea speak, k, ot to thei thei live lives,an s,an albe albeit it recu recurr rr
tly, tly,
ot
noth nothin in
to disc discou ours rs itse itself. lf."5Wha "5Whate teve ve tran transp spir ires es to th la
anyt anythi hi
uage uage th char charac acte ters rs
ca
said said to take take plac plac
uniq unique ue even event) t) it
th subv subver ersi sion on of
fo of pass passiv ivit ity,whi y,which ch th lang langua uage ge of powe powe carr carrie ie with within in itse itself lf bu
Oblivion?
inde indefin finit itel ely. y. Exac Exactl tl what what does does happ happen en in Awaiting
owhe owhere re else else is th
"eve "event nt
in co ecti ection on with with al of that that ca sa
pres presen ente te
frag fragme ment nt foll follow owin in th open openin in
fict fictio ion, n, alth althou ough gh he isinca isincapa pabl bl limi limi of th jour journa na of
afte afte pass passin in
such such dest destin inat atio io
reac reache hed, d, howe howeve ver, r, an wewai invai fo so ethi ething ng to happ happen en
than than in th thir thir
clos closel el what what he main mainta tain in isthe unre unreac acha habl bl
arra arrato to
effe effect ct of fill fillin in hi
rela relati tion on with with alte alte it that that is play play
dial dialog ogue ue betw betwee ee
cann cannot ot cont contai ai
dramat dramatic ic situat situation ions, s, and allego allegoric rical al storyt storytell elling ing In this this stor stor of ananony ananonymo mous us enco encoun unte te betw betwee ee
in
writ writer er an
epis episod od alte altern rnat at
ha th
Both Both th char charac acte ters rs (and (and th read reader er assu assume me that that th stor stor willle willlead ad
hote hote room room spar sparse sely ly furn furnis is ed with with tabl tabl is wher wher
with with alte alte ity.Al ity.Alth thou ough gh th
th
ha been been al os comp comple lete tely ly
to co cret cret
rapp rappor or
ff impl implic icat ates es hi
depa depart rtur ur
an more more conc concen entr trat ated ed form form of th frag fragme ment nt Th
in
alone, e, hi writ writin in ? bl bl iv iv iioo n is alon
to th
th larg larg numb number er ofwrite ofwriters rs towho
Blan Blanch chot ot refe refers rs when when disc discus ussi sing ng thes thes
A w ai ai titi n
text text
d u d es es as as trtr e
frag fragme ment nts. s. Curi Curiou ousl sly, y, give give
ra ge of topi topics cs disc discus usse sedd-fr from om
acro across ss as
bent bent bu also also dial dialog ogue ue
spec specif ific ic allu allusi sion on to othe othe writ writer er
pene penetr trat ated ed into into th unde undete term rmin ined ed mili milieu eu of th spac spac of lite litera ratu ture re
of pron pronou ounc ncin in omet omethi hi
ei he sa that that itwas true true
more more succ succin inct ctly ly sect sectio ion: n: "I isnot th word word 'tru 'truth th
appe appe ed to hi or th
ontr ontrar ary. y.
an
ater ater
xi
though
that th
even co sist
in this
an er of bein
resemblance betwee inattendu and itendue) rather than by someon
ithe
true no false. That th
speech of neutrality on that is either entirely true deep within the language
no entirely false,rise to th surfac fro of negativity is th interlocutor conversation
even recounte
sa cannot be reduce expres neithe
inA w ai ti n
absolute trut
abunda
la
throughout th
in immobility," or "a
O b li vi on . What th
to either of thes
th othe trop used by
ho to expr ss th in ffable is ls
text in formulat on
distance withou
fi Blanchot uses (albei more sparingl than th othe two) to create
no utte nonsense
as in th
cree
an
non-sauoir. Meanin
always manage
beneat
followin
unde th
"The
spel of fascination,
omplai
abou
th surface of th language
waiting.Waiting tha assembles disperses forgettin
eter ity;
tha disperses
assembles. Waiting, forgetting. Th
frag en
of this book fall into thre
ba ic catego ies.
fi
silences th othe once an fo a l l . Th
examples
to
into th language of passivity, just as th murmur of excess
negativity ca alwaysbe hear
distance." Antistrophe,
states thei th impression of language writte
that of dissimulatio
such as "movin
direct discourse. Approximatel
figure of speech that Blanchot utilizes most prominentl
one-eighth of th tota number of
to represen an experience that is properly speaking unrepresent-
fragment belong to this group, making it th smallest ofthe three.
able-s-the approach toz'o th
Composit
paronomasi
an
origin of
work of literature-are
oxymoron Paronomasi
is understood here as
fragme ts
of direct discours
an
they ar
indirect asides co pris
th stringin together ofwords that ar derive from th same root
thir
bu that fu ctio
more than one-half of th fragments, is co pletel
example, in th
gr
atically as differen part
of speech
original '1I..ttendre,se rendre attentif
del'attente un acte eutre,
roul su soi, serr en cerdes do
plus interieu et le plus exterieu coincident attentio attent
et retourne
la guag of
distrait
[usqu' l'inattendu. Attente, attent
refu de rien attendre calm etendu This paragrap
qu fait en
deroulee pa le pas."6
iscircula in term of both it conten an th
hich it is co pose
Th
ke word
th passag
fragments. Th
Fo th most part th word of on orbot ar ut ered from exchange
of question
them
an
answer in th
closer understandin
othe hand implie
nouns and I'inattendu,
versatio
from th past participle
roughl
one-
nu bers slightly narrativ
an
th
of th interlocutor
of ig orance In th ir repetitiou
shif from direct discours
are attendre, an infinitive; attentif, an adjective; attente and attention, forme
standpoi
attemp to arrive at
that interrup
substantiv
larges group, whic
combinatio
contains no direct speech
le
qu es le
of th
so called becaus
direct fragments, they ofwha ishappening to
to objectiv narration, on th
change of perspective: th narrativ passages bizarr
ar emitte
an
sometime
from apoi
ofvie
incomprehensible conthat isoften superior to
of th tw speakers, In most cases, th ig orance of th inter-
of aitendre. Sentence made up of variants of th same word create
th
th
locutors in th direct discours
frag ents is replaced by th mote
self-assur
wh
effect of bein
writte
by so eo
si ce they appear to be ge erated by th
in
st te of fascinatio
so orou
qualitie
language that feeds off itself (inthis respect, note alsothe phonetic xii
voic
that th part er
of so eo
seem to be priv to secret
in th dialogue ca only drea
of knowing. Th
xiii
direct fragments therefore ca be seen as primar th
pulsatin
speech of passivit
It
text in whic
is clearl audible, wherea
th
intervening narrative fragments function as secondar texts, which pu
is
bymean of an ac of interpretation
Pu anothe way,th writer's ve
th
dialogues tha tak place between himself an the enigmati visitor to
is room
is in th ir
xcha ge th
reache th poin of closes proximit origin of th th
to th
la gu ge of his book Th
ot er ha d,
uppl
om
tari
vantag poin on step remove This distinctio
th orphic prot go is urmu that is atthe
narrativ
on this
frag ents on
xperie
"pri
associated with th "secondary texts." No ar th limits se
by th
seemingl
self-assured voice of th
readings invulnerable
barriers: the language of the secondar texts is often contaminated commentary Th authorit
unable to recogniz
of th commentaries isundermined by
Transgressiv
gaze of readin
th narrator-protagonistje
to contai
it
bu in th
doubling Give
th li it within whic
two entities the members
of th couple whom he failsto reconcil in hi narrative fragments fissur within il is reproduce
within the
couple previousl th object of th narrator' analyses when it be come th observing subjec of th experience of anothe couple th
th
thus be blin
th
rr to
degre of self-presence hi writin ha ha which remove xiv
him from
is be
to
re te
ttle fo thre levels of he
us work however,
this is no insignifican achievement. He
akes ut os us of th bj ct pronou
is di po l- ll
th
llthe
ou
ve
to portra
th
perp tu
displa
en
of
subjectivity wit respec to itself ow th
ve
um
ry
of A w a it in g
ence that th protagonis
dersta di
O b li vi o
of particular genre.
woul
of th
xp ri
undergoes, we ma
fy
like to sugges that A w a it in g
O b li vi o
is
rhapsody, in th sens that Blanchot rumself attribute to this term inL 'E n tr et ie n
he
i nj in i
om
tators have ot ye impo
fo example, atthe ti rhapsodi
th ir reig
of th epic), this work of redoubling
mode of co position
th
titi
to
actually occu on thre levels
trie (unsuccessfully) to assimilate th
bj
he
li guisti tool
likeje alwaysalready divided, is split int
arrati
lanc ot cert inly do
this impres io
from episod
th
convex surfaces reflec back
an assimilate as hi own. Moreover on ha
co ld go on forever.
experience of hismetamorphosis int theimpersona narrator il; ii,
of observation an
an
th impression that th phenomenon of refraction an doubling
thei ow language whic participate in an helps perpetuate th aimles speec of passivity in spit of th pretension
li concav
po ible wa in orde
from th experience
mary texts assume avoice of authority an superiority that ismos ofte
irrors whos
te
from
is nevertheless unstable At times, th
in
hall of
rappor
of im
plit into to
ix diff re
ieve
disintegratin di cy with
sa
neithe
Unfoldin
in place, whic
make
faithful reproducer no an im obil
th on wh
carrie th repetition forwar
repetition fill in or fissures by ne po
that perpetua
repetition
to episode, an interminable amplificatio
id
rehearse bu
and, by mean of
th gaps op ns an
peripeteia an
of
each rhapsode
lose th
finally,by dint of fillin th
out, di te ds it to th poin of volatilization."
high effect is moi.
this ccou
of th
rh psodic styl of
omposition that
lancho sees at th hear of epic poetry he accomplishes in on xv
swif gestur
activity Common sens tell us that th artifact precedes th critical appreciation of it Blanchot disrupts this distinction, however, by placin th origin of criticis
within th work itself Thus prio to
clear-cu distinctio
creation an commentary
betwee
c ri ti cs , i s t h w or k
l it er at ur e s ee n
y br i
ning is an incessan exchange betwee exigencies that render
tw irreducible, inseparabl
t h s ig ni fi c n c
i n h i i n i re c a si d s . in
il
o re ov er , i n d oi n
so
d oe s
in
position of superiorit
with respec to what transpires betwee
characters/interlocutors
hi
Instead, hi activity distends hi book "t
t h p oi n o f o la ti li z t i n " i n t h l on ge s f r g me n o f t h bcokf B la nc ho t' s i nt er pr et at io n
o f t h m yt h
Or he
p h s es . H e f ir s
t o t hi s c co un t O rp he u nd rt ke
h i m is si o
as
g oe s t hr o g h t hr e s el f- as s r e
po
s ce n f r ly
m es me ri ze d b y h i r ot ec t h i
to
is
w n m us ic , t h r es o r c
u ri n
i s u es t F i a ll y
o bl iv io u
d ic t o t t o l oo k a t E ur yd ic e ( th e m om en t B la nc h
indispensabl desperat
to
to th
attemp
to posses
self-confidenc
is.constantly waylai by th interminable of th
characters Th
o -b et w e n w h m a e s t h i r r a p or t to su
a n x te n t ha t
t o e xt ri c t e h im se l f r
e ri od ic al l
f ee l t h n e
h e l es s
fo th woman'
that "it is he voic that isentrusted to [him], notwha thus necessaril
an repeatedly forgotte
to th orphic impuls
narrator
o ss ib le , i s f as ci na te d
t hi s r el at i n s i p
learned, thanks to hi patien waitin
th
he ha
approach sh says"-is
whenever he surrenders
to reread an commen
on th interlocutors'
conversations. Furthermore,
th narrator's transgressions failto extricat hi
t o t h i n v it ab l
tr Eurydice in he nocturna
f ro m t ha t p o i ti o
w he n v e
h i d is c u rs e o f p ow e r ev ea l i ts el f
te
is
tr
An
from personal subjectivity to impersonal spontaneit ts
on that accordin
to Blanchot th experience of literature hold
element.
le
in
th
in stor fo ever writer Notes
bu la t,
is
A w a it in g O b li vi o
d es ig -
si ofimpatience: th temptation to extricat himsel te io
stor
circular conversation
th
ac
i n Await-
c on ti nu al l
possesse
Or
th
t ha t w a s u p os e
b ec om e
a te s a s " in sp ir at io n" ) a n t he r b y s uc cu m
xvi
ti
of th
repetitive
movement
t h u n e rw or ld . H i a tt en ti ve ne s
tr
th tellin
an
it footsteps in t he i
narrator initiall
w el l- co n e iv e
r o i de s u s
Awaiting Oblivion. A cc or di n
d oo me d t o f ai l i s r ee na ct e
t he i l an gu a
a n e pi so d
cast orphic glimpses over hi shoulder atthe dialogue upon whic h e e xp o n d
p ur po rt ed l
i n g O b l iv i on . Th
th
A w a it in g O b li vi o constantly
ju
t ra ns gr es si o
r am a inw hi c
artist an
te t. In th be in
possible thei subsequent division into tw
b ac k t o m pl if y o r r ef l c t f ur t e r
i vi n
h e s am e
reversal of commonly held notion Th opposi tion
Fo an extended discussion of L'?'iltente 1 I 1 a J / r i c e B ia nc bo t a n
t h L it er a u r
o j Transgression
/'oJ/hl;, se th
i xt h h ap t
(princeton: Princeton
of
niversity
Press, 1994)
xvii
Roge Laport
an Bernar
NoeI,D e u
l ec t ur e s d e l 1 1a u ri c e B l a n c h e
tex on Blanchot M a un c e B l an tb ot : L 'A na e» , Morgana, 1987), Laport /'oubli
[is
(Montpellier:
I9n), I44.ln passing, it isinteresting to note that in subsequent
FataMorgana,
modifies hi
f df r' !J 'a bl em en l
a nc ie n (Montpellier Fat
earlie position by saying that "L'.Attente
transitional work [that] mark
th
en
of [Blanchers
ovel
an
narratives" (66). Michel Deguy, review of L 'A tt en t
I 'o ub /i , N ou ve ll e
R eV il e F r an sa is e
ll
(1962):
Michel Foucault 'Maurice Blanchot Th Though
from Outside,
trans.
10
Massumi, in Foucau/t/Blollchot Daniel Wilhem
rian
(New York Zone Books, 1987),26.
1 11 au r c e B la ne bo t
La
Vo
narrative
(paris: Union generale
d'editions, 1974), 181-82. Mauric
Blancher L 'A t te n t
Mauric
Blanchot
Universit
Th
of Minnesot
I 'o u bl ; (paris: Gallimard 1962), 20
Infinite Conoersatio», trans. Susan Hanson (Minneapolis Press, 1993), 390.
Rhapsotfy ca also be define
as "a series of disconnected an ofte
extravagan
sentences, extracts or utterances
gathered or compose
unde
excitement
or rapturou
utterance"
C o ll eg e D i ct io n ar y) .
w ou l
b e h ar d p r s s
to formulat
or
strangel Fo Gaze
beautifu
concis
an
accurate characterization
rapt
of th hypnotic an
language of this book
l a c ho t' s d is cu ss io n o f h i in T b e S p a c
Press, 1982).
XVlll
( S ta n da r d
Literature,
y th , s e
h e s ec ti o
e n i tl e
trans. Ann Smock (Lincoln Universit
" Or ph eu s' s of Nebraska
Awaitin
oblivion
H er e a n wa
t hi s s e t en c
th
a d w ri tt e
fe
t ha t w a p er ha p
b li ge d t o s to p I t w a p ra ct ic al l t he s
a ls o m ea n f o
w hi l l is te ni n
t es . H e s ti l e ar d h e
im he
t o h e s pe a
o ic e a s h e w ro te .
passages whic sh di becaus he gently aske he to "Who is
speaking?" sh said "Who then is speaking?" Sh sensed an erro t ha t s h c ou l n o p u h e f i g e o n " Er as e w ha te ve r
o es n' t s e
th ll th h e a d a ss ur e
im
er th
wo ld
th
ly lt
e li ev e h e i mp li ci tl y h e i d o t
li
re
t ru t
p re se nt . " An d n o
t ha t
n o l on ge r
yo
a v t ak e s om et hi n
a wa y f ro m m e
a v a n t ha t y o d o o t e ve n h av e. " W er en ' t he r
an word that sh accepted more willingly? An that diverged less t hi n
t hi n
wa
in haps in r de r t o s a
s om et hi ng , p er ha p
sa everything that th firs paragrap
e ca us e t h f ir s w or d
seemed toher to be th most
f ai th fu l a n s o i d t h s ec on d s om ew ha t
e s e ci al l
a t t h e nd .
fr
hi realizin it what he ha writte
fa ei gs Wa
ha ce whic
room responsibl
ha
assigned hi
to this
articula
he th ught of he de po de
for thei becoming so intimately involved with
eac other? Inth meantime others ha
occupied it an sh said
that nevertheless sh avoide them He room wa atthe en of th same hallway,a little farthe down at th plac wher bega to turn
with so much assura ce
he said to himself. He experience fa
No
avagu feeling of despai when
disavowa
wh
he ha writte
fu
of this slightly cold ha ea ders to
plac
th
woul
here sh
lead hi
bywa of unusua
ould disappea
an
leav hi
th building
ould se he when sh wa lyin ou onthe spa-
ha
belo ge
He ha
alwaysbee
like this
though
abou
ciou balcony, an he ha made sign to he shot tlyafter hi arrival. abou th itinerary. Therei
withou
hile he gathered togeth wa watching hi failure?
hy di
sh re udiate so sadl what sh ha
sh repudiatin
herself? He though that
ha done somethin
certai
said Wa
di no remember questionin her, bu that wa no excuse he ha questioned he in
more urgent manner by hi silence, hi waiting, yth
trut
to
openly
trut
that wa direct disarmed irrevocable. he were to star seekin
sti
th sheets of paper-an
touc ed he across th void
fo seen wh
ow sh
curiou eyes-s-h coul no help feeling
very well why.It wa asif he ha
omen he
wrong. He ha questioned he to brutally He
throug
doub layhis mistake.
fe
sh was.That di no encourag
him;it suggeste
rather
th en of everything Period ''All right, he said to himself, "i yo don' want to
giveup." He wa givingup, bu on anintimate note
in an uttera ce that it is true wa
ot addresse
di ectl
less stil to he secret He ha been aiming fo somethin
to her, else that
wa more fa ilia to him, that he knew an with whic he seemed to have live in joyous freedo
He
as asto ishe
to discov
fu discov
th
correc re so
trul saidto hi
he woul
what he no
ever
sure that sh ha
di no doub that he ha heard-s-he
owed this conviction to he presence to th murmur of th words: th ai continue
to spea here Butlater
abou later; he woul
ot tr to fi
He di no have to worr
an guarantees fo anothe
time He woul le he remain free.Perhaps he di no want to push he into othe co fidentia he secretly desire hi
bu it also
that he ha
othe
revelations; perhaps, on th
contrary
to keep he on this very tack That appealed to ad
hi
feelvery uneasy
otives Hadn't thes
motive
he discovered altered, withou
thought! He pick
up th sheets of
pape an wrote, "I ishe voic that isentruste
to hi
What an asto ishi
to you, ot what
sh says.What sh says th secret that yo collec an transcribe of thei atte pt to seduce toward th sile ce that yo ou of them somethin
he aske him
ha he ha just writte
firs drew ut it wa
that sh must no hear that they must no hear together
He wa lookin
at he furtively Perhap
on he face no expression
sh wa speaking bu
good will with respec to
ha sh
to
ly
o w l it tl e l iv e i n o u D o ' t
io
scarcely speaking suffering
a l t h t ra c
s pe a i ng , i f y o w an t m e t o h e
othe
ou
Bu
p r s en t
ve
a yi n
c a e ff a
o f m y s ta y im
o th in g s h c ou l n o l o g e k ee p s il en t
r em ai n h er e o nl y s o t ha t
in
ti
country, othe cities othe roads, th same country.
.He
th im
t ha t s h w a n o y e s pe a i ng . A n s o h e w ai te d H e w a w an t t o t a
p os se ss io n
wh
s h k ne w m or e b y f o r e tt i
Bu fo
th
w it h e r i n t h
r ea t s hi ft i
c on fi ne d
c ir cl e o f w ai ti ng .
.''
th
ente into forgetting.
a wa r o f t hi s W ha t
s a i s o th in g. "
merely repeat it. Bu neve di sh recogniz he word inmine. Di u nw it ti ng l
c ha n
s om et hi n
i n t he m
Di
s om et hi n
ch ng
"I
speaking when yo speak. And, therefore, in
In
utteranc
that must berepeate
before ithas been heard, atraceless
murmur that he follows wanderin t h n e e ss it y i s a lw a
nowhere, residin
everywhere
l et ti n i t g o t h a n i en t w or d t h
single language always to make th double
speech heard.
w an t t o b e h er e a ga i w it h
justification. 't
out speaking. . .. . I t i s n o
fi ti n, lt ou
word truth i n
io
i s i nc ap ab l t.
o f r on ou nc in g
he though that th even consiste
th
th
h im , a n h e c a s a n ei th e t ha t i t w a t ru e n o t h c o t r r y
a te r
inthis manner of bein neithe
io
fr
waitin * Th e
fo hi al
s pe ak e
bein there, surprise
li
in
ld it
ir
in th
an almost irritated,
to justif himsel whil justifying her? ha
s hi ft e
a br up tl y f ro m fII to
by hi companion. Sh nonetheles
familiar form although
VOIIS
i s u se d
VOIIS,
continue
tlu:oughout this fragment. On many occasions, th
ro
th
te him so uncomfortabl
unnoticed
true no false. .P
h"*
dr
ll
to us
th
fortna zosr
characters address each other
osr of th
ti e.
W it h h i y ou th fu l v ig or , It wa
r il la n p er i
w he n
t hr e
a d o t h es it at e
w he n e ve r t hi n
s ti l s ee m
a ut io n t o t h w in d r an d m l
w it h s ov er ei g
t he n t o r es po nd .
r ec ti t d e o f t h e ss en ti a
o ss i l e a n
t ak i
o te , a lw a
e ta i a n e nt r s ti n
th
rest to hi flawless memory
ip io
th
serious frivolou existence with no resolution with no perspective, w ou l
r es ul t a s f o h i r el at io n
w it h e r
p er pe tu a
l ie .
-: Th characteristic of th room isit emptiness. When he enters ti
it
isa
th
a s a lw ay s l i ve d i n t h k i
h e l ik e i n
o d s t h ot el . B u a s s o
isth
le
ly
t,
im
wh
•you are, an armchair ri ti
ld
in
Sh imagined-s-a
te hi
on else tr
in
it
re
e rh a
t hi s t r t h t ha t s h s e m e
is
s uc ce ed in g i n m a i n
ly
t h l as t m om en t
leas this wa hi impres sion-s-tha he ha at
i sp os a a g re a p ow e t h
t h i nf i i t
o ne : m a
s ti l
mo
negligence he refuse
us
h e c ou l h av e s e t o r e a t o h av e c on st an tl y
i t r ea l
u t t hr ou g
e fo r
t h h ea r e r w it h u t
a n i nc o p re he ns ib l
to do anything with this power. ''Wh don'
tr " Mo r himsel wa weighing so heavil on him?
r e o in g
' 'Y es , r ob ab l
m or e
l it tl e m or e, "
h a t hi s i mp re ss i
si ce
in
0)
ar yo tellin me this?" Bu sh persiste
I!
"Acknowledge this powe that belong
perhaps.
with he calm obstinacy:
to you.
''1d o n o k n
ro
i s, p
i s p ar t o f o u
-1
in
ra
everything elsc=-bu s tr u g l
t ha n y o
a d e d l ig ht h a rt ed ly . " I h av e o ft e
0)
a ga in s
ir
io
rather that sh wa engage
e rt ai n w or d t ha t h a
future or with somethin
ee
in
h e v oi c
cold painfu
that ha no ye come about, nevertheless w ou l
kn
n ot hi n
m uc h h e a d w an te d t o n ow ) m or eo ve r
o u i n t h i mm en s
e mp ti n s s
o f t hi s e mp t
t h e mp ti ne s
l ac e
p la ce d i n h e c ar e s o
alread present, nevertheless alread past he felt afraid fo th firs t im e T o e gi n w it h
ri
o f t h v oi ce s a n t h e mp ti ne s
( an d h e c o l d s e w ou l
ow
n e e r p er c i v
express. in membered. 0)
fo silenc whos indifferen
ll background woul have been formed
by everythi
ha sh
ad said
ut only he ri
coul
ouri surprise ifhe aske he this question becaus fo her, itwa awor
thi silence. both searched fo po erty in language On this point,
he
they agreed Fo he ther were alwa
to
an
wo ds an
on
word to many as well as overly rich word that spok excessively. Although sh wa apparently no very learned, sh always seemed to prefer abstract words, whic
that sufficed on it own. As soon asone waited fo something, on waited 0(0
little less
Th
extraordinar
pressure that discretion an th silent wait-
on him. Fo quit so
in exerte
ti
they ha
evoked nothing. Wasn't sh trying
fo
an he alon with her, to create fo hersel at th hear of this stor fr also help
attract? Ther
and sentence
we
that made hi
Perh ps by proposin destro in hi
hi thing. He wa lookin
om
ts when he believ
this
believ this
Ther
th will to expres himself, to whic
us beno turnin
will with respec to what
fa
only to
sh sought at
"I
th same time to reduce him. -I-
abou this
at he furtively.Perhaps sh wa speaking
sh wa saying ..
to him, sh wa te
this stor
lo ge been
back
If yo do it
willdesire it
He reflected: "Perhaps
coul
have
,wh 0(0
neutra act, coiled upon itself in tigh circles, th inner-
waitin
most an outermos in waitin
an
of whic
returned all th fu
unfurle
woul
coincide attentio
ay to th
distracted
unex ected. Waiting,
fo
didn't know you. This made he laugh: "But yo don' know me." 0(0
"Yes."Doe
sh really sa this word It is so transparen
itlet what sh sayspas through, includin
that
th word itself
0(0
by steps.
fa in you."
an initia distra tion that wo ld le itself be reache dissimulated an
disperse
in acts of extrem
only when
attention. Waiting,
bu subordinated to that whic coul no allowitsel to be awaited. To wait seem to signif fo he th rele atio an that must have as it outcom
initia void an energeti
of hersel to
stor that sh woul make it hi obligation to carr throug en
From th outside, he woul
it progressiv
become
kind of
refusa to le th stor ge unde way.
to th
movement
involved in
story?
An almost faded memory that nevertheless
to haun 'him.
wa as to draw it slowlyout from th initia
distraction, withou which, however-he woul
of th beginning,
Story, what does sh mean by that He re embers th word
continue this narrativ in such
have like fo things to be bett
understood asthe reallywere instea
steril act.
senses it well-attention
*Thi IJIOIJJCllt
sentence wa originally uttere pOIl/
(I9jl;
When th
T im e
by on
C On CS ,
of th
[98).
characters of Blanchet's Al
t ha t t he i l ac k ad
m bi g i t
s in gl e m ea ni n
a lo n r en d r e
u ts i
s us pe ct :
o f w hi c t he y w ou l
t hi s something, on waited
little less
m e n in g
He st rt ye whic
w ai t r em em be r
h ea ri n
b eh in d i t b u i n
agains me?"
w o l d f in d i t s m ea ni n
i n e r n d e x r es se d
hi
to th si
x p n s w it ho u
e r h a a lm os t n ot hi n h a wa
Secretly before th gaze of everyone
t hi n
e pt h w it h
to
utteranc
o tt om , with whic
i n c om mo n
ha
c a s pe a
Th refusa with whic
were thought.
w ha t s h w a s a i ng , n d a s i f
wa materially locatable, anothe
i s w h a t he y d o n o c ea s t o e v k e a t e ve r i ns ta nt . As if pain's proper dimensio
n d a n t ha t a t t h e n
lo
its entirety. Is it
s o t ha t t h m em or y c a
th
th
le
it
turn
nl
i f t he y h a g ai n f al l s il en t
o yo u
sh resisted hi
layin he very docility
wa li
-I-
don' want to
giveup. He realized that sh migh have forgotte
e ve ry th in g T hi s f or ge tt i to sa to im c er ta in ty ,
w a p ar t o f w ha t s h w o l d h a
li ed
th beginning, with hi youthful vigo an brillian
In
ha
r e e le d i n t hi s f or ge tt in g w hi c
th
s h c ou l
r ev e
th t.
in
in
rg in
tt
wq
that
m ad e h e s pe a to
carrie
tw he
th
a d n o h is to r
et th
t at e
h im ? W as n' t h e t o s tr on g t o h e
t h e xt e s iv e m e n in g o f i s w n e xi st e c e i n w h a s h s ai d i n e r s im pl e ha
ca
p ea k o y o
s ai d w h
ic
n o c o n ec ti o
t he y s ai d w it h
s en te nc es ?
th
ll t?"O
it
w il l r eg r
a lr e d y d o. " B ut , o t w it h u t s ad n s s s h a dd e i t t oo . A t w hi c
w it h
to t o a n o n e ls e' s A n
br ke
e ri ve d t h a ut h r it y t ha t s om et im e
e st ro y t hi s w il l t o s ay . r eg r
r ee xi st in g l a g ua ge .
t h r e w er e be
away by it movement
-I-
w hi ch , i f I w er e t o s a i t w o l d
sh
A n w ha t b o
W ha t w a m is si n
a n s pe a t oy ou .
in
w hi c
e r t o c on vi nc e
that he too, ente into forgetting
a vi n
sh regained he tranquil reality.
s ee me d t o h i sh wa in fr
le io
e rs el f f ro m s pe ak i g . A n t h
m o e nt s w he n t h t hr ea d o f t he i r el at io n
" 1 w il l
t el l y o t ha t c as e i t w o ul d
p re ci si o
p oi nt , h ow ev er , s h r em ar ke d
il " Yo u
t h p r b le m i s t h
b et te r
o t t o b eg i . " S h l au gh e
1 h av e a lr ea d b e u n
o w. "
Y es , b u
ca
ot be expresse
by th
os co
he hi self belo gs to this sa
ju
on words, provided that
secret instea
it and
of knowin
that he forsakes hi shar of ligh in this world. He woul
ff
neve know what he knew Such wa solitude
'"
fy
ju him, addressing itself to him. "Giv that to me." An utterance
fro
order;
eutral whit
uttera ce that (not withou hope he feel
he willnot alwaysresist. "Giv that to me." ;. He is atthis
othe
than this co fi em
is only th resu ptio
of
It slowly sudd
ly dawned on hi
'" An
fi
openings in th walla fe
to reflec an
allthe wa to
woul
like to thin
it
atth
little longer
ca hear only that whic
have alread heard.
table,
does
ot reac
by tw wi dows th
feet away.ligh
come in almost evenly
room that isstillvery well lit, although
there, sittin
up straight in
armrests sh does no use, sh is breathin pleasure of ending life last
that coul
level,possesse
be accomplished most easily on
on anothe leve allthe characteristic
nevertheless stay.This wa th trut
ever thing, everythi
personal
"Everythin
that yo must say."-
decision
hear We will remain together
around whic
of
she, too, wa
sometimes, with an indifference that wa alread
f,
't
hi stay he wa ther becaus at He wa forcin
slowly
it must
will tell yo
circling stealthily. An
chai whos
uc
fe somethin
form obliqu
assive solid, blac one. Next to th table,
dg of th part ofth
th su
from then on he woul
it
ye everything remained unchanged.
told "But this thought, itis alwaysth same thought!" he is conten on
al ay sa this
in;
he room is illu inat
fi allyrespo ds "Not exactl th sa
t. Didn't sh
place"? look fo awayout He woul
omen engage in anerror from whic he does
ot wish to exclud hi self an whic
othi
fo
certai
oment, he ha
he to speak, he realized that
clos th room up almost immediatel
kind left
ow He woul
afte sh entered. He woul
must help
that yo wa
to say."-
'
us
everything Bu no
e, asyou wellknow.
isno true that yo ar shut inwith
an that everythi
yo have no ye told me separate yo from th outside. Neithe fe li te to them from afar '" Do yo
an to separate yourself from
e?
ut ho
willyo
.; He knew an it seemed to hi
go abou it?Where willyougo? In what plac ar younot separate
re th re
ftomme?
th (>
If something
it happ afte
disappearance-ho
nd it is true
only
uc
late
lo
ca it no be unbeatable asof now?
cannot beat it co pletely.
om ts th
same continuous pressure no
exerting it Solitary waitin ou
it ou
ours lv s, forcin
ow waiting, leavin us nothin first, th
pabl re
ig oran
of inti acy;
to
it outsid
first, in ta ts
each othe existing side by side touching an
nd re ti p,
be
on th tabl in
ould li it is ig
though th
of
he ad gott
in ch
ou
rath
it
he
wa th
en
look
by tryi
"Yes
it
it ev
inside is though
it
ke
d, forc
hi
exactly meticulously
taking into accoun hi presence bu
to di trib te it ro nd he pr
al os necessaril
discover what wa
nc
issing th
kn
th
be om
ould
lack of whic
ot very fo
at this room bu only sinc sh ha no stoppe il
in iste
to de ribe it to
ti
Ther
wa
it he ha foun
ov
verythin
poin of weakness an distractio
ritt
been arranged an
nd
in him that he d,
what seemed to him to be th
th
with
ov r. Formerly
gh
know everything.
of lookin
asking hi
it al os pleasant
cros th room of co mittin
already."-
introduc
oo
no fleetingly withou
whenever he entere
sh wa there. "You know everythin
if he
ta k.
bo
to him as threatening at others asjoyous,or asthreateningly joyous
tr ig t,
ds
erio ly to th
with
unconcerne
idle
or
ad them both dependen on so ething that at ti es appeared
ba
walk
th
re of
ted,
to
in
ffor on is part to thin
ff ring th t,
turally, re
is
gr
imagined that if he coul describe this roo an
He tried, at ti es painfully, no to take he into account. little room
it te to oncl de th
think
eac other. took
to
form of
in
more to await. At first intimacy
wo ld no
of pplyin
ir
to re
th fo ours lv
on rn
he examined this question with
him to eliminat withou violence al
void wa locate at plac that he coul have situated ha hebee
in all it points si ilar to space, exerting
is pa
of void
patience that enable
irreleva
all its
li
ki
that sh knew that somewher
essentia infidelity.
ad to livethro gh
oriented by an ill-perceive
necessity, around
thi point likea capricious shifting forc field.Wha wa thi point? only know together." Sh reflected: "But don' yo
risk knowin
om translated th
ou sa it."
"I
on it once
ti
ou
willsa it lway "-
"Y
th t' it
pe astonishin
time he wa read
to begi
discoveries of this approach An this move en
each
again: agains hi will
and yet willingly;not willingly,agains his wil only.
always.
''1 lno 14
yit ow
"N
o, ot
lo
impatien
He
lo ge
it
on
only th ir
th ultimate strength c o s en ti n
Withou
patience withou
n o r ef us in g a ba nd on e
impatience
w it ho u a ba n o n
la
neithe
mo in
in io
immobility. i t w ha t m el a c h l y wo
n d e t w it h w ha t c al m c er ta in t
in
ta ly
tl
f el t
''1ask, however, fo very little admi
to standing almost beside him, lookin
straight ahead: "Naturally if
{o
in r de r t o
lv
m ak e m e r es po n
agam. They alwaysdiscussed th moment when they woul no longer h er e a n a lt h u g d is cu s s uc h
th
m om en t
n o l e a b u t t he i e te r i t
k ne w t ha t t he y w o l d a lw a t he y t h u gh t t ha t t he r w a t ha n t o s pe n
h er e t o
o th in g m or e
i t e v k in g i t
nd
g ai n
" Un le ss ,
s ai d s mi li ng , " I d i f ir st . to
a s t ho u
t o a n t he r i de a " I m us t
c ap a l e o f k no wi n
t ha t i t m ig h n o b e t h s am e t hi n c a h ea r n l w h
ta
o nl y n e
o u p re c u ti on s. "
h av e a lr ea d h e r d
{o
w he r
t w w in do w
op
o ut ? I s t h r e a lw a
t h s am e l i h t e ve n
though nigh ha fallen _ , E xp re s
f ul ne ss ,
e r w or ds , h e a ct io ns . B u
A h i f o nl y
o nl y t ha t w hi c
c a n o b e e x r es se d
c ou l
se se
g re at e d o b t
h av e p er su a e d m ys el f t ha t s h w a h id in g ase
e av e i t u ne x
pressed. . ; S om et hi n
e ga ti v
e lp e
h a i t w it ho u k no wi n
e r s p a k H e a d t h i m r es si o
in
id
0)
with he existence. If
Y o m us t it
p oi n t h f ro m o n s el f
th
th
i t w as . a v t al ke d w it ho u
stopping?"
possibility of finishing
d is ta n
wh
A nd , t o o n l ud e w it h f er v r : " Co ul d
n d e t w it h t h g r a te s
a ss io n
a ss io n
c ar ef ul : s u
it i t w ou l
ak
a wl es s i t i s a pp ea r n ce ,
ic
la
i si bl e i f y ou r e si r t o s e i t i d n o p us h
away al th rest
li
T h t ho ug ht s
t h n i h t a lw ay s m or e
s on al , m or e p ai nf ul , I nf i i t
speaking now.
f ig ur e to
p ai n a n j o
r il li an t m or e i mp er -
r e c o s ta nt , a nd , a t t h
sam time, tranquillity (00
what explaine
th difficulty of thei relations; sh spok th truth,
* 1b i
e xc ha ng e s uc ci nc tl y s um ma ri ze s w ha t t ra n p ir e i n B la nc ho t' s e ar li e n ar ra -
tive L'Arref d e m o r
(1948; D e at h S e nt el lc e , 1 9 78 ) .
17
w as , s h w a n e e r r ea ll y e ng ul f
(0
impassiv
an unfeelin
in you.
tr
s se rt i
h er se lf , o n t h
mor persuasive.
(0
t h d es cr i t i l ac k
r em ai ne d u nf in is he d
o nl y t h i r
a la r
w n b se nc e
h e p ar t w a n o
i t w a a lw a
h et h
c o p le t
an
t hi s w a c au s f o j o o r
t ha t y o
c li ng in g t i h tl y t o a c o th er , l i
in it
bo ie
th word
ly
" i i s o u f au lt .
little daylight stil passed
yth
(0
u lt i
''
" Ye s y es , s h s ay s j o o us l
Throug
bu having indistinct boundaries
ou li
t o l e y ou rs el f b e a bs or be d
is f au lt .
tw
a v s ai d a ro un d
ou wo ld
il
will no longer be here either."
T w u tt er an c
" I s e e ve r t hi n t ud e i nt o w hi c
n ow n ' 'W he n w e a v l ef t. " O r s im pl y th
(0
by it
ty
it
(0
tr lo r et ur ni n a wa r
te
t ow ar d i ts el f a n y e n o e xa ct l t h s am e a s h e w a w el l
t he r w a
h av e t au g
o ss ib l
hi
it Perhap itis
i ff er en c
v er y m uc h i f
i n t hi s r et ur n w hi c
a d b ee n c a a bl e
difference of time perhap
slightly faded, slightly enriched with o f t hi s f a i ng , a s i f t he r i s l w y s
w ou l
r ec og ni zi n
id th same utteranc
singular meanin
on accoun
l it tl e l es s i n t h r es po ns e t ha n
neve spok in thos terms. An with peculiar energy "H di no it
u e t io n
e , v e w he n y o s ay t h in g t h
th
re
th to le
to th
th in w a t ha t a w k e e d i n h i
r em ai ne d
is
indistinct assemblage stretching to infinity an
disappearing into
t h d a , a c ro w t ha t w a n o
tr
p eo pl e b u s om et hi n
uncountabl
kind of abstract weakness incapabl
u mb er . A n y e w ha te ve r h e r el at io ns hi p t o t h
r ow d
th be street
i st a t ,
a in fu l a w r en es s " Ye s
l mo s t h e nt ir e t im e w it h m e
H e r e a in e
v er y l ar g
it to
im
ld
an indefinite
ic
if
ar
id
r ow d
te
le
isr th
H e d id n' t l ik e t o s e p e p l
boldly formulated th question "Why then di he remain almost
in th question ''All o u w or d
jo
t ha t i s s a yi n a l ot . H e l iv e o n h i o w
a lm os t t h
iv
n ti r t im e w it h e r
th
and, inth streets, th city's incessan
th movement
hi ow sake alon in orde to be together
'' re
fo
together
We aren't completely ar we We'r only together if we coul
be
other.
separated."
-I
-I
separated.
'W
ar separated,
am afraid by everythi
yo do no want to sayabou yourself
that
"But also united becaus
in memory from whic
sh emerge
be separated, whethe Loving in hi sh coul
He know that ther isa certai coincidenc
be directed at him, were he to remain ther Ther
hi
th plac willneve
eternally.Bu he does
certain, cold happines
only throug
in remaining, unknown, in
of an extrem impersonal attention.
Th attentio
fo it
isignorant of everything abou him; he senses it
th infinit negligence inwhich itkeep him, but, with
extrem delicacyand bymeans of constant imperceptibl
sayto hi
it ha -I
always alread detached him from hi self an
contacts akes hi
free fo th atte tion that fo an instan he becomes. fi
-I
be finished with it all
''
woul
"I the
change if we waited together
If fo
in waiting.
be elated to he
directly bu becaus sh woul oblige him- ot an er When he touche
rese ce
ot
that he woul ever
he an drew he toward himsel in
movement to which she immediately consented he knew, however, fr slig
distance that he di
ot lose th hope of reduci
little further ~.Th
of an center
In
th
ce te
at perfec
equality with itself is
of atte tion disappears th
is to be seen inwardly an outwardl Attentio
wo ders if solitude coul
equa an
th absenc
ttention
ystery is th ce te of atte tion
ce tral
poin around whic perspective, sight, an th orde of that whic
"Together, waitin an withou
waiting."
ther
object of atte tion Th
when attention, bein
"Everythin
-I
Th myster isnothing, even asa mysterious nothing. It cannot
be th
only that.
20
is
th compan sh rese te
betwee
an th attention. It isa plac of attention. Th attentio
to affirm smiling, ''We cannot
spea or not. erhaps-althoug
her.
no desire to be th object of this attention, either
fa whic
he is estled agai st th wall turned toward th on wh
is firml holdin
ar distributed.
isidl an uninhabited. Empty, itis th clarit of th
emptiness. Mystery: it esse ce is to be al ay on this side of at ention throug
itself that whic
th source
is always on this side of atte tion
all waiting: mystery.
Attention, th welcomin openin
of that whic
onto th unexpected waitin
escape attention, an
that is th unexpected in all
waiting.
be isparallel to th tabl an to th wall opened by tw 2I
Only waitin give attention. Empt nothin
struck hi
ha
so much as th firs words.
he proved with respec indiscreet that he wa to confin
to herself, to be so asto is ingl
only purpose-s-of
him to
time with no project, is
waitin tha gives attention
himself anything that wa relate
discretion that wa almost incompatible
with life.
th
en less es
to anythlng else bu rather wa carried,
of waiting, to th extr
li it that esca es
waiting.
"You listen to th stor remarkable interesting.
as if it concerne
somethin
oving,
He does listen in this wa
stor that requires only
little attention. Bu also th waitin
tha gives attention '" Someon
Waitin give attentio
whil withdrawin
hrough atte tion he ha at his disposal th waiting. This endlessn ss expose
in me converse with himself.
Someone in me converse with someone.
everything that is
awaited.
do ot hear them
allo
hi
endlessnes
to that whic
ca
of
ot be
itself to be reached.
However, withou me to separate them an withou this separation that
maintain betwee
them they woul
'" He realized that sh wa attracte
ot hear each other.
by light, bu by
words withou attention ttention neve left him; in it he wa cruell abandoned.
particular
think that on
-H that he ha Do
than another; ea
tacitl accepted neve to stop maintaining.
ot describe that asif yo re
bere
each sentence wa th
it
expect tion
fundamenta
or
importance
than al th
others
sentence ye they attempte them that need
bu rather is at th li it of '" ediately
-; Sh di no wait he di
ot wait Betwee
them however, th
waiting. '" Th
importan
no have been proffered
expectation.
separate
uttera ce ha or
only to gather all together in th single on amon
himself, suspects that sh ha
on wa
straighten up an asks ''Wh
said that?"
grea silenc reigns everywhere he asks agai
''Wh
as
is keepin
the silence? ttention waits.He does ot kn from hi
an
aiti
outsid
if th
atte tion is his,
him. He re ai
only
return th sile ce toher
on to receiv it from her.
with it. Th arrive
atte tion that waitin gather th acco plishmen
in hi
of that whic
fo he awaits bu rather
to le al accomplishable things diverg throug approach of the unaccomplishable. 22
waitin alone, th
at ractin
hi
in he
ovemen
withdrawing, immobile leavin
of withdr wal. They were room fo
thei
ot
immobility Ly
sh
oves away sh is recaptured
at
re ove, envelopi
fo
im is unawar
dest oy
th
whic
it awaits Waitin
awaits
nothing.
inghim. -:-The uncharte
Whatev
spac of dread.
spent th
ight he wa please with hi choice It wa
modest hotel, th kind he liked, fairlynarro esid hi
th importance of th
is always infinitely surpasse
-:-When, upon awakening,he recognized th room wher he ha
lo
of an
room in
bu long abnormally
th body of th youn wo an faci
th
renders all thing equall important fo th
slightes thing, we have at ou disposal aninfinit
''Waitin does no console.
-:-Even if waitin
hi
fu
to be struck by thes words,
an lo ge than yo have ''
Later, sh trie
,' hi
"Those wh wait havenothing
is relate
to th
He feel liberate
anxiet
that he experiences,
bywaitin for waiting.
re al eady such ancien uttera ce
ul te them though fo such
'W
trut
itself hear
capacity
waiting, with it ow tranquil anxiety,dissolved hi along time ago.
-:-They
know yo that yo do ot kn
equall vain. Inorde to wait
to be consoled about.
night. -:-He said to her, an sh ap eare
ay be it
for waitin tha seems inexhaustible.
ther
him
"I have no know
object of waitin
by th movement of waiting. Waitin
lo
ti
and, when sh forthat they repr se
that is brillian outside, extinguished inside
by me?"
Everything sh saysrepresent
ancien thoughts an previous
utterances Elsewhere, he woul understand them in this place, he bu rather to giveme to be heard. -:
ince when ha
waiting, wherei
th
hear them to late
he been waiting? Waitin is always beginnin
is withheld
th
an th interval of anothe wait thus open d. Th nothin Th
en
wait fo
suspended,
ight in whic
Envelope
-I
in herself, turned toward an awayfro
coul he se her? He must struggle agains ashe lo ks atit look
though that as soon
him.
is awaite represents this moment of waiting. impossibilit
of waitin belong essentiall to waiting.
He realized thathe ha writte only sothat he coul respon th impossibilit
to
of waiting. What wa said therefore wa relate
to waiting. This illumination flashed throug
him, bu di nothin
more than that -: Sinc when ha he starte
forg
Ther
"I have forgotte
everythi g.
"Yes yo have forgotte
is no real dialogue betwee
tain betw en wh wait
towait? Sinc he ha made hi self
verything.
forgotten you.?"
they sa
certai
them Only waitin relation
ords
-:-In waiting, each word become slow an solitary *The female interlocutor
says this
have also
me."
waitin of words.
fre for waitin by losing th desire for particular things includin
24
him; ho
main
poke
to
ta
0)
lhe
le
in t h
believe.
way, motionles 0)
t hi n
m ot e s o t o w h
within movement
Always th same mornin
isno
0)
to
h e s a s : h e s pe a
is th attentiv
light.
it
having to look at further.
<>
Steril waiting, always poorer an emptier Full waiting always
richer inw ai ti ng . T h
o n i s t h o th er .
t h r es tl e s ne s
He ha
e nd ur e
w ai ti ng .
h op e t h
a it in g m a
n xi et y o f
Waitin waits. Throug m ai nt ai n
0)
c er ta i
w a w hi l
f fi rm in g i t
Th
countles
D ea th , c o s i e re d
o f e at h t h w ai ti n
n e i es .
a n e ve n t ha t o n a wa it s i s i n ca pa bl e o f in
t hi n
population of emptiness.
no
waiting, he wh wait dies waiting. He
w ai ti n i n d ea t a n s ee m t o m a
in
secret relation to herself.
him eternal, an
ll
f o t ha t w hi c i s s ti l a w i te d w h
s h a lw ay s d en ie s h e p re se nc e i n
0)
im
illusion.
no drea 0)
h e l is te ns ; t o i ms el f
indifference of th place.
Itw a t h h ea rt be at s 0)
l es s t h
ti
th
th
ceas waiting. Waitin iswha allows us to know that deat
cannot
be awaited.
0)
it i n i ni t
0)
im
fa ne er ou te
t ha t s h k n
n ot hi n
a bo u
o f l if e
l if e b ec au s
heavines
of deceptio
must persever
withou
w ai ti n he
i m S h w a i gn or an t
ig ra p ro f u n
em ti es
n st ab l
an error. Whoeve
t h e nd , w ha t
ha accepted that once
end.
th
m pt in es s o f t h b e o n o f t h s e t w m ov em en t
th t hr ou g
e at h i t i s a wa it e
ts
ia
W he n t he r
sh does no believe.
to
i s r ea ch e
w it ho u
b ei n r ea ch e
a n i s n o r ea c e d w it ho u ic
to
n ow i
re
waiting.*
ls t ha n s h i nv e t s i t w it h f ai t
as th
i nd et er mi n t en es s
e t e y n d B u a s t hi s b ey o
t hi s r e o ub le d s ol it ud e
I t s e m s t o i m t ha t s h
n d w ai ti n
li
i s w ai ti n
it oe
o t o ub t h e
P er ha p
r es e c e a n m or e
b ec a s e s h
oe
to
i nt im at e t ra nq ui ll it y a t t h
n ot hi n
i s w ai t d . I n t h m o e me n
le e ar t o f w hi c
ti
e ve ry th in g t ha t c om e
o t d ou bt , * Th i p as sa g
a nn ou nc e
B la nc ho t' s n ex t f ra gm en ta r
th
w or k Le P a s a l f~ d e l a
r-re fo i n s u p e s e i n d is so l t io n empt
an
s ur pa ss e
by th
in
d e t h d oe s o t l e i ts el f he de
am
f a i n t h o t e r w ay . T h
th
ti
silenc almost transparent. Al of
il
t hi s q ue st i n : " W
a wa it ed .
s om eo ne . W ho ?
ta le
th
sudden sh addresse hi
a r y o r ea ll y Y o H e i nt er r p te d
an ot be yo
with
bu yo ar
i s w or k l ow er s i s e ad . " I a m io
a c t o l if e d yi ng .
an doubts," he says softly "I choose wh
tions
to
. ; S h w a l yi n d ow n p ar ti al l it
th
.;
v er y i ns ta n
sameness of waiting.
ly
a c o th er .
response."
to
ju
in
"Yes what yo just said." ;. will you
will
th
.; Th
decaying of waiting, boredom. Stagnant waiting, waitin
it
finallyhatefu of itself Waiting th calm anguish ofwaiting waiting s ud d n l an
a s h im , w it h u t
e rh a
e ve n w it h u t
v e c ha n i n h a g in g
t h r e i st e o f h e v oi c
e r w or ds : " Ac t i n s uc h
e co m
th
al
xp ns
wh re th ug le
wa
i s p r es en t i n w ai ti n ta
l yi n
to
this request. Fo days he ha struggle
agains her, throug
words, throug r es e c e o f t h p la c
o u w er e? " S in c
di no wa
k in d o f r es er va ti o
p er ha p
s h c o c lu de d t ri um p a n y , " Y
to iv s om e
s p c if i r ep ly , e ca us e or
s er i u s d if fi cu lt y
s ee , o u c a n o
s ay i t , l e
lo
dose to each of them hewould necessaril
ad no be li
wh
h e w o l d o t l e h e l e v e H e w a h er e s h w ou l
m or e e xt r o rd in ar y i n h e t o m ak e
o mi n
t ha n
s ig n t o e r
o ut h
sa
;.
di
o th in g
d i i n t h f ac t t ha t h e h a
s ho r w hi l a go : s h w a h er e o t l e himleave. tr
it
e tw ee n
th
have feltlik anintrude
i n t hi s r oo m b u w it h t h f ir m a ss ur a c e o t e si t t e
n o s pe a t ow ar d m e y o s pe a t ow ar d s om eo n
n d a ss ur ed l i f t he r
fe
l on e
deny it." . ; " Yo u
im
when yo thin that wa abandone
bymyself who, then isno
It is
swi
0;.
next to you?"* 0;.
on
"Com
it
ppro
ki
slowly
of profou
di tr ctio
ot in pite of hers lf bu de him wondrously
th
hearing thi kin of condemnation "N
0;.
fo
attentive. re ember?
li only
th
ould ttra
to hi
(>
Narro
th presence vast th place.
0;.
''
lly,yo
fi
been candid?"
in forgetting from forgetting?"
it andidly.
"Ver candid to
withou candor that is attemptin th
"W y? Have 't
lw ys
candid perhaps, fo th trut to expres itself throug
ot
ls
you.
him
or
than th effort to reac thisthought that outsid them waited fo them to
ow th
th
ayor to le
th
tray
ttribute
te thoughts to
r.
he
gh
or
thought di
"So, we will be wondrously profoundly eternall
forgotten?
"Forgotten withou wonder withou profundity
without eternity." Together the wen int the room, slowly,lightly,adeptly mov-
(>
in around each obstacle lookin togeth r,
no contai
her; ho
ha he attracte
her? He attracte
he
force. Sh wa th very
plac of this attraction that he exerte over he an that sh exerte over him thro gh th return of ttra tion immovable immobile of
rr te
forgotte
(>
t.
tranquillity bathe
re
ot
wandering immobility.
vagabond outsid hersel all th wa to hi
id th
ki
t?
of furiou
just
er
in ta t,
to ac
other, re pondin
to
tw
pe e,
an ie
gods Th
were in
an."
ut
oined
in
th ir di logu
re
denial di no stop them '' h, th ne
ot
gods
The have finall come. Their curiosity waslight capricious wondrous. "What areyou doin
re?"
were
th
di
ot li te
ligh knowledg
weighe down with th kind of partia trut er be
h, no it
in tears, traverse by light, heavywith obscurity
*The male interlocutor is speaking here
fo an instan ou th window
pe ki
knew everything theirs wa
outside himself.
as it very import with
it
live with them
Fo
He attracte
in ig ific
ot knowin
beings from
(>
room
kep silent.
constantly by an immobile, imperceptibl
"No, forgetting isindifferent to
forgetting
calmly an gently.
id
enough transparency enough obscurity. Sh only spoke, sh only
(>
in forgetting
each other invain continuing al th same to spea for each othe
If on
"No, they forget an retai nothin
by his attention
th
effect of
to whic
akin
that
tiful, bu th atte tion th even
or
striking
no be
gave to them paid to he
he al os constantly alon fo
he beauty beca
tr ignora
to
that coul
coul
e, thanks tell that
it of
of
in partic lar.
pp re
to
in
re
when yo think that
wa abandone
bymyself, who, then is no
always will. It is
it,
next to you?"* -:-"Co e. it
ki
on he approached slowly no in spit
of profou
di tr tion that
of hersel bu
de hi
hearing thi kin of condemnation in
ondrou ly
"N
in whic
attentive. di only
th
ot
to
fi
lly,you
been candid?"
it
didly.
"W y? Have 't
lw ys you. inhim
else either in
than th effort to reac this though that outsid them waited fo ow them th
ayor to le
th
tr y.
ny thoughts to
r. Th
thought di
or
forgotten?
-;. Together the went int togeth r,
her; ho
plac of this attractio over him throug
ha he attracte
no contai
that he exerte overher an that sh exerte no
wandering immobility
tt
0)
t.
tranquillitybathe al
he
outsid hersel al th wa to him outside himself.
vagabon
*The
her? He attracte
force. Sh wa th very
th return of attraction arrested here an
immovable, immobile of
as in ignifi
ot knowin
interlocutor
id th
ki
just
in ta t,
to
other, respondi
to
to spea fo each othe
of furiou
peac
ancien gods They were in my
an."
ut
oined
thei di logu
re
denial di no stop them '' .h,the ne
ot
gods
The have finall come. Their curiosity was light, capricious wondrous. ''Wha areyou doin
re?"
ns
re
th
di
lmew everything theirs wa
ot li te
ligh knowledg
weighe down with th kind of partia trut re be
in tears, traverse by light, heavy wit obscurity is speaking here
fo an instan ou th window
pe ki
live with them
ve it
it
-; (Two beings from here tw room Fo
He attracte
theroom, slowly,lightly,adeptly mov
in around each obstacle lookin
calmly an gently
enough transparency, enough obscurity. Sh only spoke, sh only
0)
"Forgotten withou wonder withou profundity
withou eternity.
kep silent
constantly by an immobile imperceptibl
"No, forgetting isindifferent to
each othe in vain continuing al th sa
gh ttribute
they
in forgetting."
will be wondrously profoundly, eternally
o,
"Ver candid to candid perhaps, fo th trut
He knew that ther wa nothin to
'' o, theyforge an retain nothin
in forg ttin from forgetting?"
withou candor that is attempting to expres itself throug
th
re ember?
to him by his attention
ould ttra
-) Narrow th presence vast th place. ;. "A
fo
th
effect of
to whic tr
akin
to
that coul
that
tiful, bu th atte tion th
gave to them paid to he
he al os constantly alon fo
he beauty beca
even
or
striking
no be
coul
e, thanks tell that
it in particular
be he appeared to
in
real
girl at although to he
wa
"Come,
distractio
ot sh
Sh forgot sh wa almost forgettin apable of describi
im ediately drew
her, an when eare wi
said
profou
that made me extremel attentive. He then disappeare
fo
fo
did. Does
go disappear?
-: Only th gods reac forgetting th ancien ones so asto move farthe away,th ne he di
(0
forgettin lo ge resist th idea that on da Th
drea
of
-: Sh desire
ay be th
ew god.
forgettin
ones so as to return
ot forget hi
sh forg t. He wa stil fo her, in th
wher he ha disappeare
he forgot her, to
dreamles night.
an th visibl beauty of that
which was forgotten
on ca
inher, everything that he was.
ot re embe
so
on
wh
does
not remember. However, everythin remained unchanged
extraordinarily: "Are we in forgettin
-Of ''Yes, we are waiting." Forgetting, waiting. Waitin tha assembles, disperses forget-
forgetti g.
tracti
he
toward hi
he attracte
someon
sh
always forgot more profoundly
traverse
by fire They were stil presse
or
he towa superficially.
tin tha disperses assembles Waiting, forgetting ''Will you forget
ill.
"How will
of them deprived of themselv s. ''
hy
agains each other, both us
forget you? Wa
forgetting the ultimate goal? Waiting, forgetting
will re embe pl as
myself." Sh reflecte
her. "Forgotten together
on this idea whic
appeared to
who, then will forget us
all the !"
' t count,
couldn't care less abou bein
an lose myself completely in you. (0
Don'
true
ha grow
unknow alone.
"Well,then,
willbe surewhe
'' ut,' sh saidsadly,"I have
yo have forgotte
feelin that
me."
have fo gotten
ou
gods live in this way? Solitary unique unfamiliar with
th ligh that emanates from them They hardly disturbe
wa
accustomed to thei presence
to them bu
resu
Th anci
wa unable to determin
of thei extr
discreti
gods th ancien gods ho
or
me it is
rejoiced in bein if this ignoranc
divi
indifference
ea they ar to us
already." fo
fo
in everything slowly passionately When sh ha
him
come in-Had
.~ Forgetting th acquiescence to forgettin that forgets nothing. (0
of attraction?-sh
wa alread in this
ovemen
of forgetti
forgotten entrus ting th imperishable to th ephemera individual
in th remembranc
"I
must admit.
"Yes gently tenderly nothin
"The female characte
wa more gentle."
lead of in tlus fragment
33
girl t,
Sh forgot sh wa almost forgetting an th visibl beauty of that
th
le
r,
whic
i at el y distractio
that made me extremel
did. Does
go
wa forgotten.
. . O nl y t h g o
attentive. He then disappeare
f ar th e
r ea c f or ge tt i g : t h a n i en t o ne s s o a s t o m ov e
a wa y, t h e e w o n
disappear?
id
so
t o r et ur n
im
in
forgetting wher he ha disappeare is Th ~. Sh
id
1m
dr am
th
d re a l es s n ig ht .
not remember. However, everything remained unchanged.
e si re d f or ge tt in g e xt ra or di na ri ly : " Ar e w e i n f or ge tt in g
tt
"Yes we ar waiting. Forgetting
in her, everything that he was.
waiting Waiting that assembles, disperses; forget
tt
s om eo n
s h a lw ay s f or go t m or e p ro f u n l y
t r v er s
b y f ir e
or
s up er fi ci al ly .
ting that disperses, assembles. Waiting forgetting ''Will yo forget h e w er e s ti l
iv
th
forgetting th ultimat r em em be r m ys el f
S h r ef l c te d o n t hi s i d a , w hi c
a pp e r e
to
a lo ne .
" We ll , t he n t,
w il l b e s ur e w he n y o h a ly
in this way? Solitary unique unfamiliar with
li c ou ld n' t c ar e l es s b o f or go tt e
b ei n me
afe li
'W
goal Waiting, forgetting
an lose myself completely in you.
to count,
lv
r es se d a ga i s t e ac h t he r b ot h
t h l ig h t ha t e ma na te s f ro m t he m u nk no w wa
he
a rd l d is tu r e d m e i t i s
accustomed to thei presence 1rejoiced in being
true 1ha grow t o t he m
u t 1 wa s u na bl e t o e te rm in e i f t hi s i g o ra n
r es ul t o f t h i r e xt r m e d is cr et i
or
di in
i nd if fe re n e .
already." im in everything
him
all
slowly passionately When sh ha
come in-Had ti
forgotten, entrustin
th imperishabl
to th ephemera individual
.. Forgetting, th acquiescence to forgettin that forget
in the remembranc
nothing.
..."It
m us t a dm it .
' 'Y es , e nt ly , t e d er ly ; n ot hi n
+The female characte
w a m or e
e nt le .
lead of in tills fragment.
33
th
in whic
instan
everythi
"Forgetting descends int
'' forget
'' ut
ha
ecessa il forgotte
in accordance with th necessit He waits, sh
ever thing.
"Not
of forgetting.
forgets, in an identi al coul
be forg tten?"
_, To wait wa to wait fo th opportunity. An th opportunit came only at th instan stolen from waiting, th instan when itis
ovemen
that
ould
brin them back to each other. Bu waiting, he knows, forbid him this meeting, whic
is forgotte
forgetting.
take plac only in th
no longer
question of waiting.
:- Bein is ye anothe word fo forgetting
presen instant.
Waitin is instancy alwayswithou th presen instant. "You made me speak;why Wh allthese word that yo gave
yo
er wo derful
misfortu e. me from your waiting, asyouwel know an in them have forgotte
everything
"Forgettin
"Yes,yo wish th ough thes word ever
or abse t.
"Tha is forgetti
isals
believ that good thing.
forget ing, to is stil yo
ke
From th
He stopped. "But that
ay have been ou
said nothing: "It wa ou misfortune.
And, as sh
firs instant, yo spok intimately wonderfull
firs instants when everything wa alread
said betwee
fail
us
ut
ot to lmow
have ev f.
;. Yo will neve find th limits of forgetting no matter ho ay be able
''
fa
forget nothin
'B fo
''
No," he said solemnly "w shal neve belo fo
"I
more
an allof
common memory forgetti g.
been able
presence in
eac word.
yo
to me
will neve forget thos
"Yes,whe
hi
coul have nothin
alread feelcloser to you."-
proximity, however, withou approach."
sh echoed fervently, "without approach
"Tha iscorrect," ''Also withou truth,
Sh reflecte
on this
with stra ge sole
ity: "Did
really spea
to yo
from th
fi alread said everything everythi
forget
more
sudden asifhe mind were made up sh turned toward
believ so that isco rect
that
wanted to say?
"Well,therei
"Yes
asthe secret
ha
alread told yo everything." And, sinc he di no respond, "You ar disapp inted. Yo
er waitin fo
omethi
else
"No,
no," he said shakin hi head "I wa wonderful." if disappeara ce were th
last plac
of an
will separate us slowly patiently, throug
ee ing. Forg ttin
an identicall
movement from whatever stil re ains in common betwee he reflecte voice, "Provide
that forgetti
uttera ce of forgetti g.
us
re ai
"Wil
in an uttera ce
''
verything, then be forgotte
will 34
sayi
or
to her: "Come"-and
ha been he wa certai
to spea to
clos
only becaus
everythi
to her? Wa ther
them An wasn't sh to
that by
sh ha im ediately draw near-h
ha made he ente this circle of attraction wher
to him,
hile listenin
:-He knew what hi firs
unknow
ha
alread
on coul begi ee
said
lo ge enough dist
fa ilia in he strangeness?
as he
ce betwee
He ha attracte
her; that wa hi magic, hi mistake. "You di
no attrac me yo haven' attracte
me yet.
affirmatio
.; Th more sh forgot him, th more sh feltattracte toward th plac that sh wa occupyin "\'lfh ar yo sointereste attracte
to th ig orance of themselves
bywaitin
re ulti
''Am interested
to it."
hi
clarit withou clarity,a distan melancholy an happ
from th fact that he wa fa
with him.
inthi room?"
of th attraction
ot lookin
knowledg
at he yet.
fE
even ifshe ha
ot
ee
visible.
bu no yet.
He ha called her; sh ha come Coming from hi call callin hi
:- What yo havewritte
in he coming
hold th secret
it is only becaus
meaning. As if it coul 't anothe
no be expresse
anywhere else bu here
:- Th
that ther issomethi
have anothe
meaning, bu rather
inyou word that speaks co stantl
plac wher we are. Why? What then is happenin
lo ge ha it
it escape
yo
that yo
were able to transcribe it
sne plac everything woul
he
of this
language of attraction
heavy, obscur
language saying
everything wher
everything is said language of shuddering an
of sp ce withou
spac g.
he ha
told hi
ev rythin
becaus
here It must attraction is th attraction toward th plac where, as soon asone
mywords that yo ar alon in hearing. lo attentio
in hearin
That
ecessitate
enters, everythin on hi part
is said.
severity of
that does no conten itself with perseverance
"Wha ishappening here Fo th moment we ar speaking ''Yes,wear spea ing.
"But
id ot co
here to spea
th same we came speaking." "I yo Shewas there, itis true He kept he completely unde hi gaze gathered in herself, distracted from he inherself An he sa constantly flawlessly an ye as if by accident Sh ha fac than this wondrous troublin
wa whic
ot ha
co
were invisible? "I do ot
ea
He trul
he
fo everyo e, bu
he righ to be seen by
ligh that alwayspreceded li ht an perhap
true light, bu only
yself.
certainty.
ot visibl an no invisible, affirmin of
"U doubtedly: inside
no othe
Visible, bu no seen on accoun of this visibility im byvirtu
th ught
selves an wa
estore
to be seen by yo alon fo
seriou reason yo understa d, an
or
''Amore certai one?
it
clarit that together they shar d,
from th se re of th
woul li
th
akes visibl things visi le
"Always,then?"
"Always,
always bu no yet.
37
....In he he remembered th day,th night, that whic ha lasted th understan
we ar visibl by virtue r,
.;
o we r t h tu
transgression
it
an extraordinar
e r e xt re m l y v is ib l i s i ff us e
He woul
p re ce de s u s t he n ig transgression.
h e f a e , t h e xt re m a n c ru e l im i w he r t ha t w hi c i s g oi n
to ma
rs
in her.
only later.
evoked th idea of
wh
in t h
c al m c la ri t
t ha t
o me s f ro m h er .
forget if he remembered
word were gently an obscurel Th
c le a f or ge tt in g t h
i n t he m f r
r e e mb r n c
forgetting
e nt l r em em br an c
fo lack thereof, in thei abstract poverty, he recognized th submis si
l um i o si t
gettin
o f f or ge tt in g
h e s ub mi ss iv e a p e ar a c e o f f or -
in them submission that call fo th greatest submission
t ha t s h m ak e h er se l h e r d b y m e
w ou l
f or ge t i f w e c ou l
b e s ub mi ss iv e t o t h f or ge tt in g
t ha t t h w or d m ad e f o f or ge tt i Bu ot
ea
;,
a n a t l ea s
d is pe ns e t o
a t e v r y i ns t n t
nc
er in
th
rg
;,
tc
h ur ri ed , e te r a l s te p te
th forgetting wher sh wa leadin him, by calm movement that came from forgetting
Forgetting, forgotten. "I lf
f or ge t
o u w il l
tt will remember?"
ll th o u o ut si d
y o r se lf ?
a tt ra ct io n o f f or ge tt i g .
is
we
s tr an g
ll
d es ir e t o d i t ha t t he y w er e u na bl e t o s at is f i n y in g
Forgetting nothin th imag returned
except forgetting th imag of forgetting
bywaiting to forgetting
o w a r w e f or go tt en ?
'w
"I
te
ti
" Et er n l l
ty
in
' 'A n
a tt ra c
o f w or ds , t o g o
t o f or ge tt in g I n t he i t ra ns pa re nc y o r
u ts id e m ys el f inthe
" I t hi s w ha t w e a r t og et he r f ro m t hi s
le
th mute elosed spac wher H e w al ke d a he a
m ar ki n ig
c om mi ng le d
w al ki n
desire wander ut fo he
endlessly. p at h t ow ar d in wh
i n h i s t p s a t t h s am e p ac e
i ms el f
th nl
u rr ie d
eternal. inhim.
(.
h e o n w ho , f or ge tt in g i s e ff a e d f ro m u s i n t hi s f or ge tt in g il
personal remembranc th
"You will
t ak e t h p la c
re
is awakened th personless remembranc f or ge tt in g f o u s
H e l iv e i n t h i mm in en c
o f a t h o g h t ha t i s o nl y t h t ho ug h
of eterna imminence. 39
{. When sh ha aske of him, he woul
stranger what someon
ot have been dose enough to giveher,
clos to
unde stoo
0:-
sustai
he instantl
also entruste
ha to presen to hi
accepted such closeness?
markin
yo with this wish."
He ha refused, bu what he ha
refuse wa stil before him,
ou
fa
fo
ever have though that when yo though abou it it wa fu
fu
this detour
once accomplished woul
stillremain to be accomplished he live
an though abou th meetin poin of thes tw movement ot in op ositio
that
to each other, bu rather that ques io ed
each othe tw bytwo. "Giv
gentleness "And yet, isn' it easy?"
bu no practicable. To whic ti
everything sh said fr
that to
fo th plenit de provocativ
throug
0:-
we
part of th thought.
reques that sh ha
from th firs instants an that sinc then
path toward hi
let him purely thin
st
that he coul
only in relation to this request.
Sh aske fo nothing; sh only asked.
him closer than an other. Wh ha
Sh aske fo nothing; sh merely said somethin
"Easy, perhaps,
sh ha foun this response
shor
0:-
Th
e.
ifin aski
that of hi
th onlygif that he coul
calm deto
sh ha waited ot giveher.
of thought, th return from itself to itself in
waiting. Throug
later: ''That is it ca be done only once."
waiting, what is turned away from though return
to thought, having become it detour Waiting, th
spac
of th
detour withou
digression of wan-
dering withou error. 0:-
yo want it in
fr
fr
want it." 0:-
What is sh asking for? Wh doesn' this reques reac "I isas ifyo
fr sk fo it
fo
er
aski
fo th
whic
fo
him?
ould preven yo
''Why
'' ''
Sh di no thin fo very long "Fro
you, asyou wellknow.You
fa fr "Thi proves that itis alread inyou
or profou dl
than itis in
fo
plac it in you hand,"
know it." He sensed that this though wa no actuallycommo
truth, this ha
that fa from hi
open he
yes.
bu rath
that they wo ld be in co
to them
on only in this th ught
.; That whic
escape withou
" N o tb in g e xc ep t t h f or ge tt in g t ha t w il l r eu ni t
anything bein hidden
~ ~ "Y o a s e d i t o f m e b ec au s i t i s i mp os si bl e. "
" Im p s si bl e
" Bu t w ha t
if it is really forgetting?" capacity to be forgotte
depend
s.
commensurate with waiting?
on that." wo
crossing." ~F
than yo would. This ishow things ma have transpired yo aske it
it
that woul
r el at i
encumber space, speaking space, exhausting finite an
limitless space. il
io
th ha
id
fo us ev
no
d on e s om et hi n
th
u nf ul fi ll a l e a n i na cc es si bl e H o t ha t w it ho u y ou r s ki ng ,
w ou l
th
co ld av
ll
in
ee
to
to
to
if
le
it accomplishmen
th
" F c e t o f ac e w ou l
id
in
to
it
ishi
b e e as y, b u t o t i n a n o bl i u e r el at io n. "
in yourself?"
''All
.>
i mp os si bl e. " . ; T ha t w hi c a ff ir me d Though
" Yo u
a k t h i mp os si bl e i ne vi ta bl e. "
e sc ap e w it ho u
u t r em ai n
a n t hi n
n e p re ss e
w hi c
accomplished itself unsuspecte
wa always an each time
b ei n is er
"A
i dd e
w hi c
is
an
f or g t t n .
in this surprise that sh
presence
o u p re se nc e t h
l i g er s a n r es is ts .
" An d o u a lr ea d
absent." t?Wh perfectly, knowin
that sh coul be here only by bein forgotten,
an knowin
it forgetting it himself.
r em em be ri n
a n f or ge tt i g .
t, th sa
in h e a s s h w ou l
time rememberin
it
b e f or go tt e
o me ti me s h e f or g
h er , s om et im e
" A b ri e i ns ta nt .
h e r em em be re d
s om e
"Rememberin
throug
" Wh ic h d o tt
forgetting."
th forgetting an forgetting everything in this
remembrance. "Perhaps we ar separate
forgotten." only by ou presence In forgetting f ut ur e f i a ll y p r s en t " Ac t i n s u
wa th
c a s pe a t o y ou . 43
"T
ty
lm h a i s t hi s p ai n t hi s f ea r w ha t i s t hi s l ig ht ?
im
le
h e f or ge tt in g
of ligh in light.
II
Forgetting
th latent gift.*
To welcom
forgetting asthe accord with that whic ishidden,
th latent gift come to us bu suddenly forgetting ha always alread been here an when we forget we have always alread forgotte rd
tt
everything wi
th
presence of th immobility of forgetting F or ge tt i
i s a r el at io n w it h t h
th t, ma in
s ec re t t ha t w it h w hi c
th
o we r a n m ea ni n ti
th
detour that come
w hi c i s f or g t te n t he r
is
r el at i
r el at io n p o s es se s
t h s ec re t th
is
from forgetting whic
is forgetting
-. Late on he awakened calmly cautiously facing th possibility that he ha alread *Not
forgotte
th phonetic resemblanc
l an ch o
r et ur n
t o t hi s p la y o n
everything
inFrench betwee
th adjective latel/t and l'auent«.
o rd s o n t w o cc as io ns , o n p ag e
an
in th
fina sentence of th text Here Ie J o n l a te n t ( th e l a e n g if t c a a ls o b e r ea d
d o » I 'a t te n d
44
(the gift awaits hi
or her)
te
F or ge tt i
w or d f or ge tt i
throug
i n t hi s w or d a l w or ds .
forgetting an from forgetting throug
a wa y t wi c t o e nt e t h t ru t disappears th movement of It wa strang
e tw ee n t h d et ou r Writin
w it h t ha t w hi c
he spea
watc
over th unwatche
presence
t,
lo
r es en ce ; n o
i n s pe ec h n d k e p s s pe ec h
b se nt , e it he r s e a ra te d f r
s tr e g t
o f h e p re s n c
yo ca
f fi r
r es e
t hi ng s
tr
t,
t o y ou rs el f w it h c er ta in t
t ha t y o w il l o t s p a k. "
even in forgetting sa to you. stop struggling valiantly, obscurely. ''Agains what?"
no even once." K ee pi n
w at c
h ro ug h
t o d is c v e t ha t i s a ls o w it ho u v e t ha t w hi c
e r w or ds , h e l ea rn e
i s n o w at ch e in wh
o ve r
in
c al m w a f or ge tt i
relies on speech Th memory wher story, th breathin
of forgetting
. ; I n f or ge tt i g , t ha t w hi c e to u t ha t o me s f r
t ur n
" Im po ss ib l
a wa y c an n
r es en c
wi
as ha e.
c o p le te l
h id e
th
ac
c om me ns ur at e
dot/hi h a
tr
ha
mu
d ou b s tr e g t
to fe
w it h
t im e y o f or ge t i t i s d ea t exceeded he abilit to le he always be present, there, motionless im
in
ru le
o u A r y o s tr ug gl in g w it h m e? "
in
it
that yo recall in forgetting." in
to is re
re
f or ge tt in g
f or ge tt i g .
ti
th
h e w ou l h av e l i e d a s h e w a w el l a wa re , t o m ak e h i
W o l d f or ge tt in g b e t h o nl y r e e mb r n c e at h? "
t.
"Our abilit
d o b t t h p ri c o f t hi s s tr ug gl e. "
'Y
s ai d n ot hi ng , " Wh a a b u t
forgetting breathed
Th breath that he receives from her, whic traverse th entire
th
th
i n h er .
i s i dd e
th
Ma forgetting repose in al speech
.:
to
half-look.
rd
f in d i t r ep o
.; Keepin
relation
o f f or ge tt i g .
in
u t a ls o t ha t f or ge tt i tt
forgetting asif ther were
of forgetting
ti
in ac or
heart.
s pe ec h a n t h d et o
in th directio
e to ur .
Th initiative of forgetting in motionless waiting.
that forgetting coul rely in this wa on speech
an that speech coul welcom
th
death, thus turnin
in
t ig ht l
g ai ns t h im se lf ,
ll n d w he n s h s p k e s p a ki n
ld a s i f b es i 47
r,
her presence.
H e l oo k
Coming in he presence a p r oa ch in g o nl y i n t h s pa c o f h e
l on g w it h u t
withou them but, sh adde immediately, "wil yo be loyal?
r es en ce .
io ha
th
i n h e d ir ec ti on : " We ll , t he n w e w il l g e
in
il
r.
r ea Uy h a t o o ns i e r a s a f r g me n o f s tr a g e l i h t i s
d o t o b e l o a l? " B u s h r e e at e
w it h f ir m a ss ur ed ne ss : " Yo u w il l
be yo will conduc yourself honorably. H e k ne w i n p ar t w ha t s h m ig h f e r . H ow ev er , w he n s h s ai d
s po k th re tried
t h p re se nc e s ai d o th in g s h w e o t w ai ti n to c on vi n
s tr an g
t o w ai ti n
n d n ev e
ld
i t i s b et w e n u s
l mo s
a in fu ll y " I t h
s p a ki n
in an
identica movement that he interlocutor ha th duty to maintain S pe a i ng ,
o t w a t in g t o w an ti n
to no
e in g a bl e t o
th
a v s uc h r el at io n w it h y ou r r es en ce ?
fe
"her presence," th to th woma
subsequent fragment
th pictur
an
create
th
r es en ce , o ut si d
a l w ai ti ng , a n i t w a b ec au s sh continuall
s h c ou l
no
said secretly manifestly,
a n w it h t h i mp ul si ve n s s o f t h s im pl es t d es ir e " I c an n
w ai t
of waiting. to be reunited
~~In waiting, time lost g iv e t im e t a e s t im e b u i t i s n o t h s am e t im e t h l a k e o nl y t h t im e t o
wait.
th topi
unde
consideratio
pronoun it c a a ls o b e r ea d a s she (since eire i s u s e
feminine antecedent pdsenee), whic ha entere
wher
t,
th
i s g i ve n a n t ha t i s t a ke n A s i f w ai ti ng ,
th an in
th
make hersel wait, becaus
a it i
sit
*Her
t hi n
Reunited waitin
''Wh wouldn't yo have relation with my presence
y o r ef us e m e i f
to
th endlessnes
it doesn't, asyo wellknow.
th
w ha t y o
he a bl e t o e va d s pe ec h t hu s s pe a i ng - o t
th
te
been
o t b ei n
't o f c om in g u p a ga i s t
I-
itma
H e r ef le ct ed ,
a d t h i mp r s si o
to
e tw ee n
he head "I have my privileges ithas it privileges
it
w or s t ha n e at h, "
w ai t d . H e a d
e r t ha t h e i d n o m ak e n y d is ti nc ti o
them sh shoo
't
a w y , t h p re se nc e w a
impression that
ha even come betwee
is
t o r ef e
This overabundanc
of time that is lacking, this overabundant
lack of time
second
th tw interlocutots.
e x e ri en c
i t a s l en gt h o f t im e. " 49
a it i
d oe s n o l ea v h i
It
th ti
th id
came th desperat
io
t o w ai t th
ld
ta
lr
tranquillity th unbearable daylight
th
Ye
to ts it
is
->
id
ik to
to
spea in waiting Waitin
->
imperceptibl
Searchin
change
th statements into questions.
in waiting fo th questio
ts lf
that waitin carrie within
io
ve
p ro pe r m an ne r
i s n o s ea rc hi ng ,
i s s e ar c i ng ;
n d i f h e q u s ti on s t ha t i s p e r a p neithe
ti
affirm
ti
it in it
th
It is like
h e q u s ti o
th en
w ai ti n
o f w ai ti ng : w ai ti n
a sk ed . B et w e n t h o n
question that
i f t h e ss en c
c ar ri e
q u s ti o
w ai ti n th
is no
draw
q u s ti o s , t he r i s n o r es p n s
A tt em pt in g t o r ea c
directly from hi life he felt asthoug
h i l if e t hr ou g s h a vo id e
th
w o l d e xh a s t t h
t hr o g h w ai ti n
w it h u t r el ea si n
im
w hi l
H e w a c ar ef u
t h s up er fl u u s t hi ng s f r
woul
h er , w ai ti n f o
s h f or ba d
x pr es se d a n
et
t h r ig h t hi ng s s h s ai d ua
it
t hi n
th
is
th
caus fo suffering, that is anguish. ->
i m b y w ai ti n
u nl e s , tu rn in g
ac to se
er he ha to
h im se lf , n o l o g e s ee in g e r x c p t i n t hi s d et ou r
r es er vi n
r es po ns e t ha t
s h r t o n t im e
h i o v r ab un d n t
duration of waiting In waiting, th time that allows him
answer no question
better respon it
to waiting. ta
in
ti to persevere."
av
"I
n ev er t e le s o t t o q u s ti o
w it h t hi s p re s n c
im
v io le n
a ny -
limitlessness. ->
t he y
he firs ha to exhaus an
s ay in g B u d i s h s a i t Y es , t ha t i s h o
t ur n w a f r u t r at he r t h m e s ur e t ha t m e s ur e
o f w ai ti n
h er se l t o s a i t A s i f t h s am e w or d w o l d
a wa y f r o l im it s
t h m ov e e n
i n t h f ai nt es t w ai ti ng . A s s oo n
question.
th
s u e rf l o us , w hi c
ha always admitted in taci agreement.
n d t h o th er , t h r e i s i n c om mo n i nf in it y
w hi c i s i n t h s li gh te s q ue st io n s om eo n
a lr ea d u n
no questions, bu waits.
io c o l d b e r es en te d
be
i at e q u s ti on in g H e s ay s t ha t
faithful to waiting, whic
r ut h i n t h i r w or d w ou l h a
t. im
l ac k
t im e i s t h
Time iswha give hi
somethin
to wait for,
each question wa accompanie
by another, more silent double
that he coul have caught by surprise impossibilit Ti absenc
of waiting,
fo
akes impossible waiting, wher
pressure
th
of time is affirmed, possible
Inti e, waitin co es to ti
th
is also disperse
gi es im so ethi
does no le itself be thought, though born
ut in
anend.
aiti g, if ti
al ay
to wait for, whethe it is hi ow en
en of things he isalway destined fo th absenc ha alwaysreleased waitin from this en an
or th
of time whic
so eo e.
''
ye itis here
He trie totel he that sh this thought, Itwasbestt
ever end.
importance That woul 0}
Waitin fulfilled by waiting, fulfilled/disappointed ~"
know My presence is very stro
fo yo
your atte tion
hold
fo me however, it isbecaus
us
Ict hersel behel
be easy,It di
as fo
atte tion
ly to
all all
uch,
"I
almost do no sens your presence
an longer that it appear to me so powerful an almost invincible He ha ot alon
always uspected it if he wa ted, it isbecaus emoved from hi solitude so as to
he wa
disper ed in th
solitude of waiting,Alwaysalon to wait an alwaysseparated fro himsel bywaiting that di no leav hi Th
infinite dispersion of waitin
anew bythe imminenc
alone, always gathered together
of th en of waiting,
fo ff "But
yo go so fa asto reject your presence
id ot answer "A
affected? Yo cannot make an distinctions betwee presence,"
he waitin for wh wa he waiting,what is ther to awaiti esse ce of waitin
is to esca
that it make possible an Th ough waiting, ea
all th
form
affirmatio
opened
to
yo an your
"Excep th ones thatyoumakeyourself," do
ak do ot te ff
waiting?
fe manner that
cannot bear,"
ff '' attraction."
void an
This presence of indifferenc
"I do 't
to se yo apar from
Indifference clarifyin presence,
of questionin
from whic it is excluded
d, asshe
er to ejec it wouldn't yo feel
indifference that it make visibl in
In waiting, he coul as no question abou waiting, What wa Th
if I, too,
of thinking
jo
fr
willse onlyyouin it
"Wou
ak any.Those that each though isan allusion to th impossibilit
back by
itwithou granting it an
by waiting.
easy to tell them apart, as yo an
It wa th re
turn awayfro
'' it interest
bywaiting that
is adjourned in this waiting,
en withou bein pu
escapes.
whic
in her, it attraction
. . . W ai ti n w hi c
an
f or ge tt in g
i gn or an c
an
t ho ug h
i d n o l e i ts el f b e a wa it e i n w ai ti ng , t h
i ts el f b e f or go tt e ignorant that whic
i n f or ge tt in g t h
o f w hi c
wa unthough
in thought.
a ff ir me d t h
w hi c i gn or an c
rg in
. ~ " I d i n o r em em be r m ys el f t ha t w hi c d i r e e mb e
di
ot
di no le wa no
m em or y T ha t w a e ve n o n
o u d if fi cu lt ie s Y o r em em b r e
th io
every possibility and impossibility
,ali ll
" I s om et i e s
a v t h i mp re ss io n t h
y o r em em be r
rg p er c p ti bl e
tt
I t i s r at he r f or ge tt in g t ha t y o w ou l
forgetting. It l; th
nl so
io
ta ll
"-
ld
''A
t w m or e s te ps , a n e a
ik
le
waited yo waited all
l ik e t o r em em -
te
te
b u t he r w il l a lw a
wh
t im e
s en s t h
t. in
w is h t o f in d
lm
it o nt e t me n
i n w ai ti n
a s w ai ti n
th
. .. . R em em be ri n
w a t hi s m ov em en t
s o s er io us ? "I wa that
a tt r c ti o
t ha t m ad e h e t hi s
se her.
difference.
He face made more invisibl by he invisibl
suffering.
th ly
is re
t hi s m em or y
av
R em em be ri n fr
w hi c
ee
to
s ha re d
s um mo n
he to
. . . S h e s po k
f or ge tt i
o in g f r
tr th
w or d t o w or d t o u s u p h e p re se nc e ta
d i n o r em em be r m ys el f? "
* Th e w o a n s ay s t hi s
t h m ea s r e
th
tt
in
h i l ea ve .
."I iswhy
.He
re
is th u nk n w n t o m e a s y o
r e f am il i r . I t i s w on de rf u if
i mp re ss i n ,
t hi s
is
be said-tha
th
g iv e t o l l t h e o th e w or ds , t h e as ie s a n l ig ht es t
n e i n l ud e
th
a pp ro ac h i t
a d n l t o d ir ec t i s a tt e t io n t ow ar d i t
al be said equally,in an equality wher th possibilit
te
separation.?"
(0
li r e e r w it h m e. " s ec re t
h e s ec r
~"E
ld
"I
i s b ei n
e r w it h y ou . A n w h m us t w e s p a k th
I s i t i dd e
b y t ha t w hi c
id
y ou . H e t ho ug ht :
is
i ma gi n t ha t i f i t w er e p os si bl e f o y o t o s a
t o m e e v r yt hi n
fo
nothing."
they ar exhausted, withou
exhauste
m a i fe st s i t n d m a e s i t m an if es t
in
e ve ry th i
li
of saying them bein
ir
t ha t i t i s p os si bl e t o s a e xc ep t t hi s ly
iv
il
if "-
l et el y m a i f s t i n t hi s p re se nc e t h
wa
i si bl e a n
s uc h t ha t i t
e xa ct l y ou r l if e o n t h c on tr ar y i t i s y o
prevented, by th clarit of that whic is only visible, th obscurit t ru e a rk ne ss . H ow e e r t h p re s n c re
th
d i n o m ak e t h m ys te r
fi
id
is
l if e t h
k ee pi n i n
li " Ac t i n s uc h a o t c er ta i
it
t ha t y o w il l b e a wa r
i t P er ha p
o u w il l o nl y s pe a
tr ry th
nevertheless
uncoverin
iv wi
it.
il
Mysterious that whic expose itsel without bein uncovered. it
t ha t t hi s i s w a t 1 a m s u p o e d t o h ea r n d if llma
it e a s il en tl y
s h s p k e a bo u i t
r e e at in g A n wi * Th e f em al e c ha ra ct e
m ak e
to in lin
it sh ul ve if
it b e s om et hi n
il Ile hear it correctly? itispo
t ha t
s p a k f ai th f l l
Iwi
w il l n o b e c ap ab l o f y o w il l h ea r m e y o 'Y
t hi s r em ar k
57
soon asyo do
"D
av hear yo
e,
willknow perhap
an that ouwillbecom
my appearance
WillI have change
joyously: "I will know
even befo
awar
somehow?
yo
forwar th
thisbase Bu sh repeated
in th directio
if he responde
opened up by such
thought, suspecting
to he pr se ce hewoul
ha
to respon
to
th equa revelation of hi presence Bu he wa stil fa from such equity.
will know."
.:. Speaking deferring speaking. here?"
Why,when sh spoke, di sh defe speaki g? fact that sh spok an
deferred speaking
If he deferred speaki g, th wh re unde
attraction
th
neithe th on no th other.
diff re ce kept open th plac
indifferen presence that he ha
to
make visibl each time withou lettin himsel be seen came Lettin
this indifferent differenc
:. Th
secret this reserv
that if sh spoke, caused he to defe
speaking giving he speech in this difference.
come to presence fu
Silent
stranger to silenc an no silent this presence
"Persuad Ip
e, evenif ou do ot pers ad
e.
speech."
"But wh
e y u o )"
They di
ot sp ak they were th
responsive guarantors of
ever word that wa stil to be spoken betwee
them
'\ 1ca
eyo
thinks is th signof th inflatio
power. If ha to,
of waiting,
perverse sign
In waiting, ther is alwaysmore to awai than ther ar things awaited.
will as itof
't yo unti th end. •>
Silent
stranger to silenc an
no silent no speaki g, this
presence. ou to hi
Waitin take things away from hi
sl
he ha
be
in understa
in
this gesture.
Now, he understood everything itwas th leas that he felt oblige to do He even understood th
itwa asif sh
er frustrated by
he presence frustrated an ye released from herself, no having
hi losing them
thro gh th feelin
of having lost them.
If ot be waiting. He ha less stre gt
Ho
withou
an withou hi bein able to hold on to th
wear ou th stre gt we ri *Her
to fo wa ti
to wait Waitin isnot worn out. Waitin is
down that isno worn out."
Blanchot is playin
o r o ut , a n
than he us
u su ry .
on tw
h e l at te r
differen
e a i ng ,
meanings of IISIIn:
h ic h
a s u na bl e
wearin i nc or po r t e
to remember what sh was, bu coming only unde th attraction
reinforces th financia metaphor that isinitiated in this fragment throug
of this indifferen difference he presence He wa read to move
tJJqforofion, an increase in pric
or
surcharge, whic
translate
down h er e
th word
as "inflation.
59
;. "I hear
ysel
ayi
no sa it Hearin
mean
onstantly.
keep an
"Tha
aybe wh yo do
to wait g? In that case he does ot know ho only throug Waiting,
that belong
to wait
waiting, provided that on coul know ho road take by day,on
take
in pres
ce an
dissipat
in abse ce In proximity,
touching no presence bu rather difference.
take everything back in itself
of this knowing-how-to-wait, th knowledg
exhauste
speak." What spok in he wa th approach th approach of speech speech of th approach an alwaysapproachin
speech in speech
to wait ''
bynight
yhe
proximity: That is your privilege; that is th trut fa "Whe
"~
everythin
verythin
that is
ar is farthe awaythan an far-of
place." aw y-when
by approaching.
"So, we will neve cros proximity?
"But alwaysmeeting
each othe clos by." sh is standi
agai st th
door-necessarily
lose
{.
he is 1tandi
agai st th
lookin at him. Itisperhap and, nearer placed completely at sh
of th attraction."
akes
remove by th proximit
ifest. When he hold her, he touche
approach that gather
together proximit
that
sh ough to disc ve hi fi
this forc of
and, in this proximity,
th far-of an th outsid in thei entirety
vaguel notice
fro
door
otio ess; clearl
is
th onlymomen when he issur that unawar al th sa
of what th fact
fo
he bakony
shor whil ag whom sh came
to ask, in
ovemen of rash irritation th
abou whic
ther
realiz
sh
is obviousl
this at th very
om
nothin
ea in
to say.Sh
of
gest re
undoubtedl
sh enters-apparentl
withou
knocking on this poin he willhav to question he later, bu this atur to everythi
th
is clos
"Close bu
ot
ecessarily to yo
of he
ovem
ts On
ight suppos
that irritation wa
th only motive fo he coming bu this is hard to believe.For th mome t, sh also appear embarrassed, perhap
at th though of
it must be That is th beauty of attraction yo willnever be dose
th misunderstanding that such an initiative whic
enough an
justif an
neve to
close; an
ye always held an
contiguous
at th very leas surprising coul fe
to each other. that woul forc of proximit 60
wa difficult to
give rise to Whence
that hold unde attraction withou ever bein
disconcert hi
alread prepared hi
if th calm assura ce of yo th
to se nothin
extraordinar
ad ot
in this coming
6r
Th surprise isvisible sh took over th ange sowel that itseemed
ha
suddenly awakened
before controllin whethe
sh
feel th
surprise or
anifests it in he surprisi
presence surprising also for th very reason that it displace ever fe likean intruder in this room that he momentaril This impression of intrusio thinking abou surrenderi
shares with her.
barely cros es hi hi plac
ind. Fa from
to her, he experience
th
cold jubilation of th hunter when th trap ha worked an hand over in
certai
sh is ther
proximity, th
th only on that must occupy hi Th
awaite pr y. Th
idea that
an that he willno le he leav is therefore, al os
room isfairl lo
attic-like wall give it th appearance of this presence at on of it extremities,
he ha
corridor as
result of
presence that accentuate
el acquai te
from afar sh took hi
with th ro
becaus
wh
sh
catching he by surprise in this motionless attitude astonished ingl (a anyone arrivi
does no look around no even fleet-
in an unfamiliar plac cannot fail to do),
bu rather stares precisel
in th
only directio
preven th
erro from bein
escape him an
that is importan
more satisfac
f, fo sh wa
of some previous episode, whic
woul
ttache
by th
explai
th
of familiarity, of intimacy bu also of disaccor discerne
betwee
he an he surroundings
presence th signhe addresse
ho
to be although
recognized as such Naturally, he is
free to believ that by responding to hi invitation in
seemingl
customar
with th
place, if it
sage of th
ection of th hote is reserved fo such coming
believe, that
an goings This idea does no displeas him.
approaches slowly that does
ot
ot in spit
ke he
to meet he instea
of hers lf bu with
rese ce
loser-should 't
ovemen
os foreig
he have go
this imperious invitation? Bu
of formulatin
he wa afraid of frightenin
free in he
si plicit
he with hi gesture; he want
(She choose
very slow
ovement, th
to hesitation fo th very reason of it slowness
movement inwhich th immobility that isparticula to it an that contrast ba k. -A
with th
brevit
of th
o,it isan authoritaria
vi le
wo d.-But
authoritaria
word carryi
fa .-
invitation is held
ut also an inti at one. onlytheviole
fa
of word
ff
With this word does 't he wres th violence from th
fo
that woul justif he conduc in
entrance to this room to whic
et bu
mechanical an obligatory way,she is merely complyin
fo he to be facing toward him. This isnatural Provided that sh
him,
mistake, an
sh ha alread
sh realizesnow isno th person sh though hi
on
embarrassed, indignant-sh
fo so eo
he shares with this person qualitie that ar so disturbing that they
perhap
of th dimensions
he se
attraction sh submitte
at this moment
an abnormally narrow whic
alread noticed; bu this narrowness of aroom with slightlysloping,
th imbalanc
past to whos
it or more simply perhap itwas
It
ft
fo
possible distance
ut itis th farthe
far-off? fa
distance that is close.
emor
impression
that he thinks he ight be that hi
to her, th advances he made toher,
Th
sign in enduring ischanged into awor
" Th i i s o n o f t w i ns ta nc e marks. Th beginnin
othe "The
i n t h t ex t w he r
occurrence is foun went motionless
..
in on
of appeal necessaril
t he r i s a d ia lo gu e w it ho u of th
q uo ta ti o
last fi·agment:$of th book
attraction of th expans isaffirmed. Bu di th sign sa anything Itmade
imprecise?
An
suddenly
sign bydesignating Bu isthe appeal more demanding? It
g oe s t ow ar d t h
t o w hi c
it appeals. Bu does it make somethin
er bu e no u
l it tl e e hi n so th
w ou l
-..If
it
o ss ib l
ic
t h s of a a n
e r s h u ld er s w hi c t h b ow e
l os e ap of
le
appeal that questions? It responds by appealing. ;. Ho
s in c s h i s a t t h e n
c a t ou c
t o h ar m t h s i p li ci t
p r s en ce ?
it
li
a n i n t hi s w a p ul l e r g r d u l l
" Pe r a ps ;
t.
in
p la ye d u t f o
waiting, everything is given, save th simplicity of presence
a g i ns t y ou rs el f
lo
t im e D o y o
a v a n r ea so n f o a d a n i n
Waitin is th awaiting of presence that is no give in waiting, presence that isled however, to th simple play fpresence bywait l n t ha t w it hd r w s f ro m
r es e c e
v er yt hi n
th
th
i s p re s n t i n i t
tu
li
th
-I them
to wher
they alread are.
r es p n di n t hr ou g "I wa wonderfull
simple."
i ff er en c
to th
s i p li ci t
a tt r c ti on , n ei th e t ha t h a
b et w e n t he s w ay s o f a ct i g .
. ; H e a s t h i m r es si o e r a pp ro ac h th
o r a cc e t i g ,
"A
s el es s t h e t e ve ry t i n
to
simplicity."
s co p
r ef us in g
l w y s a lr ea d r en d r e
o f s ee i
e r l es s t ha n
s ei zi n i n e r t hr o g h
o we r o f t h
p pr oa c
do
th
s ee i
f ee li n t ha t i s s tr an g
in it
t ha t i s u ni qu el y h er s your presence?" As he di no answer "Didn' sh stiffe when yo ll t,
to
l,
th
Bu li
* Th e i mp li e becomes
e xi st en c
in
ly of
th lo
s ec on d w om an , to which
explicit in this fragment an
e fe rr e
others that follow.
this impression that distance
in
p re vi ou s n ot e
have al of sudden disappeare
t ha t t h s t r y a n o nl y f ol lo w i t c o r s thin
that yo exhibite
o f y ou rs el f? "
th
ti
"O
i s l ea sa nt . B u
o n' t
an ou
to much assurance? Weren' yo to sure m ig h t hi n
s o T he s
t hi ng s a r n ec es s r il y
s li p b ac kw ar d m ak in g h e t ra ve rs e t hr o g h t h s h i s l e n in g b ac k t h p or ti o i s m or e s im pl e t ha n y ou . ' 'A n d o n o f or g
c ro ss ed , t h
t ha t d ur in g t h e nt ir e t im e t h r em ar k b l
s ep ar at e
h er , h e f ac e p as si n b ef or e h im , w hi l s h
if ' 'A bs ol ut el y a n e ve n n l t ha t w hi c
a n a lr ea d
ls th
A s h e t a e s h ol d p pr oa c . "
e x a ns e w he r
s pa ce , u nc ro ss ab l
h er , i m e rc e t i l y s ur ro un di n
sh wil be an attractin
i s n kn ow n
o f a tt ra ct io n
he with
e r s uc h
stillunaccomplished movement
s h s li ps , a n i ma g i n t hi s s li pp in g s li pp in g i nt o h e
Image. ~. "Y s, u n e rs to o
n ow , i t w a a lr e d y h e m an n
o f s tr u g li n
a ga in s
w o d er fu ll y t ha t s h m us t n ei t e r r es is t n o c o s en t th
If la
im
i l t ed , r ar ef ie d
th
s pe ct ac l
t ha t w o l d t a
i ci p th
a tt ra ct e
p la c i n a n r e t ha t it
it
t hr ou g
a re fr e
d et ac hm en t
th
asif ou
no yet, throug y et .
e r r es e c e. "
" Th ro ug h t h a tt ra ct io n t ha t f or ce s r ej ec ts , a n is
c am e f ro m h er : y es , w it ho u
tt
te
b il it y t o l oo k
u t w er e r oo te d i n t h a ff ir ma ti o
r,
tt
c c p ie s ti
th re
w it ho u
p re se nc e. "
" Pr es en t t hr o g h t hi s s ur pl u
li
alread so expose
" At tr ac te d b u n ev er th el es s
th attraction of that whic alwaysattracts, bu no
to
o f h e v in es s
th
o f h e p re s n c
an stil hidden
o ut si d . "
" L a ni n
ac
n d s ho wi n
h er se l t hr o g h a p as si o
it
le
im
ye neve visibl enough."
le "Naturally neve visibl enough."
Standing agains th door motionles
an always approaching,
whil seated at th fa en of th sofa he body turned slightly away l yi n 66
ow
l ea ni n
ba
a ga in s h im , s li pp in g a n
e , l et ti n
he
invisible." ~,
he
b et we e
sh sa
e ve r s o s li gh tl y w it h u t p ut ti n
t he m p ro pp in g h er s l f u p i ns te a
a n d is ta nc e
a t a n a ng l a s i f t o p us h
away ou of peaceful necessity, thei tw reclinin
bodies sh said
th
it
o th e t hi n s ? ''
v er yt hi n
th
t ha t h ap p n e ? "
" Th ey , t o
h av e t h i r
reality, naturally butit ma be that everything that seemed so simple t o m e s o f a i s s ud de nl y c om in g u p g ai ns t a n t he r s im pl ic it y t ha t
.;
h a w hi c
h a b ee n a c o mp li sh e
as
f o i t a c o m l is h
ment.
is someho
affirmed in th voice, Somethin
T h s ur pr is e t ha t i s t h r et re a o f t hi n
is changing," a n a ls o o f s ur pr is in g
things,
- : " Ho w d i t he y a p e n t o s pe a t o e ac h o th er ?
is, t o ther wa anothe
reason an that becaus
an
h i m ad e e r et
b el ie v t h
a mo n
t he rs ,
d di n
le
only
to
of this reason whatever
th
made thei word natura also made them very difficult. Otherwise, a lm os t d ir ec t m an n r ,
u tt i
e rs el f c om pl et el y i nt o e a
w or d
in ic wi
ls if
lt
hersel hear
tt
or ha alread necessaril
io th
io
room in spit of he weak ability, whic
le
sometime
te
You still
id
th id
it
ne pe te
th
th 's
n yt hi n l e- s
th
ha isin ha pe ed le
th
n ow in g t ha t t o f in d i s
il
l ik e t o s p a k t o y o . "
t o r ep r a c
i t f or . I t i s
s o e wh a w ea k s li g t l th
ld
e re l t o o nt in u
t o s ea rc h
th relation to th center whic isunlocatable Th center le
itself. The center as center is always intact ur in
a ro u
in this turnin " Th er e i s n ot hi n
he
ie
h e p re s n ce , w hi c
h e c o l d e nc ou nt e
r es e c e
i r c tl y a cr os s f ro m
him,
no be thought,
68
it be it tranquil realit that surprise
me by abruptly
o nl y
away o f h e ( t r ne d- aw a
~" ca be Coul
an
o f t hi s
it
t hi s s pe ec h a n throug
withdrawn,
r ec is e w er e t h p ri n i pa l s af eg ua r
He
o in t w h r e t he y w ou l w it hd ra w a n n o b e e xp re ss ed ? w a m or e
is sometime
v oi c t ha t s ay s s om ew ha t c ol dl y " I w ou l
,ei t hi s v oi c t h
herself, fillin in
outside, always distan an always close, searchin
s p c if yi ng , a s i f b ei n th
expresse
time ahead, behind th entire void as sh fill all th silenc in th
th
th
th
t.
an
th
waitin
that submit
to it throug
from on to th othe withou acting as be accomplished
Impossible to think? Forbidde
to thought?
-: "Let's wait yo will certainl does ot givesp ech.
thought.
ivin
unde
th
pressure exerte
by that whic
st ys
there unthought
ltr
di
as th
movi
In each word
ot seem surp ised sh
ha
wa te
.La
to re ea
ff
he to sayitagain sh wa neve ableto find th expression that sh
response to th
aught?
aste
hearin ther
each other. is
lo ge anythi
ent Indifferent, it carrie difference to
oo willin to talk abou
Th
be easy ifyou hadn't begu request-this
that ca only presen itself an in such Th
to
Waitin is alwayshidden in waiting. Whoeve wait enters th it agai
fi st ti e?
hidden trai of waiting.
by sayingit agai ."
That whic ishidde
too, he unde stands direct manner that ther
intain it
reques is hidden an hide th immediac
in th detour
open itself to waiting, no to be discov hidden there.
Waitin neithe open no closes Th that
entering into
either welcomes no excludes Waitin is foreig
relation
to th self
concealing/self-revealing movement of things of th reques
of waiting, detour that do ot qualif asintermedi-
aries.There is nothin
differ
perpetua coming an goin of waiting: it cessation. Th
ered bu rather to re ai ut it is
that ca
that ha alread take back everything differ-
motionlessness of waiting, moving more than an movement
it: lightly, unknowingly, passionately. "Sayin it agai is asy,bu sayi
oments?"
"I isnot necessary, now, fo us to speak. Le
of th reques in hi presence
talk abou it on th co trary, he is on
arrested
us remain peacefull -:-In waitin wher
to do with he refusing orbeing embarrasse
an
yo everything?"
Waitin is differenc
of ti e.
of thei appearance
expressed, th refusa an
efforts, so
literall been dismantled an al that remained wa th emptines It ha nothin
spac
attraction of th unexpressed.
-W
isno ti
"Waiting
and their disappearance.
displaces all proximity.
detour
eventually
responds to waiting.
strained by waiting. pearing, they designat
yo willno be able to thin it
"Tha woul
goes
In each word no word bu th spac that appearing, disaplit
ttentive an
peec
mediator
spea
"But peec
waiting.
except th reques thatrequests immediatel
Nothin in th
co
is hidden to anyone wh an
of things that reve
waits. Whoeve wait is no themse ves. In waiting, al
things ar returned toward th latent state.
;. He isno lo ge protecte
anifest, they return to th late
byth hidden aspect of things
state, an
th
sa
applie to
her, whethe he likesit or not, in th relation he maintain with her, ;. Waiting: attracte an sayi
by waitin in this interval betwee
that he only endure
thanks to th stor
seeing
wher
an th same applie to hi
in th relation sh maintain with him.
th
latter play itself ou whil displaying it hand bu immediatelystory' ga were at
toward waitin that keep th tw of them asif they remove from presence
th fact that we ar here secretly.""Secretl
in this
make no concessions.
"Dista cing distance in
we know better
fa
ye th
'A fro
us."
"But theydo no havea secret."
"Y s,we know etter. fo lowi
oment, stoppi
ft
Go
toward th presence toward whic
fr
looking: "But
bout and, in th story, sh
they ar
ot able
it to everything that an ot evok this gift that sh
awaits either alwayswaitin to acquir it thanks to this stor fr
an
this presence." fo
tellhi
anifestly.
"T is is ou su eriority over
them asifwe were thei secret." "Distancin
"Secretl an
anifestation
that
comes, an thus they ar turned toward it Always turned farthe awayin this detour
fi
to come
't
"Wha keep
them separated,
isplacin
ot
of them from
't is othi
am capabl of wa ti g.
waiting, goin toward waiting. "Prese ce that is alwaysintact only presen throug
th
detour
fo fr void betwee othe throug Waiting,
seeing an waiting.
''Wher
dotheywait? Here or outside?
"Here, whic keep
fo
illegitimately toward each
"Through forgetting
road take bydayand by night, isthe wa that lead
everyone." "And di deat
fr of whic
strang
word!"
'' saying carrie
wait This ismy role within
"Waiting waiting, what
ar kept together by forgetting th detour that he make
an wher he remains, expose
to things when neithe hidden no
co
quicldy?
"Ver quickly.But dyin is
long." Speaking instea
of dying. 73
that is ot reallyde ou ced, si ce it is supposed to introduc closer to deat
than mortals: presen to death.
interval betwee Ther
th
visible/invisibl
where, accordin
an
th
an
sayable/unsayable
to th genera law;a perfec suture hide
th secret of th joinin together th secret here in th manner of "The
ar
ot pr se t; of them ther is only th
they disappea
ha
hold over presence
tear show itself in it hidden aspect Of this void in accordance
"A
slowly eternally.
''A presence wher
perhaps.
rese ce wher
witnesses."
they disappear, th presence of
"Prese ce that do
ot belo
to
believes th like hi
remembrance."
de hi
fo
believ this Th fo
it he willstil have foun
feelin that he is
In this case even if he fi ds
only an idea
everthel ss an idea of
particula kind. coul beig oran of He
us look fo th ce te of gravit of this
ignorance, no in ill-suited word wher
he re ai s: in
or
th
to spea
of speech forgetting, th This void betwee
stat
such as death and life, bu rather of waitin betwee
seei
certai
to speak, to exhaus in th depths
inexhaustible. seeing an
know that sh seem deprived of an en an that if sh ha to die,
him to belong to th playof ignoranc that occurs betwee
they ar carrie
When he asks hi self wher
this gift of ig orance
omes to
gift that does no brin him, except when he avoids it
an dizziness, confusion, or feeling of powe or powerlessnes
bu
rather waitin inits peacefulness, he should respond: it come fro having captured
starting fro
simplicity mysteriously unfolded,
th
presence that isseen ev
if it is ot se
an
He speaks of this speech does no betray ignorance.
ysterious.
fu To whic
sh
ha
replied,
be mysterious when
distanced mysel from
ot withou
bitter ess,
have on th contrary slightly
mystery?"
-..If th thin were separate into th thin thatis seen an th thing tha is said, speech would wor on eliminating thi separation, on
akin it
re profou d, on leavin it intact whil
akin it
speak, on disappearing in it Bu this separation that speech work on is stil only *I
this sentence
separa io
have rendered as "paths," an
spli nonetheless, bu on that does no le itself be perceive
fou
fragment
in speech Unless th re is speech on
Blanchet exploit
presence that give rise to speech It isa separation that isn' one, an
speech
and presence.
"Why woul
saying wher
slippage of words, sh
suggests to him, asshe grapples painfull with things sh does no
an
illegitimately toward eac other.
la betwee
iscapabl of bein
He se se strongly that th idea of dyin ha been pulled into
:-At
To see, to forg
ut sh does
violen gift
this ignorance, an when throug
saying.
him from
with
ttention It is
ignorant of ..
of dying? Yes,wha
er
to woun
if suddenly ig oran of
him
•.
lace of ig orance an
ioix
th
identica pronunciation
(voices) Th
sa
of »oies, w hi c
play on word
reappear
farther along.
75
accoun of this separation speaking in an alwaysseparate
speech
ls on accoun of th simplicity of presence si plicit that is in itself th simplicity of that whic
is seen an that whic
is said
Little bylittle th question that he ha alwaysheld back "How in this woul
have distance swer "T er
hersel
from he presence?"
is othi
ysteriou
be rath r, th poin wher
This point-in
away fro
th deli eate
ystery-wha
th
bout it th
ista ce
void betwee
as lost
appe
seei
an
secret
an
im
of presence
attracte
ystery that coul
inth
to cease.
-:-That sh ceas ystery bu
be th poin wher
graspe
only if it separa es
th mysterious point.
id
of thin
to be
pass
uestio s, an
were stil to see.
to say.
yste ious isperhap
one, th
en
"Lik
"L ke th fireof ancien days
ut he ca
by th even throug
ot welcome, except as
whic
ina rese
this spac of speech yste y, he believes th fa
istake to thin
that
am ot ig
ra
is as though yo spea throug
that yo
ar ig
ra
"Speec
seen bu rather at th intersection of th two. It is of everything that occurs with no possibilit
fo
of
th vici it
of it occurring.
''An is it here all
spac
from whic
yo
coming that make yo ;. Th
ignorance.
forgetting speaking forgetting to
isgiven to forgetting."
rather that remembering, yo
-: He sees her, if he sees her, throug
himsel from it
of yo in particular
speak. "Somet in
fr
byit, at th moment he woul
like to make th move to distinguis
it
to each other,
xcessive ig orance
th
of th future or past sh
hile sh lift hers lf up ou of al
of yo
secr
they ar approached
likea monument of forgetting, ignorance, an waiting, like
he sees ishimself bein submerge ot ig oran
ot abando in
he ow presence (forgotten unknown, awaited) at th center of
:-"
He reflects "I am
an enig a, stil
he
concerns both of them th manner in whic
erecte
rehere an yo ar keepin it this iswha isnecessary.
struggle
it
lift hersel up fortuitously an lightl ou of al mystery, an even
:-" treasure?"
with
fo
crud word-would
slight oscillation, fro
bilize
sayi g-
th thin that isseen an th thin that issaidmee in th simplicity itself by
gaze inclined toward that whic
Waitin give th gaze time to traverse ignorance.
escape whoeve sees it an whoeve saysit. Th
bywaiting
everything visibl an invisible.
-"I
hear of th separation ould sh
Th gaze born turn
al th
even th or
remain faithful to forgetting in th
re embe
and, forgetti g, faithf
to th
remember."
they fo get: th even of forg tting.
presen insofa as it is forgotte
Gi in
thus forgetti 77
it
tt
th clearnes surprise
th
is
him: "I woul like to spea to you. When coul
ty
forgetting Forgetting-forgotte
withou
forgetting.
forgetting in presence "You too, forgot reache
ic wh
no nc " Pe rh a s , b u i n f or ge tt in g
e .? "
i t ( i i s s o t r n sp ar en t t ha t i t l et s w ha t s h s a s , i n l ud in g
ou
an abilit to forget yo that fa exceed my understandin
alread delivered, whil taking care no to pu an distance betwee them. le
Word seemingl
forgotte
in thei wa toward forgetting "I
o u a v f or go tt e
w ha t
before they ar said alwayswend-
to
unforgettable.
m ot i n le s
s ai d t h
i s g o d . I t w a s ai d f o
forgetting."
l e d in g
f ig ur e
oe no st
h e m ak e
si
t o e r i n t ur ni n
m ar ki n
e r p re ss in g f or w r d a s s h
ou
t ha n s pe a i ng , a s i fh e
kind of speech always interrupted,
An most certainly, when in th mornin of speech
" Co ul d invite
t ha t t hi s i ns ta n g ra nt s h im .
h av e s po ke n w it h u t s t p pi ng ?
"-
-He it is alread to make it different,
them even if they sleep. He accepted
.; Sh sa up slightly leanin to th side on he hand Sh wa then
fa o t g i i n s pa c a n n o l et ti n
t hi ng s
s it ua te d i n s pa c
e ve n
bu no even with anything always differen in it indifference an having neve come preventin
al coming preventin id
is speaking here
o ub t b ei n
to forc it in it indifference
ag
*The woma
d oe s n o
during th night.
everything sh says bu to discer
Re tl Neve an slee betwee
light-undoubtedl
to take possession inthi single sentence of everything that
s h s ai d t o hi
0}
lifeless
he presence
responds to th powe of forgetting (and to th necessit
t ha t l o
o w s pe e i nt o t h
spac of anothe
wondrously forgotten, he owes th initiative to whic
p at h f o h e a n
o ld s o nt o him i g
ro
b ac k A n
li
them indistinguishable
S h s p a ks , s po ke n r at h f ee l t h
is in
movement that render
s ig n t o h er ,
in
in
ld
ta
it
i m i ci t
al presence it
to 79
i st en in g t o t hi s e v t ai n t hr ou g
s pe ec h w h s e t ru t
a tt en ti on , a t t h l im i o f w ai ti n
h e i s a sk e t o m ai n b y r es po n i n
to it ->
thing, however, is coming."
->
Pain like used-up, forgotte
->
speech occupyin
each day, each
night.
b ot h i n c on si de ra t h a s h s ay s a s h e i s w el l a wa re , i s d i re ct e
s pe e
Elation, this pure movement of elevatio
->
t ha t s h d o
s pe a i ng , f or bi dd e
t ow ar d t hi s e v
n o c ea s s a i n a t t h l im i An
w ai ti n
y et , w it h t h p at ie nc e t ha t i s a rt ic ul a
t o i m h e t hi nk s t ha t i f
c o l d b y r es po nd in g t o h er , e li ci t f ro m
r el e of measur
te
of evenness woul
t ha t w o l d
be establishe
c ap ab l o f m a i n
to th poin of pacifyin Somethin
hu
betwee
o r e x r es si v
it th incessan
in or
w ou l
h el p h e r em o
w it ho u
it
h im s l f s ay i
to er wh
sm ot hi
r ea ki n
d o o u r em em be r
th
w it h t h
to r es en t t im e
tr
a ba n o n
ac or
wh le in
a s s h l et s e rs el f s li p h e e ye s a lm l
h el d
He listen at distance towha they sa to each other,
imperceptibl
io
pe
m ot io nl es s
ly
-> ->
an
desire
s om e o f h e c lo t i n
io
silent
s il e t . I t i s a s i f s h w er e f ur ti ve l w it hd r w i g , e v
t ha t t he i w or d t h m se lv e
v e w it ho u w or ds , e ve n w it ho u
always moving
th
an she, too, seem to slip there, attractive attracted, keepin
t ur n a wa y
t h s t r y l ef t a t p re se nt .
affirmation.
in he affirms gently evenly withou limits, without
a s s h l et s h er se l
always speaking
desiring each othe withou
s il en t
speaks th word le themselves gently slip toward th affirmation, e ep i
b in d t he m t o e ac h o th er ,
movement
stopping itis gentle an attractive it attract unceasingly. When sh
no
s pe ec h t ow ar d t ha t w hi c
In th plac wher they were stilllooking fo some relation that
->
thei word
an
that transports them
r es e c e
th
t o i m i s s ti l w it hh el d w ar m a n f id g t y l ik e
ly l it tl e
c re at ur e s ti rr in g i n i t s ea rc h f o f o d .
distance
s o t ha t t he y a n
he rd delimited space, although insufficiently specified, with fixe points
touche hi
r ef er e c e
painfully) th calm search fo an even measure. Always
w o w in do w
f or m
b li qu e o pe ni n
i n t h w al l t h
distinc an ye equivalent speaking beside this evenness speaking th
wh
ic re
th
ifth
t he re , s ta n i n
g ai ns t t h d oo r N ex t to is
w ha t r el at e t he m v e l y t o e ac h o t e r
tl
il
re w it h e ac h o th er , t h
w ou l
c om e t o l ig h i n t h e n 80
a ll o
t h s il e
t o b e e st a l is he d
e ve nn e s , t h o n t h
->
" Ye s y o s po k
t o m e v er y m u h ; y o w er e i nf i i te l
en r-
e tw ee n t he m 81
fleein
from wh reas ig oran
dose to he wa that
ca spea toyou
"Well,res assure
that yo spok
-:-This even speech that he hears: even in attention, woul
ss ha if it we
spok with others itis only becaus ofhim
of hi
or in relation to hi
"I this is th case itis indeed with
This even speech spaced withou space, affirming beneat
al
affirmation impossible to deny to weak to be silenced to docile to be contained, no saying something, only speaking speaking withou life withou avoice ina voic lowe than an other: living back to life in orde to die, callin withou appeal ea ur
of ev
"Whe
di
have forgotten.
forgotten." -:-When sh sp ak an he word ar ge tl pulled along, he face slippi
in turn plungi
also attracts hi
into th
in this sa
fl
ovemen
of even speech sh of attraction wher
does no know whom sh is following, wh As ifhe ha slipped, throug affirmation toward this empt her, he remain suspende
sh
precedes her.
th attraction of th measureles
spac where, leadin her, following
betwee
seeing an
-:-The nigh likea unique word th word en
to lead this even speech whil lettin
by it toward this
tensio
co stantly.
fo
me that yo ar speaking now.
le
e, he attracte
"Well,into this though that
li ht
be justic in death.
him, an if orin th forgetti
er he stay
traitor, bu faithfully
he attrac you?
in th daylight tensio
of her, supporti
long pace away,alread almost turnin back like
-: "H attracte
That is th worst.
He atte pt
fe
saying repeated endlessly.
himsel be
ess, ligh in th
daylight murmur of on alon asof
in attention, justice in death.
multitude, carrying forgetting hiding
forgetting. waitin
enteri
th
evenness of waiting, even if waitin
always
An affirmatio
tha attracts all word whil turnin
them away
exceed waitin in it evenness with itsel£
all coming behind ar equa in this way,the will no longer speak. bu betwee -:-In
"Undoubtedly
them th silent evenness will be withheld."
lo
voic fo hi self in
lowe voic fo
necessit
of lettin it go.
fu everythin
tha comes.
im Inco se
quential speech that he follows nowhere-wandering, everywhere residing Th
"Something comes, coming outsid waiting.
woul
have liked, thro gh th trut
to rriv
at an en
fo whic
of th word
he woul
chosen by hi
have been
resp
Speech in flight that they follow fl
82
fl
*Le 1110tft" (th wor
md) ca also be understood as "the subtle word."
sibl