Soren Kierkegaard

reflect itself in the Eternal and Unchangeable;... because in the course of
his exhausting dialectical wanderings he says divine things—he has gained
a not inconsiderable audience in happy, pleasant Copenhagen, particularly
among ladies. The philosophy of the heart must be of importance to them.
Concerning the philosopher who writes on these matters, people speak well
and ill—and strangely. He who writes for ‘that single individual’ lives alone,
inaccessible and, when all is said and done, known by no one. During the
daytime one sees him walking in the midst of the crowd, up and down the
busiest streets of Copenhagen for hours at a time. At night his lonely dwell-
ing is said to glow with light. The cause of this [behavior] seems to be less
his wealth and independence than a sickly and irritable nature, which can
find occasion to be displeased with the sun itself when its rays shine in a
direction other than what he wishes. Something like the transformation
about which he writes so often seems to have taken place within him, how-
ever, and it has led the doubt-plagued author ofEither/OrthroughAnxiety
and Tremblingto the brilliant heights from which he speaks with inexhaust-
ible bombast aboutThe Gospel of Sufferings, aboutWorks of Love, and about
‘the mysteries of the inner life.’ S. Kierkegaard is one of the rare, involuted
types who have been found in Scandinavia (more frequently in Sweden
than in Denmark) since the earliest days, and it is to like-minded spirits that
he speaks of the sphinx within the human breast and of the quiet, mysteri-
ous, and all-powerful heart.” And then Bremer goes on to discuss the politi-
cal scene.
“Anxiety and Trembling”—that was of course just as idiotic as when the
queen had said “Either and Or.” And it would be a mistake to say that
Kierkegaard was particularly pleased with Bremer’s portrait. He quickly saw
through the underlying motive: “It has now pleased Bremer to bestow her
judgment upon Denmark. Naturally it consists of echoes of what the people
concerned have said to her. This can best be seen in the case of Martensen,
who has had quite a bit to do with her.” In the margin Kierkegaard added:
“She lived here for quite a while and had physical intercourse with famous
people. She wanted to have physical intercourse with me, but I was virtu-
ous.” The rest of the journal entry continues: “She was nice enough to send
me a courteous note inviting me to have a conversation with her. Now I
almost regret that I did not reply as I had originally thought of doing, with
merely these words: ‘No, many thanks, I do not dance.’ But in any case I
declined her invitation and did not go. So I get to hear in print that I am
‘inaccessible.’ It is probably owing to Martensen’s influence that Fredrika
has made me into a psychologist and nothing else, and has provided me
with a significant audience of ladies. It is really ridiculous—how in all the
world can I be considered a ladies’ author? But it is owing to Martensen.