Soren Kierkegaard

sion, in short everything substantial, but not in subjectively reflected form.”
This is as it ought to be: In the deeper sense Cordelia has no history .She
lives in immediate unity with her natural self; her love reveals itself sporadi-
cally, mostly in the form of vague longing.
Therefore Johannes has merely to encourage the qualities specific to Cor-
delia, and the seduction has already begun .In the diary this is made clear
by the following sentence, the various clauses of which can beretrospectively
understood as representing the strategic phases in the seduction: “First, her
femininity is neutralized, not directly but indirectly, by prosaic common
sense and ridicule as well as by what is absolutely neutral: spirit .She almost
loses her sense of femininity, but in this state she cannot keep to herself; she
throws herself into my arms, not as though I were a lover—no, still quite
neutrally .Then femininity awakens .It is coaxed to its highest point of elas-
ticity .She is induced to offend against some principle that is respected in
the everyday world; she goes beyond it .Her femininity attains almost super-
natural heights .She belongs to me with a passion as great as the world .”
That this strategy has any chance of success is not because the diary is a
grandiose piece of prose fiction (in which, of course, anything may happen);
on the contrary, it is because Johannes is capable of making maximal use of
Cordelia’s anxiety .His professionalism in this respect is reflected most
clearly in his sense for “the interesting”—a concept that, characteristically
enough, the reader encounters even before Johannes has encountered Cor-
delia at all .Throughout the entire book the concept of the interesting plays
a supporting role in a great variety of contexts, ranging from the very general
to the extremely specific, but the essential psychological characteristic they
share is their connection with theanxiety-provoking maneuversthat Johannes
uses to gain ever-increasing control over the range of emotions and the
libidinous energies deep within Cordelia’s body .Thus, as a brief introduc-
tion to the above-cited passage in which he sets forth the strategic phases
of seduction, Johannes writes: “Therefore, the strategic principle, the law
governing all movement in this campaign, is always to involve her in an
interesting situation .The interesting is thus the field on which the battle
will be waged; the potential of the interesting must be discharged.” And,
after he has gone through the phases of his strategy one by one, all the while
using his seductively sure touch, he takes stock of the situation in a display
of sublime self-satisfaction: “In my relationship with Cordelia have I always
been faithful to my pact? My pact, that is, with the aesthetic, for this is what
gives me strength, always to have the Idea on my side... .Has the interest-
ing always been preserved? Yes, I dare say so freely and openly in this secret
conversation.”