Soren Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard’sformwaseasilyrecognizablewithits“highshoulders,the
restless, somewhat hopping gait,” as Arthur Abrahams described him in
lively memoirs, which also mention “the little, thin cane with which he
flicked off the tips of the plants and blades of grass along the edge of the
path” when he got excited during his walks along the lakes. “It always
pleasedmetospeakwithhim,”ElineBoisenwrote,“butitdidannoyme
tobethefocus ofattention,andthatwaswhat onewaswhenonewalked
with him, because he fenced so strangely with his walking stick and very
often would stand still in the street, gesticulating and then laughing quite
loudly.”Later,thebamboowalkingstickwaswasreplacedby“theinevita-
bleumbrella,”asTychoSpangcalledthisaccessorywhichfurthercontrib-
utedtoKierkegaard’suniquepresenceonthestreetandwhichKierkegaard
made the object of a cheerful fetishism in a note dating from 1840, jotted
onalittlescrapofpaper.“MyUmbrella,MyFriendship,”hetitledhisnote,
which reports on the following incident: “It was a frightful storm. I stood
alone, abandoned by everyone, alone onKongens Nytorv. Then my um-
brella,too,turnedonme.Icouldnotdecidewhetherornottotossitaway
onaccountofitsunfaithfulnessandbecomeamisanthrope.Ithadbecome
so dear to me that I would always take it along when I went for a walk,
rain or shine. Indeed, in order to demonstrate to it that I do not love it
merely for its usefulness, I sometimes walk up and down the floor of my
parlor,pretendthatIamoutdoors,supportingmyselfuponit;Iopenitup,
lean my chin on the handle, bring it up to my lips, et cetera.” According
to the catalog prepared for the auction of Kierkegaard’s effects after his
death,hehadownedthreeumbrellas:“onegreensilkumbrella,”“oneblack
silkumbrella,”plus“onesmallditto.”
Kierkegaard’s geographical range—with Sædding as the westernmost
point, Viborg as the northernmost, and Berlin serving as both the east-
ernmost and southernmost—was oddly disproportionate to his present
globalstatus,butsinceintellectandwanderlustaredisparatequalities,Kier-
kegaard had no difficulty in making Copenhagenhisworld. “In general,
the streets of Copenhagen were for him one large reception room, where
he moved about all the time and spoke to everyone he wished to,” wrote
HenrietteLund,andonthispointsheisbackedupbythisdelightfuljournal
entry by Kierkegaard himself: “I regard the whole of Copenhagen as one
greatsocialgathering.ButononedayIregardmyselfasthehostwhogoes
aroundconversingwithallthemanycherishedguestswhomIhaveinvited;
onanotherdayIassumethatsomeimportantmanhasgiventhepartyand
that I am a guest. I dress differently, greet people differently, et cetera, all
accordingtothevaryingcircumstances.”