Soren Kierkegaard

illuminated apartment in Nørregade one evening and decided to stop by
foraninstant.Kierkegaardwasdressedupasifforadinnerparty,soZinck
began to makehis exit but was askedto stay and chatfor a while: “When
I asked if he expected others, he answered, ‘No, I never have parties, but
onceinawhileitoccurstometopretendthatIamhavingone,soIwalk
to and fro through the rooms, mentally entertaining my imagined guests.’
I found this explanation rather peculiar, but I endured an hour with him;
hewasverycharmingandsometimesuncontrollablyamusing.”Tohaveto
“endure”apersonwhowasboth“verycharming”andattimes“uncontrol-
lably amusing,” might sound like a self-contradiction, but it is probably a
perfectdescriptionoftheratherstrenuousasymmetryassociatedwithbeing
in Kierkegaard’s presence. Otto Zinck was himself an actor, but here he
hadapparentlymethismatch.
AsisclearfromanunutilizedappendixtoThe Point of View for My Work
as an Author, however, Kierkegaard’s disciplined method of working at
homealsohaditsuniquevulnerabilities:“If,afterawalk,whichiswhenI
meditateandgatherideas,Iturnedtogobackhome,everywordreadyto
be written down, overwhelmed with ideas and in a certain sense so weak
thatIcouldscarcelywalk,...ifthen,somepoorpersonalongthewayhad
addressedme,andifinmyexcitementovermyideasIhadnothadtimeto
talkwithhim,thenwhenIreachedhomeitwouldbeasthougheverything
had disappeared,and I wouldsink intothe most frightfulspiritual scruples
at the thought that what I had done to that person, God could do to me.
If, on the other hand, I took the time to talk with the poor person and
listen to him, this never happened to me, and everything would be ready
whenIreachedhome.”
Here, the concern for the poor is saturated with so much pathos that a
certain dissonanceis unavoidable,but Kierkegaard’sconcern forthe com-
monmanwasextraordinaryandunfeigned,anditatteststothebreadthand
rangeofhispracticeofChristianity.Inajournalentryfrom1849,bywhich
time his relationship to the city and to other people had become seriously
warpedinmanyrespects,heexplainedhimselfquiteundemonstratively:“I
wanted to live with the simple man. It was indescribably satisfying to me
tobefriendlyandkindandattentiveandsympathetictopreciselythatsocial
classwhichisalltooneglectedintheso-calledChristianstate.WhatIcould
accomplish was in many ways insignificant, but it could nonetheless be of
somesignificancetothissortofpeople.Letmegiveanexample,andIhave
scores of them. An oldish-looking woman from Amager sits in the arcade
selling fruit. She has an elderly mother whom I have occasionally helped
outalittle.WhenIgreether,Ihavenotreallydoneanything.Nevertheless
it pleased her, it cheered her up, that every morning a person whom she