necessary to put the task of publication aside because he had been appointed
physician on the island of Saint John—thus just across the water from Saint
Croix, where Regine and Fritz Schlegel were living. He suggested that
Emil Boesen might perhaps continue the work where he left off, but Boesen
begged off, so Kierkegaard’s papers were stored at the Lund family home,
where they remained until 1858, when Johan Christian Lund sent them
over to Peter Christian in Aalborg. By 1865 many of them were “covered
with athicklayer of mould, mildew, et cetera,” as their first editor, H. P.
Barfod, was disturbed to discover when he looked into the cardboard boxes.
The subsequent fate of the papers is a story that was as problematic as it was
dramatic, but it has been told elsewhere [inWritten Images; see bibliography]
and will not be repeated here.
In 1869, when the first volume of Kierkegaard’sPosthumous Paperssaw
the light of day, there were many still living who felt that the past had
caught up with them in an unpleasant fashion. Martensen called the publica-
tion “tactless and lacking in consideration for the deceased,” because they
provided the most “incontrovertible evidence” of how “the sickly nature
in that profound sensibility increasingly got the upper hand as the years
passed.” In his memoirs, Martensen was primarily concerned with making
sure that history would be on his side, and he did not harbor any doubts
concerning Kierkegaard’s significance: “If we consider the whole of his
activity and ask, What, in the end, has been accomplished with these rich
gifts, with these remarkable talents?—then the answer must certainly be,
Not very much! It is certainly true that he has awakened a profound and
fervent sort of unrest in many souls. But the many half-truths, the many
false paradoxes and false witticisms can hardly have assisted any soul in find-
ing serenity and peace.... Hehimself also seems increasingly to have
viewed his mission as that of an accusing angel.” But since Martensen did
not want to appear inhumane, not to mention un-Christian, he concluded
by invoking a somatic explanation of Kierkegaard’s final, very singular ac-
tivities: “In my opinion, the disturbing influences that emanated from his
physical condition can in no small degree serve to mitigate the judgment of
his behavior. It would be impossible for anyone to determine the extent of
his sanity.”
The Schlegels had an obvious interest in having a look at Kierkegaard’s
journal entries that dealt with their shared past. Indeed, when they had been
a newly engaged couple they had sat up in the gloaming, reading Kierke-
gaard’s writings aloud to one another. So when the first volume of thePost-
humous Papersappeared in 1869, Fritz purchased it at Regine’s behest. Hopes
of reliving their cozy evenings of reading aloud were soon disappointed,
romina
(Romina)
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