Figures of Simplicity: Sensation and Thinking in Kleist and Melville

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Figures of Simplicity SUNY series, Intersections: Philosophy and Critical Theory Rodolphe Gasché Figures of Simplicity Sensation and Thinking in Kleist and Melville Birgit Mara Kaiser Published by State University of New York Press, Albany© 2010 State University of New York Cover illustration, photograph of “The Match” (2003, fabric and Styrofoam) by Frances Bagley. Reproduced with permission of the artist. All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production by Kelli W. LeRoux Marketing by Michael Campochiaro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kaiser, Birgit Mara. Figures of simplicity : sensation and thinking in Kleist and Melville/Birgit Mara Kaiser. p. cm. — (Suny series, intersections: philosophy and critical theory) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4384-3229-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Melville, Herman, 1819–1891—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Kleist, Heinrich von, 1777–1811—Criticism and interpretation. 3. Thought and thinking in literature. 4. Senses and sensation in literature. 5. Literature, Comparative—American and German. 6. Literature, Comparative—German and American. I. Title. PS2388.T53K35 2010 813'.3–dc22 2009054369 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Il y a deux manières de dépasser la figuration (c’est-à-dire à la fois l’illustratif et le narratif): ou bien vers la forme abstraite, ou bien vers la Figure. Cette voie de la Figure, Cézanne lui donne un nom simple: la sensation. La Figure, c’est la forme sensible rapportée à la sensation. La sensation, c’est le contraire du facile et du tout fait, du cliché, mais aussi du « sensationnel », du spontané, etc. La sensation a une face tournée vers le sujet […] et une face tournée vers l’objet […]. Ou plutôt elle n’a pas de faces du tout, elle est les deux choses indissolublement […]. Gilles Deleuze, Francis Bacon. Logique de la Sensation v ...