Encounters with Kierkegaard

A Life as Seen by His Contemporaries

Søren Kierkegaard, Bruce H. Kirmmse, Virginia R. Laursen

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English

Princeton University Press
29 September 1998

Biography: general; Western philosophy, from c 1900 -

"Encounters with Kierkegaard is a collection of every known eyewitness account of the great Danish thinker. Through many sharp observations of family members, friends and acquaintances, supporters and opponents, the life story of this elusive and remarkable figure comes into focus, offering a rare portrait of Kierkegaard the man. Often viewed by his contemporaries as a person who deliberately cultivated an air of mystery and eccentricity, Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) has been, then and now, a subject of great speculation. His startling attack on the established church, his broken engagement with a young woman from a respected family, and his searing criticisms of literary figures--from the editors of The Corsair to Hans Christian Andersen--are among the acts that brought him much notoriety during his short lifetime. Yet arriving at a sense of the philosopher's personality and motives behind his behavior has been a difficult task. He left no memoirs of autobiography, but in the enormous cannon of his published writings, the author and the person Soren Kierkegaard is problematically present in a welter of disguises.

An indispensable path to understanding what he was like as a person, maintains Bruce Kirmmse, is through the observations of his contemporaries.

These accounts, ranging from the writings of Meir Aron Goldschmidt, editor of The Corsair, to the recollections of Kierkegaard's fiancee, are organized around the major episodes of the philosopher's life. They enable us to glimpse, among many things, his spiritual and intellectual development, to get a sense of what it was like to be the object of his friendship or his wrath, and to examine various persons' opinions about his relationship with his young fiancee. The memories of this woman, Regine Olsen, who later married Fritz Schlegel, are among the most moving passages: they reveal her profound suffering, her personal understanding of Kierkegaard, and the satisfaction she ultimately felt, knowing that ""he took her with him into history."" This collection of first-hand accounts invites the reader to compare and interpret a wealth of fascinating stories, and in the end forms an intriguing ""do-it-yourself"" biography for both the scholar and general reader."

By: Søren Kierkegaard
Translated by: Virginia R. Laursen
Edited and translated by: Bruce H. Kirmmse
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 254mm, Width: 197mm, Spine: 21mm
Weight: 539g
ISBN: 9780691058948
ISBN 10: 0691058946
Pages: 378
Publication Date: 29 September 1998
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

"List of IllustrationsPreface and AcknowledgmentsMapsAbbreviations and Editor's RemarksCh. 1""The Fork"": Childhood and School3Ch. 2A Young Intellectual: The University Years19Ch. 3Soren and Regine: The Engagement and Afterward33Ch. 4The Young Writer (ca. 1840-1845)55Ch. 5Goldschmidt and the Corsair Affair65Ch. 6After The Corsair: The Peripatetic and Controversialist of the Later 1840s89Ch. 7The Moment Comes: Final Opposition99Ch. 8Illness, Death, and Burial116Ch. 9Soren and the Family137Ch. 10Five Portraits by Contemporaries193Ch. 11Hans Brochner on Kierkegaard225Appendix A: The Kierkegaard Family Tree253Appendix B: Peter Christian Kierkegaard on Soren Kierkegaard256Notes269Bibliography343Index353"

Bruce H. Kirmmse is Professor of History at Connecticut College and has served as the director of the Department of Sren Kierkegaard Research at the University of Copenhagen. He is the author of Kierkegaard in Golden Age Denmark and serves on the editorial board of Kierkegaardiana and the advisory boards of the Sren Kierkegaard Research Centre in Copenhagen and the Howard and Edna Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Reviews for Encounters with Kierkegaard: A Life as Seen by His Contemporaries

Meticulously researched and beautifully produced. --Religious Studies Review Kierkegaard left no memoirs or autobiography.... However, many of his contemporaries wrote down observations about him. All of these that are still available have been collected into this impressive volume. They cover all the major episodes of his life and provide an invaluable glimpse into his spiritual and intellectual development in all its agony and glory.... Meticulously researched and beautifully produced. --Peter C. Hodgson, Religious Studies Review