First published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de silentio ("John
of Silence"), Soren Kierkegaard's richly resonant Fear and Trembling
has for generations stood as a pivotal text in the history of moral
philosophy, inspiring such artistic and philosophical luminaries as
Edvard Munch, W. H. Auden, Walter Benjamin, and existentialist Jean-Paul
Sartre. Now, in our era of immense uncertainty, renowned Kierkegaard
scholar Bruce H. Kirmmse eloquently brings this classic work to a new
generation of readers.
Retelling the biblical story of the binding of Isaac, Fear and
Trembling expounds on the ordeal of Abraham, who was commanded by God
to sacrifice his own son in an exceptional test of faith. Disgusted at
the self-certainty of his own age, Kierkegaard investigates the paradox
underlying Abraham's decision to allow his duty to God to take
precedence over his duties to his family. As Kierkegaard's narrator
explains, the story presents a difficulty that is not often
considered--namely, that after the ordeal is over and Isaac has been
spared at the last moment, Abraham is capable of receiving him again and
living normally, even joyfully, for the rest of his days. Almost
inexplicably, "Abraham had faith and did not doubt."
Deftly tracing the autobiographical threads that run throughout the
work, Kirmmse initially, in his lucid and engaging introduction,
demystifies Kierkegaard's fictive narrator, Johannes de silentio,
drawing parallels between Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son and
the author's personal "sacrifices." Ultimately, however, Kirmmse reveals
Fear and Trembling as a fiercely polemical volume, designed to provoke
the reader into considering what is actually meant by the word "faith,"
and whether those who consider themselves "true believers" actually are.
With a vibrancy almost never before seen in English, and "a matchless
grasp of the intricacies of Kierkegaard's writing process" (Gordon
Marino), Kirmmse here definitively demonstrates Kierkegaard's enduring
power to illuminate the terrible wonder of faith.
