The distressing feeling of not belonging seems much more an internal issue than an objective one. Objectively, one belongs to where one is born. And if we see Schopenhauer, for example, experiencing it all his life, we can only credit it to an inner disposition. Schopenhauer, in fact, was relatively well-accommodated, and he also adapted relatively well to the circumstances imposed on him, although he did not realize it. The feeling he carried through life was nothing more than a psychological hindrance that he could not get rid of.
Category: Notes
Defeat Only Occurs if Circumstances Paralyze
Defeat only occurs if circumstances paralyze, decreeing the end of a trajectory. This is also true of death: it often triggers a progression that cancels out its effects, a progression that is perhaps only possible thanks to death itself. So, in short, as long as the means of response are not exhausted, one has not succumbed; and when they appear to be exhausted, victory is still possible—provided, of course, that one has prepared for it.
We Sometimes See in a Man Who Is Experienced…
We sometimes see in a man who is experienced in literature the unusual ability to distance himself from himself in order to analyze himself, in other words, to see himself in third person, imagining himself as a character in a novel, not idealizing his own life, but seeing himself as someone who decides and reaps the rewards of his own decisions. If he wants to idealize his own life too, then he will be able to measure how close or far he is from what he intends to be. In both cases, above all, he gets to know himself on a level that, without in-depth knowledge of the dynamics of biographies, is very difficult to achieve.
If the Author Is Sincere and True to His Experience…
A multitude of examples show that if the author is sincere and true to his experience, true to his artistic motivation, the work he creates never fits into any model. It comes out, of course, with traces that more or less show his influences, but it also comes loaded with an ambiguity, a uniqueness that is quite special. Even if he fails to express himself, even if he lacks the verve to realize what he has planned, the work will always have that sincerity at its heart without which lasting art cannot be made. And that is the most important.