Turns out that I've subtly misremembered this anecdote from Frans Rosenzweig in the countless times that I've retold it. From "Frans Rosenzweig: His Life and Thought".
I always remember it as involving him first seducing her with his playful charm and wit and then, once she's thoroughly attracted to him, revealing to her a mind dissatisfied with God and the world, which is all the more traumatizing because of the easy intimacy they had experienced up until that point in the conversation.
I think I like the actual version better, though he comes across as a much bigger jerk: she's attracted to him because he shows her his mind dissatisfied, then he repels her by (insincerely) professing his love, then she switches the topic to Storm and Stress, which itself is funny. Then there's the great line about leaving the room with "somber Storm and Stress gestures and exclamations".
One appealing feature of his version is that in it a mind dissatisfied turns out to be attractive, not traumatizing. What's unappealing about it is that there's no moral, he wasn't actually trying to convey any truths to her, he was just being a jerk. I rather like the idea of cocktail parties as a site for moral education. But only if the education has this sort of form.
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Please supply the subtly misremembered version.
I always remember it as involving him first seducing her with his playful charm and wit and then, once she's thoroughly attracted to him, revealing to her a mind dissatisfied with God and the world, which is all the more traumatizing because of the easy intimacy they had experienced up until that point in the conversation.
Which version do you think is better?
I think I like the actual version better, though he comes across as a much bigger jerk: she's attracted to him because he shows her his mind dissatisfied, then he repels her by (insincerely) professing his love, then she switches the topic to Storm and Stress, which itself is funny. Then there's the great line about leaving the room with "somber Storm and Stress gestures and exclamations".
One appealing feature of his version is that in it a mind dissatisfied turns out to be attractive, not traumatizing. What's unappealing about it is that there's no moral, he wasn't actually trying to convey any truths to her, he was just being a jerk. I rather like the idea of cocktail parties as a site for moral education. But only if the education has this sort of form.
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