Maurice Blanchot
Maurice Blanchot
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Full Name and Common Aliases
Maurice Blanchot was born on September 15, 1907, in Quainville, Normandy, France. He is often referred to by his surname alone, but other common aliases include Maurice Blanchot or simply Blanchot.
Birth and Death Dates
September 15, 1907 - April 20, 2003
Maurice Blanchot lived a long and fulfilling life, leaving behind an impressive legacy in the world of literature.
Nationality and Profession(s)
French writer, philosopher, and literary critic
Blanchot was a prominent figure in French intellectual circles, contributing significantly to various fields including philosophy, literature, and criticism.
Early Life and Background
Growing up in Normandy, Blanchot's family moved frequently due to his father's work as a government administrator. This experience would later influence his writing style and philosophical ideas about the self and its relationship with others. He studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris, where he developed an interest in literature, philosophy, and politics.
Major Accomplishments
Blanchot's literary career spanned over seven decades, during which he published numerous influential works across various genres:
Novels: His most famous novels include _Aminadab_ (1942), _Thomas l'obscur_ (1941-1950), and _La Folie du jour_ (1973).
Essays: Blanchot's essays, such as "The Infinite Conversation" (1969) and "The Writing of the Disaster" (1980), are considered some of his most significant works.
Philosophical Contributions: He made substantial contributions to philosophical debates through his critiques of traditional notions of identity, subjectivity, and language.Notable Works or Actions
Blanchot's work had a profound impact on various aspects of intellectual life:
His novel _Thomas l'obscur_ is often seen as an exploration of the relationship between writing and reality.
Blanchot's concept of the "Neutral" has been influential in literary theory, particularly in the study of French literature.Impact and Legacy
Blanchot's influence can be observed in various areas:
Literary Theory: His ideas on language, subjectivity, and the relationship between writing and reality have shaped contemporary literary theory.
* Philosophy: Blanchot's philosophical critiques have contributed to ongoing debates about the nature of identity, subjectivity, and language.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Blanchot's work continues to be widely read and studied due to its thought-provoking exploration of fundamental questions about human existence. His unique blend of literary and philosophical insights has created a lasting impact on intellectual discourse.
His quotes often speak directly to the human condition, inviting readers to reflect on their own place within the world:
> "The writer is always putting off till tomorrow and that is why he cannot put it off at all."
This quote exemplifies Blanchot's preoccupation with the relationship between writing, reality, and the self.
Maurice Blanchot's life was a testament to his unwavering dedication to exploring the complexities of human existence. His work continues to inspire new generations of thinkers, writers, and readers, cementing his place as one of the most influential figures in 20th-century intellectual history.
Quotes by Maurice Blanchot
I am not and I endure. An inexorable future stretches forth infinitely for this suppressed being. Hope turns in fear against time which drags it forward. All feelings gush out of themselves and come together, destroyed, abolished, in this feeling which molds me, makes me and unmakes me, causes me to feel, hideously, in a total absence of feeling, my reality in the shape of nothingness.
Between them, the fear, the fear shared in common, and, through the fear, the abyss of fear over which they join one another without being able to do so, dying, each alone, of fear.
They who were so important, who wanted to create the world, are dumbfounded; everything crumbles.
Memory is freedom of the past. But what has no present will not accept the present of a memory either. Memory says of the event: it once was and now it will never be again. The irremediable character of what has no present, of what is not even there as having once been there, says: it never happened, never for a first time, and yet it starts over, again, again, infinitely. It is without end, without beginning. It is without a future.
Art is not religion, ‘it doesn’t even lead to religion.’ But in the time of distress which is ours, the time when the gods are missing, the time of absence and exile, art is justified, for it is the intimacy of this distress: the effort to make manifest, through the image, the error of the imaginary, and eventually the ungraspable, forgotten truth which hides behind the error.
The central point of the work of art is the work as origin, the point which cannot be reached, yet the only one which is worth reaching.
I call disaster what does not have the last limit: that which drags the last in the disaster.
One thing must be understood: I have said nothing extraordinary or even surprising. What is extraordinary begins at the moment I stop. But I am no longer able to speak of it.
A writer who writes, ″I am alone″... can be considered rather comical. It is comical for a man to recognize his solitude by addressing a reader and by using methods that prevent the individual from being alone. The word alone is just as general as the word bread. To pronounce it is to summon to oneself the presence of everything the word excludes.