I am interested in language because
it wounds or seduces me.”
The Pleasure of the Text
The Pleasure of the Text
I cannot help but be reminded of a section
of What is Postmodernism by Habermas. I talked about the idea of pain as
the driving mechanism for pleasure. The Sublime Sentiment, and idea or thought
that prescribes both injury and arousal, is the essence of life. Bottling these
memories brings true meaning to life. In my previous post I settled that the
taming of pain and measuring it against
social norms brings meaning to life.
This quote by Barthes jumps track. The
sexual notion of this quote ‘wounds’ and ‘seduces’ implies an anticipation of
sorts. It seems that Roland is trying to point out the nature of man: To
dominate life yet be bound by experience. Pain nor pleasure drives each
individual to continue to rise each morning, it is the expectation of a gamble.
To discover a new planet, conquer the sky, climb a mountain, defeat the enemy
or build a media empire: It is all to simply throw yourself against the coals, to
see if what version of you is waiting at the end.
Coop,
ReplyDeleteI found your commentary on Barthes to be really enjoyable to read as it explores aspects of the concept of pain in relation to passion, seduction, and life. Written almost poetically I enjoyed following the tensions you expressed in your writings here. I don’t believe I would have naturally drawn this level of depth from this passage if I hadn’t consulted your post and for that I’m grateful, you framed this in a very thought-provoking way.
Specifically, I liked how you described how the nature of man is “to dominate life yet be bound by experiences.” I find this a fun tension to wrestle within my own understanding of life and cultural influences upon it. In my own life experience, I find myself being more of a planner or initiator I really fall more on the side of dominating things when it comes to the course of my day or the goals I set. Yet, I find the most transformative and enjoyable parts of my life come when I don’t have set plans and I just let the experiences come as they may. This tension, or anticipation as you call it is something I find really interesting because it does cause people to “get out of bed in the morning” but it also can be quite daunting to some as well. I think that’s where I understand the pleasure or pain flip here.
I enjoyed your commentary because it stretched me to understand this in a new light. Thanks for that!