In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

MOUNTAINEERING 137
beating triumphantly'" (19). Between this peak of sexual fulfillment and
the moment the couple finally drop off to sleep (a sleep that will bring
death to Doris), they pass the hours reminiscing about the opportunities
they missed to be united in such overwhelming love. Too often their best
intentions of "giving themselves to each other" dissipated amid the
distractions of everyday life. But now, in the presence of death, Claus
and Doris intuitively understand that the essence of existence lies in the
unconditional determination to experience life to the utmost. Losing
one's life matters much less than the opportunity of realizing this potential:
"Uprooted and ripped apart, reeling through time and space, she
took possession of me, and I was afraid. She, however, was no longer
\
afraid. She had forgotten fear and everything else-everything but her
victory. 'You are mine at last, mine. No one can take you from me any
more. Oh, Claus, how I love you!'" (20). Not only does Schickele try to
convince his readers that imminent death enhances erotic intensity, but
he strives to show that sexual fulfillment as complete openness to and
possession of the other leads to thoughts of the ultimate limit: the death
of oneself and the beloved. Death as a challenge makes possible the most
heroic degree of subjective agency, which consists of possession of the
self and the other. But at the same time, it is also the most radical limit
of self-determination. [see Action = Impotence (Tragedy)]
Martin Heidegger, in his correspondence with a young teacher named
Elisabeth Blochmann, a friend of his wife's, uses the word Existenzfreudigkeit
("existence-affirmation") to describe the willingness and
capacity to focus on what he views as the authentic experiences of
human life. On Wednesday, November 10, at the start of the winter
schoolterm, he expresses his confidence that Elisabeth's new working
environment in Berlin will not distract her from such intensity: "How
are things going for you? The welter and strangeness will depress you
only temporarily-in the end, they will make your mind freer. The big
city . . . will not alter your Existenzfreudigkeit" (Heidegger and
Blochmann, 18). These words of philosophico-existential encouragement
are preceded by Heidegger's memories of a shared summer vacation
when the mountainous landscape of the Black Forest, far away from the
everyday life of the university and the big city, provided precious moments
of inner concentration: "Your dear letter that greeted me upon my
return to Marburg was like a bouquet of autumn flowers on my writing
table. I thank you for it. It was still glowing with the beautiful days we