In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

468 FRAMES
cable binary logic, this makes him neglectful of planning and carrying
out his actions (Sorge) during the day. "For Larmer gave in to the
dream-fear of humans; he reestablished the ancient rituals and dances
devoted to the stars of the dark. His fear [Furcht] during the night was
stronger than his care [Sorge] during the day. "111 Like Heidegger, Blunck
gives the noun Sorge connotations different from the conventional ones
("sorrow," "grief," "distress"). Only in this way can Sorge come to mean
the opposite of Furcht. Sorge includes any kind of future-oriented action
aimed at superseding the old world of magic and witchcraft. Unlike
Heidegger, however, Blunck uses the words Furcht and Angst synonymously;
for the plot of Kampf der Gestirne, the distinctions already
existing in everyday language are sufficient.
The only other way in which Blunck's construction of the contrast
between authenticity and in authenticity differs from Heidegger's has to
do with gender. Whereas fear and anxiety pervade the entire Empire of
the Night like a spell, in the Empire of the Day only women are plagued
by these emotions. Blunck thus presents authenticity as a predominantly
male mode of life, a temptation that Heidegger (as we saw in his correspondence
with Elisabeth Blochmann) manages to resist. Indirectly, however,
the women's Angst often produces positive effects because, at least
in the Empire of the Day, it causes men to intensify their Sorge:
The boats leaked, and the girls and daughters of Birres were terribly
frightened [hatten Angst] by the dark flood which entered the hulls. For
the first time, the heroes had to take care [hatten Sorge] of their captives.
But they had so recently fallen in love that they were willing to
bear it all without muttering. Still, when they carried the boats across
the land, they first tied their free hands to the girls' hands, because they
thought it dangerous to leave such young folk alone in the dark. 112
But Furcht and Angst evoke more than "night" and "femininity." They
also connote what Heidegger calls "idle talk." This is why a character
whose name is Larmer must belong to the Empire of the Moon. The
heroes of the Empire of the Sun, in contrast, act and react in silence-as
if they were peasants from Heidegger's Black Forest. Even the most
life-threatening events only make them more pensive: '''Shall I ask the
sun, or will you seek Lady Flode's advice?' Ull remains silent, but circumstances
will not leave him in peace. Once again, this will be the