In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

470 FRAMES
But the king remained silent.
"Hear me, drunkard! Why did you come here? Oh, why, miserable
man, have you talked to humans about the sun, though you were
nothing but my dear one's spouse? Why did you steal the child who
protected my nights, and why did you think she was of the light? Why
did you not know that I was raising a simple girl for myself?
While he thus spoke, and moreover spoke untrue words, the king's
steps became faster, and foam stood on his lips.ll7
Ull is not stronger than Barr. His superiority in battle derives, like the
resoluteness described by Heidegger, both from the courage with which
Ull faces his own death and from his willingness to stand for a people's
collective fate: "Only the king's faith was greater ... , and his pity for
his people, who did not have a leader, was stronger than the force which
Barr drew from the moonlit night."118 Silently opting for what Blunck
presents as the authenticity of existence, standing between collective fate
and the individual facticity of death, Ull becomes the much-needed
leader of the people when he destroys his enemy in the early dawn: "Ull
seized Barr by the neck, threw him high into the air, and let him fall
under his own body. And he strangled him when the first light of day
showed red in the east." 119
Life Means Not to Opt
For all of Blunck's fascination with authenticity, African culture, which
had become the standard symbol of this value in the modernist canon,
was not to his taste. On his voyage to Rio de Janeiro, Blunck was
shocked to see a black customs officer examine the personal belongings
which he and his wife carried in their suitcases: "My wife's heart stood
still as the soot-black customs officer turned up our white laundry with
his fingers. But it was touching to see how he put it all back in order." 120
Riding through the city in a streetcar, the German travelers receive some
comfort from the fact that, even in neighborhoods with a predominantly
black population, Rio de Janeiro still offers spectacular vistas: "We
seemed in mortal danger riding on that streetcar, whose track runs
through suburban gardens and negro neighborhoods-but always with
lovely views of the city below." 121 It is safe to assume that Emmes and