“Not Like Any Form of Activity”: Waiting in Emerson, Melville, and Weil
Publication Type |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication |
2009 |
Author |
|
Journal |
Common Knowledge |
Volume |
15 |
Number |
1 |
Pages |
39-58 |
Language |
English |
Keywords |
|
Annotation |
Davis compares conceptions of ‘waiting’ in the thought of Emerson, Melville and Weil. He begins with Emerson, offering a lengthy discussion that considers action versus passivity or quietism, the individual versus the collective and grace versus works. He goes on to contrast Melville’s thought on these topics, noting Melville’s “response to or versions of” Emerson in his work (p. 47). He further considers the views of Emerson in the work of two continental thinkers: Maurice Blanchot and Giorgio Agamben. Davis turns to Weil in the final section of his paper paying particular attention to her unique view of ‘attentive waiting’, contrasting her views to those of Melville and Emerson. |