“Do you remember how we said that the Romantics were individualists?”
“The path of mystery leads inwards ...”
“This individualism also met its negation, or opposite, in Hegel’s philosophy. Hegel emphasized what he called the ‘objective’ powers. Among such powers, Hegel emphasized the importance of the family, civil society, and the state. You might say that Hegel was somewhat skeptical of the individual. He believed that the individual was an organic part of the community. Reason, or ‘world spirit/ came to light first and foremost in the interplay of people.”
“Explain that more clearly, please!”
“Reason manifests itself above all in language. And a language is something we are born into. The Norwegian language manages quite well without Mr. Hansen, but Mr. Hansen cannot manage without Norwegian. It is thus not the individual who forms the language, it is the language which forms the individual.”
“I guess you could say so.”
“In the same way that a baby is born into a language, it is also born into its historical background. And nobody has a ‘free’ relationship to that kind of background. He who does not find his place within the state is therefore an unhistorical person. This idea, you may recall, was also central for the great Athenian philosophers. Just as the state is unthinkable without citizens, citizens are unthinkable without the state.”
“Obviously.”
“According to Hegel, the state is ‘more’ than the individual citizen. It is moreover more than the sum of its citizens. So Hegel says one cannot ‘resign from society.’ Anyone who simply shrugs their shoulders at the society they live in and wants to ‘find their soul/ will therefore be ridiculed.”
“I don’t know whether I wholly agree, but okay.”
“According to Hegel, it is not the individual that finds itself, it is the world spirit.”
“The world spirit finds itself?”
“Hegel said that the world spirit returns to itself in three stages. By that he means that it becomes conscious of itself in three stages.”
“Which are?”
“The world spirit first becomes conscious of itself in the individual. Hegel calls this subjective spirit. It reaches a higher consciousness in the family, civil society, and the state. Hegel calls this objective spirit because it appears in interaction between people. But there is a third stage ...”
“And that is ... ?”
“The world spirit reaches the highest form of self-realization in absolute spirit. And this absolute spirit is art, religion, and philosophy. And of these, philosophy is the highest form of knowledge because in philosophy, the world spirit reflects on its own impact on history. So the world spirit first meets itself in philosophy. You could say, perhaps, that philosophy is the mirror of the world spirit.”
“This is so mysterious that I need to have time to think it over. But I liked the last bit you said.”
“What, that philosophy is the mirror of the world spirit?”
“Yes, that was beautiful. Do you think it has anything to do with the brass mirror?”
“Since you ask, yes.”
“What do you mean?”
“I assume the brass mirror has some special significance since it is constantly cropping up.”
“You must have an idea what that significance is?”
“I haven’t. I merely said that it wouldn’t keep coming up unless it had a special significance for Hilde and her father. What that significance is only Hilde knows.”
“Was that romantic irony?”
“A hopeless question, Sophie.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not us working with these things. We are only hapless victims of that irony. If an overgrown child draws something on a piece of paper, you can’t ask the paper what the drawing is supposed to represent.”
“You give me the shudders.”
Kierkegaard
…Europe is on the road to bankruptcy…
Hilde looked at her watch. It was already past four o’clock. She laid the ring binder on her desk and ran downstairs to the kitchen. She had to get down to the boathouse before her mother got tired of waiting for her. She glanced at the brass mirror as she passed.
She quickly put the kettle on for tea and fixed some sandwiches.
She had made up her mind to play a few tricks on her father. Hilde was beginning to feel more and more allied with Sophie and Alberto. Her plan would start when he got to Copenhagen.
She went down to the boathouse with a large tray.
“Here’s our brunch,” she said.
Her mother was holding a block wrapped in sandpaper. She pushed a stray lock of hair back from her forehead. There was sand in her hair too.
“Let’s drop dinner, then.”
They sat down outside on the dock and began to eat.
“When’s Dad arriving?” asked Hilde after a while.
“On Saturday. I thought you knew that.”
“But what time? Didn’t you say he was changing planes in Copenhagen?”
“That’s right.
Her mother took a bite of her sandwich.
“He gets to Copenhagen at about five. The plane to Kristiansand leaves at a quarter to eight. He’ll probably land at Kjevik at half-past nine.”
“So he has a few hours at Kastrup ...”
“Yes, why?”
“Nothing. I was just wondering.”
When Hilde thought a suitable interval had elapsed, she said casually, “Have you heard from Anne and Ole lately?”
“They call from time to time. They are coming home on vacation sometime in July.”
“Not before?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“So they’ll be in Copenhagen this week... ?”
“Why all these questions, Hilde?”
“No reason. Just small talk.”
“You mentioned Copenhagen twice.”
“I did?”
“We talked about Dad touching down in ...”
“That’s probably why I thought of Anne and Ole.”
As soon as they finished eating, Hilde collected the mugs and plates on the tray.
“I have to get on with my reading, Mom.”
“I guess you must.”
Was there a touch of reproach in her voice? They had talked about fixing up the boat together before Dad came home.
“Dad almost made me promise to finish the book before he got home.”
“It’s a little crazy. When he’s away, he doesn’t have to order us around back home.”
“If you only knew how much he orders people around,” said Hilde enigmatically, “and you can’t imagine how much he enjoys it.”
She returned to her room and went on reading.
Suddenly Sophie heard a knock on the door. Alberto looked at her severely.
“We don’t wish to be disturbed.”
