Tester, Flanuerism

7/30/2019 Tester, Flanuerism

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The Flanur

Edited by Keith Tester

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British Library Catalogung in Pblicaton DataA cg cd bk vb m t y.

Lbray of Congrs Cataloging in Pbliaton Data ha beenapplied for.

015-08923 0-4508913-1 b

Contnts

o igrNots on onibos

IntroduconK r

2 Then on and off he seets of PaisPrc Prkr rgon

Then: from specaor o eesentaonBrc Mz

4 Fancy footwork: Waler Benjamin's notes on nRob S

Thenr in social theoyDv rby

6 The aist and he n Rodin, Rke andGwen John in Paris

Jn Wo7 Dese specacua

Zygmn Bmn

Digesing the moden die: Gaso-pon fas food andpanic eang

Brry Smr

The hoeess game ofnSn Morwk

Inex

viix

I

22

43

61

81

138

18

181

198


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Cap 1

Intoduction

K

. my fom i a a I ft t wg v moaviy ta bfo; ou wtr futr attmpt aoaiiy wol v rlv m of t Wat I u wa oxaty olitu ut t opotuy o oam ao frymig o w I w a akig av of tm w I

wi . .

(Gra Nrva 1984

Fanerie, he actvity of rollng and ooking which is caied ouby the/ldneur i a ecuing mof in the teatre, socioogy andar of ran, and mot epecialy of he meopoltan, exstenceOignay he fgue of he/ldneurwa ied o a specifc me andplace: Pari, the caita of he nneeenth century as it was conjredby Walr Bjami i aay of Ca Baula (Bjam1983).Bu the/laneurha been alowed o made, o take a numberof walk away from the ree and arcade of nneeenh-cenuyPari o a t fgu a t aivty apa glary i atmt of oia a ltua ommtator o gt om gip o

the natue and impcaton of he condton of moderniy andpomoriy. /ldneur a walk io t pag of ommopa But pt t popuariatio t pi maig

a igfa offdnerie rmai mo ta a litl uvThdneurof ituy Pa iv mo famou

eogy n the poe and poetry ofChaes Baudeaire. Cetany/lfnerie one of the main naative devce of he Pris Spleenolto of 869 a Baulair ovi a igt itoexactly what i s ha the/lneurdoe. Baudelaie acheve ths nat by caling foth a oetc and a poe's von of the publicaces and space of Pa Fo Baudeaie, thee no dobt tha


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2 Iodon

te poet is te ma' (and Baudeaie is qie epici aout tegede deiy of the poet much, i not ndeed a, of Baudeaieswork prespposes a mascine nrraor o oseve) who ca eapaesthetic meaning and an idivdal kid of eisentil secutyrom e spectace o he eemg crowds the visbe pc ofte metropolitan envronme of e ciy of aris. As Badelire

said is best know depicion of the /Ineur te essay Teaie of Moder Life' (which was irst pbshed in 1863) Thecowd is hs domai, jus as the ir s the bd's, ad wae tha ofte ish His passion ad hs proession s to merge wih te cowd(Baudelaie 1972: 99)

Te poet s e ma o whom meropotn spaces re e andscape of r ad eistence. Fo him, e privae world o domesicie is dul ad possily even a cause fo the eelgs of csis wcSatre was ater to call nasea Wtho ery io the specacle ofthe pblic, existence can ony be wantng in somehing of funda-mental mportace The pvae spee is te ome of a eistencedevoid of an almos orgastic pleasure: Te mn wo loves to ose

himsef n a crowd enoys eveish delghts hat the egoist locked pi himsef as i a o, and e slothful ma like a mollsk in hssell, wil e eteraly depived o (Baudeie 1970 20) migwell be wor eadng s passage aogsde mle Durkheim'sate ad alegedy more scientficaly socoogcal, discusson of

te importnce of men geing o of e lite boxes o e ownmnds ad pivae wods (Dukem 1957, 1960).

Baudeaire's poet is a ma who is dive out of the prvae ndito he pulic by is ow search for meaig.He is the ma wo isonly a home eistetiay when e i s not at ome physcally. Toquoe The aner o Modern ife ag (it migh be speclaedtat ths essay is somethig like the mehodologcal peamble toP Spleen): For te peec ide, o the passoae obseve tbecomes a immense souce of ejoyme to esablish his dwelligi he rong i he eb and fow, the busle, he fleetng and tenfinite' (Baudelare 1972: 99). Te passage conties to sress e

nvolvemen o te poet in te pbic domai (and tereore, yimpcation Baudelare hits a the caenges o the poet ad topoery wc a pivate exisence would mea) Badeae eveaste ese and uctuaing relaionship eween he poet ad his

participaion i he pbic lie o e ciy The poet (and to be apoe is he rea tt o the idle ad he oserver he poetry is theeason and the jsiicato of te idlg te poet is possibly at is

Ke 3

bsiest whe he seems o e a his zest) is possessed by a specland deining abiy. The poet is ale To be away fom home adye to eel a home nywere, to be at the vey cente of he wod,and yet o be nseen o te world' (Baudelaie 972 400)

Baudelire's poet is he ma o/thcrowd as opposed o e man he crowd Te poet s he cente of an order o hngs of hs own

makng eve hough to ohers e appears o be jus oe consiu-en pat o the meropota f is is sese o eing 0/aterhan eing n whic makes te poet differen fom all te otes nte cowd. In te Cowds' iem o Pr Spleen Baudeaie poclims the (for hm ndoed) tut ta is ot given o evey

man to ake a bah of mitude oly a poet can take such a atecause i s ony on te poet tha a iry has bestowed the ove o

masks ad masquerading, the ae of ome, and he passion foromg (Baudeaie 190: 20) ve more stakly, and even moreto empasize he disance between the poe nd e crowd i whche mngles, Badelaie says: Muitude, solitude denica ems,

ad nercageabe y te actve and ferie poet The ma wo isuable to peope is soiude s eqaly unabe o e aone i a

bstng crowd' (Baudelire 1970 20)Here, hen the poet is ather like a anal and everyday vesion of

ascal's thinkig reed ascal caled mans tikng eeds'because we are awae o the fragliy of or ves we ae beakalelike eeds bt, mpornty, we know ouseves o be ke reeds nhe winds of circumstace. s tis kowing his hiking, whc

makes s what we are and whic dsiguishes s rom al awhich is uale o conemplate ts eedike naure asca eplastha, even i he uverse soud crs im, ma would stil bemoe noble an ha whc desoys him, ecase e knows tha e

dies and he realses he advatage which he unverse possesses overhim' (asca qoed Hampsire 1956 98).Now, Baudelae's poe i s ke a kig reed ecause he is a face

n the cowd alog with a te oher faces n e crowd. Btbehid he ace of e poe lurks a gea secret o noility.Baudelare's poet clams to possess a nobliy eato to all theoe members of he meopota crowd ecause, eve if the

crowd should cus him eiter pyscaly o exstentlly, e knosa e crowd might do hs. Te nobiliy of e poe is locaedquite pecsely i his tiking o is medocty in the eyes oothes Ideed, in many ways, it s eacty he dange o beig n a

crowd wic o Baudeare's poet, ispires mch o te pleasre


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4 Intrducio

nd delgh of the setle of he ubli.Cully fo Budelehe oe is he who knows he is fe in the owd.And s suh byvtue of th vey nowng the oe is n even hough heigh well e to be n le ny othe. ndeed if he oetdoes e o be lie evey one else so uh the bete. Thenonyity of he oe is eely use; it is ly of ss wihoutwhh the oet ould no tnsfo no the beuiful he w stuffhe witnesses Afte ll The obseve is ine enoying his inog

nio wheeve he goes (Budele 1972: 00) f the oet ould beseen he would be unble to obseve

Suh nowledge of beng in he owd, suh inely nognito (s Budelie ght well hve lled he nonyity of theoet) gves he Budelaien oet n blity to e fo hiself

he ening nd he signne of the etooln ses nd hesele of the ubl The oe s he soveegn in ontol of wold of his own definton (ht is why he is ne); he defnesthe ode of hngs fo hiself the hn llowng hngs o

enes to be defining of theselves (lthough hee s ofouse dox to this ind of ontol; the ontol ove defining

ening fo ones self is uhsed t he exense of etnghngs s they e a eexsing) The oet is he selfolednd selfbelievng onh of he owd And beuse he n odoes loo just le nyone else nowhee s fobdden to h

stlly olly nd ulully the ubli holds no yseies fothe n who is oud of the ystey of hself. The oet n uon whteve s will gn hi ess o othewise see nd yseious les o h lone everything is vant; nd if etinles see losed to hi t s only beuse n his eyes hey ae notwoth vsiing (Budele 190 20)

This soveegnty bsed in nonyiy nd obsevion ens thfo the oe the enng nd he iotne of eveything suble oe o less wll Budelie wites: The oe enjoys

he noble ivilege of being ble o be hiself o soeoneese s he hooses. e those wndeng souls who go loong fo body he entes s he les nto eh ans esonliy (Budelie190 20) This bility to be defning of he enng nd of theode of hngs whh s let t be noed n event entiely n theel of ides nd thus quite indeendent of teial fos (theoet need not be ih in lothes o be h in igintion) ilies onneton between he inuited fluidity of hngs in the envonent of he iy nd he hysil negoiions of he se nd

Keth Tester 5

othe bodies ied out by the oet duing his wls in owds.t is quite noeble th Budele's inteettion of the oe

s buil uon nd of dle of ontol nd inoletion On

the one hnd Budele es the oet the soveeign of hehne eeings of the y sge whih hs no ses fobidden ohi.The oet n be wht he wills o be; he n u on ss nd

e he fes of stnges hide he sodid sees of thei sols.Tothis exent the oet s n olete ontol f he ening of hiswold.The oet is the e of the ode of things Yet nd on theohe hnd the oet does no indulge in al of this definiion

though hoe o though wilful feedo. The oe does nothoose; he is oelled (hus fo the oet of Budelie oery s votion s oosed to sile ofesson). The ontologbsis of he Budelien oet esides in oing no being. oBudelie the n who lives in box o he n who lives le

ollus (the n who sily is is tully nolee the stugglefo existentil oleton nd sisfon equies elenless

bthing in uitude (it eques oing ove nd ove gin).Coleton equies n ese fo he ive shee.The heo ofoden life s he who lives n the ubli ses of the iy.

The dilet of the oet s hen one of he soveegnty of ndi-vdul selfhood n synhesis wih stution in whih the tieof selfhood is deendent on the onngenes of setles suh s

owds. The dlei of he oet s this divne osttuion of hesoul givng itself entie ll ts oey nd ll its hity to he unexeed s i oes long o he snge s he sses' (Budele

1970: 20). In Budeles es this is lso n ntinsally odenexisene sine i eesens synthesis of the enene of thesoul of he oet wih he unexeted hnges of ubl eetngs. It

s quest fo the oly Gail of being hough estless oing; suggle fo sisfton hough he oong out nd desuton ofdisstsftion (disstisftion being due o he bnlty of oingoss the fl o oss ssng fends; dsstisfton being

he sense ofining wold he thn mking wold) ButBudele did not elze the byss he het of hs equton Byis vey foulion he equon of Budelies oe ens thif it s hoed to disove the see of he tuth of being, oing n

neve ese; it is ossible o es in he nowledge of being sneeven tht esting is iself oing. The see of being s then thetulity of oing. ut nohe wy the seh fo selfhoodhough the dignosis of dssisftion does no ll led n he


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6 rduco

d satsfat; ust ads t mr dssatsat. Prhaps, th p v b appy p t mm f dah

Baudar mslf mad t t btw t pt f mrpls ad h qus sasa qut lar s ssay h atr Md f'. hr h mpaszd bth h

svrg slfd th pt wh Th Pa Mdr

f' ms h gus f pa stat Guys ad y thltlss struggl prats ad kw hat svgty. Baud-la spk f Guys wvr, s kly tha h saw EduardMat as h tu pa md f s ls 1975, Pl967 hs way, Baudla daws u h dl f bing adoing Als, aga, t p s s ap rm th mass f hpUb ths slay mrl dwd w atv maga,aways ramg th gra dsr f m, as a blr am a af th pur dl a mr gra am, hr tha fgplasur f umsa' Baudla 197: 40. s pt, thsma wh s r d wh s yt dssasfd Baudlar'sp h s m a stak ha m dl plasur h trast

mgs ad uts f th y, s kg f ta dfabsmhg w may b llwd a mdrty" . . h am

f m s ra rm ash th pty ta sds ss vlp, ds ra fm t rsy'Baudla 197: 40).

A f hs s t pvd sm way f gaspg psy w s hjlnur prsly what s jlnri Baudlar's pt r a as,Baudar's pt as h appars Pris Spln ad h Pa Mdr f' s sstly da wth h dnur h rmsstabsd by als Baudar, tjldnurs basaly th h mdry Th sm ssts fa a Al f us a

attdg sm fura r h' Baudair 97: 104) hural dssatsfa h qust f sasat Bu r-aly ths mas a al us ar adg th ul Grafbing

jlnurs th ma th pub w kws hms t b h publ jlnur s dvdual svg f th dr

thgs w, as h pt as th arts, s ab tasm asad hgs s hat f hm hy av y hat mag wh atrbuts tm hfr tras t bts f th y wth asmwhat dahd attud aud wh s ly a s stpaway fm sla ad ala, a srt stp wh ds wthNrva's mpa fm Ls Cimrs am t shadwd

Ke er 7

bavd t usld' h jlanurs th s sptatr ft spal t spas ad plas h y. squy,jlnri , atr Baudla, b udrsd as t atvy f hsvg sptar gg abu t ty od t fd th hgswhh wl upy s gaz ad hus mplt hs thrws m-

pl dtty; satsfy s trws dssatsfid s; pla

t ss bravmt wt a ss f lf.Fanri a b udrsd as th bsrva f th fltg adh asy whh s t hr alf mdty t t prmat

ad r ss f s.Fnri s h oing hug ad hankst w h jlanurps ad bvs h wl b abl fd thtuh f hs bing Fanri ls, , s h way f avdg arva

at t ura pyr f bing t s a way f gg prslybaus s ultmaly s uttrly utl

Baus jlanur s fudamaly a gur wh a y bw trugh th atvts f nri a ta mystry strs t s dty. Baudla hms mtd hs dpd, ts ad mpal sps, wh d t ld hmslvs

asly t lgust dfs' Baudla 197: 400) r, nd fr al, dfs a a bst dffiult and, at wrst, a ta-dt f what th jlanur mas. hmslf , jlnur s

at, a vry bsu thg. Ad, tfr, h a b dfd hmsl as vry muh m ha a tautlgy t s t maw dulgs anri; jlanri s th avty f th nur)Baudlar maks hs dfablty qu lar hs vt fth daly u ad day qusts f h atst sta Guys.Ardg Baudlar, thsnurad Guys magfs wats arady wag t b dsvrd Tsanurwais t b fildbaus, hmslf, h s uttry mpy ad, just k h thkgd, h kws himsf t b mpty; th kwg h mptss

s th prdt th gat trl vr h urba vr-mt. s lkly that h mptss fthanurs as th far f t ght and slp whih Baudai atrbuts tGuys s Bauda 197: 4 001 . hr s a kd f frdrman v wh spal f th pUbl Ad jus as s war tld th hgh p f lv s ls 's slf h bvd, s

stat Guys as vd by Baudar ahvs s gatspas f st wh h lss mslf wat h bsrvs. sa g ast fr h g, ad rtg a vry mmt gs m vvd ha l slf, aways sat ad fg'Baudai 197 400.


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12 Itoduction

cear when Musil efes to he two chaace< who ae made tostand out om he swl of the cty These charactes are themseves

cayng ou a knd ofjdnerie and he narato is hmsefjdneurin elaion o hem The chaaces n he novel and the naao of

he novel ae esponsbe fo he meanngs hey use to y to makesense of he uan existence Bu none of them choose the uan

exstenceThejdnerie of he naato -hs eedom to defne meaning, ut

ony ecause he acceps the specacle of he ciy whou chalengng

t is ilusaed when an aemp s made o give names to the wo

chaaces. The naato is unabe to know he tue names o thechaactes and so he nvens them Bu tha inventon comes

unstuc ecause of the bengofohes Let us assume tha hei

names wee Arnheim and Emelnde Tui -b u no, hat woud e

a mistake, fo Fau uzz was spending ths August n Bad Aussee,accompaned by he husband, and He D Anheim was st in

Consantnople (Musil 95 4) The jdnerie of he naaomeely seves to magny he mysey of he ciy and he ack of

nital choce on the pa of thejdneur: So we a confoned wihthe enigma o who they wee' (Musi 954 ) It s woth noing

tha Musl also ceaes anothe engma about hese nameess livesi hey migh no be maed, why ae hey wakng along he sees

ogethe? Whee ae they going? How do hey know hat thei

patne has monogammed undewea?he chaactes n the stoy ae possessed o he confidence to

wande the seets and they wande n he quiet glow o he own

tte seces: They had he ntals signfcanly emoideed onthei undeclohing (Mus 954: ) The ailiy to name one's

undewea goes hand n hand with an abiy o see onesel as the

cente of he unvese And likewis - tha is to say, no ouwadlydisplayed, ut, as t wee, n he exquiste undelnen o thei minds they knew who hey wee and ha they wee n hei pope pace

in a capia ciy (Musi 1954: 4) This jdnerie wihn he text s

demonstated when the chaactes wtness an accdent; a man is

knocked down by a speedng oy (hee, hen Musls cy has afew moe physca danges han Baudelae's) The engmatic duo

define he meaning of he accdent o themseves was due to he

ac hat oies have a oo long bang distance o be sae fo he

cty (Musl 1954: 5)

At exacty he momen when Musil geneazes the jdneur and

uns him into a genec ahe than a Pasian igue, he ldneur

Keth Tstr 13

egns o disappea The idle and consideed soling and obsevingwhich s he essence o jdnerie has ecome doubtu n unvesal

Venna Musil dentfies hee souces of he challenge to ldnerie.Fist, hee s he pobem of afic; f the jdneurdoes no pay

atenion when he cosses oads he oo will ecome a vcm of aloy (indeed, pehaps he man who is knocked down a the begn

nng of he Man Without Quaities s, in fac the last ldneur).Second, jdnerie and the poound inelectual actvy t eques

might become simpy exhausted; he mystees of the cy coud well

become ust anal and boing. Relecing on the polem and the

esponsbliy of gving hs chaaces names, Musl's narato

fnaly ushes aside dfficutes o ths ind they ecome esolved

in a emarkably easy manne by beng ogoen, unless in he nex

thy yads one can emembe whee one has seen hese wo people

efoe (Musl 1954: 5). hid, jdnerie is endeed less and ess

ikey y he nceasng dominaion o aionality and of an ode

whch s mposed on he ciy as by necessty (such as he necessites of baking dsances o of he weathe). his thid and inal

quaiicaon of the chance ofjdnerie s pehaps the mos signiicant i cetainly connecs Musil with themes n he moe canoncal

ieatue on the jneur.hanks in no small pa o Wate Benamns eading of Baude

aie the lfneuris nvaiably seen as a ygone gue. hans o

Benjamn he jdneur is ofen seen as lving and dying on the

sees of Pas alone, so tha any geneaaton o he fgue andhe aciviy woud be hisocally quesionale a best Benamins

agumen s hat the aonaty of capitalsm and, especaly,commodicaion and the ciculaion of commodities, self defined

the meaning of existence n the ciy so tha hee emained no

spaces o mystey o he jneur o obseve Capia imposed itsown ode on he metopos as om ousde, le a natua oce.

Benjamin poposes hat he holowness o the commodity fomand, ndeed, the holowness o he egoisic ndivduas of captalism

s efleced in hejneur.Fdnerie is a despeae aempt o fll the

emptness even though t s acually a inal esignaon o iBenamn says: he jfneur ony seems o bea though hs

uneeing isolaton of each n his pivae nteest" by llng theholow spaces ceated in hm by such soaion, wth he oowed

and icious - solaons of stanges (Benjamn 1983 58)Indeed, 'Tjfneur is someone abandoned n the cowd In hs he

shaes he siuaton of the commodiy The noxicaton o


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4 ocn

whih the j/{neuree i he toation of the ooiyaron whih rge the trea of toe (Beai 1983: 5).

Fo Beai hen thefneuri ao the haizaon of theba faith of he ooity Thj/fneurbeoe ltte oe han aeeker after ytery fro banaliy he fneuri a paive petato who i a pe by he petale of the pb a the oe

who i pe by the glierig proe of oei hefnerie whih feare n he work of Benai i oe antrly epty t like he ooity for i repreet. t pehap no rpiing tha atally Benai' oe oj/fnerie are ot wtho a nee.

Bt Water Bean ieifie other ather oe ane bo le ignifiant hallege to j/fnerie. hee hallege revolvearon the aionalizaion of he pae of Pa; with ationalizaion al yery i reove fro he ity. F/fnerie, of ore ipeate o he poibiiy that there igh be ere o beipte o thig Aiitative ationaiy eoye that pobly when i reove the oane of what gh lrk behi the

oor of hoe by gvig eah hoe a aeroffat a aefning ber. Benain wa n no ob tha hoenberngwa a eae ene to pn own o a igle plae a eangevey fae i the y An h pnig ow ake j/fnerieipoble ie it etablihe the eanng a the orer of hingi avae t i ipoible for any oveegn oberver to ipte to

hielf a reponibilty for wha hig ight or ight ot ea;ber etoy he poery of the ity. Beain wrie tha Snethe Fenh Revoio a exeve netwok of ontol habogh borgeoi life ever oe ighy into i ehe he

nbeing of hoe i the big e ay be e to oen hepogeive tanarization (Benain 983 7 t eant not

leat hat he ty eae to be a pae of free waeing of feeong an goig.

alkig abot he rggle of Baeaire to fi oe have nhe atona an apial Par fo he relente peeig of

etor Bena ake Baeaire a aahoi: So herove abot i the iy whih ha ong ie eae to be hoe fortfneur (Benan 983 47. Beai goe o to tre thathi proe of ratoalato wa given frther ipet with he

evelope of photogaphy; photography ean that eah faewa give a ige eang (he eang of a nae whih ha a

e eser 15

ae appee to it) a th the fneur's payg with aka nogo wa erie (Benan 983: 48).

Ratonalzatio alo halege fnerie throgh the etabih-e of tie iiplie. Baelaeafnerie i preiae o theielevane of tie fnerie i ore o le nepenent of theok alhogh a Baeaire ivention of a ay n the life of

Contantin Gy ggete fnerie epenent o the aralyle of ay an ight he j/fnerie beoe ore a ore e-perate a intene a the light beoe le an le brgh he

relatonhip betweefnerie a tie iipline i iltrae pa-tialy wel by the bief fahon of akng trtle fo walk.

Benain ierpet the fa a an exaple of he protet offnerieagaint the oa lok of hor a he niveal lok of pogehe lke to have the te et the pae for the f theyha ha the way progre wol have bee oblige to aoo-

ate ielf to thi pae' Beain 983: he poet of hetre agant the hare of Proge (o ather iqote Aeop) wafile: B thi attte no prevail ayo who poplaze

the wahwo Dow wih awing! aie he ay Beain983: 5).

Aoing to Wolfgag Shivelbh hi tepoay preile-

io of the fneur o ake a wak wih a trtle epreen oneeperate repone to the inreaing pee of ilation of traffiooiie thoght in the nineeenth enry fnerie i aharking bak an a notalgia fo a lowe a ore efiite worlShvelbh alo tree the poit that j/fnerie i oly eallypoibe f he j/fneuri in o great anger of getig rn over bypeeing hing. t wa ipotan that thee wee plae whee thej/fneurwol not be expoe to he ight of arriage whee therewee refge fro the vehilar taf on the regar reet

Shivebh 980: 89) hat i why the arae of he Paibefore aa were o portat. hey were pbl paewhh were potee fo he rato of the ity Whe hearae wee eolihe he j/fneurwa hown io the way ofirlatio.t ight eve be a that he/ wa thrown ot ofthe aae of Pai an onto the killing teet of the ivera

Viea./fnerie exitene at a pae tha i o of ep with therap irlaton of he oer etropoli.

Or i i? hee a greater paaox at the hear of iion ofthefneur he eage fo Benai Shivelbh an even


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16 Intrduco

Robet Musil is quie clea; the dies in the moden city. Andyet Satre and Musil (once again use the figue of the in a

vey geneal way to y o say somehing about meropolian exisence as a geneal problem Thee is a ceain ambiguity concening

the hitorcal speccty of he figue of the flneur. On the one

hand, thee seems to be ittle doubt that jneuris specific to a

Paisian time and place. On the othe hand, the is used as afigue to iluminate issues of city life iespective of ime and place.

t is following Musil, the diffeence between the historical and the

geographica place called Vienna and the potentialy univesa con

cep of Vienna This geyness of the histoical specificiy of the

jneuris pehaps as intinsic o the debate as the poblem acknowledged by Baudelaie of defining exactly wha neur' means. It

most certainly has is oots in some of the twists and turns ofBaudelaes thought and pose.

The poblem with Baudelaie is that he was unpepaed to makeany signifcan distincion between Pars and modeity. Unfor-tunately, this eaves somehing of an impression that actualy hewas neve really oo sure whethe he was wiing about one o theother or indeed both a the same time. (This problem aso runsthough Benjamin; on he face ofit he pays scupulous atention tohe histoical specifcity ofPas but he is pefecly happy to efeto ondon or Berlin if hat will enable him to mae a point moefocefuly- and especially if it enables him to dop in a quotationfrom Engels.Similarly Benamin stresses the significance of Poe'sstory The Man of he Cowd' The stoy is se in London;Benjamin 579)

The ambiguiy is expessed when Baudeaie paints his picue of

pecisely what it is tha he jineurobserves.The observes

and seeks the meaning of his modernty Modenity is the tansient, the eeing, he contingent; i is one half of at, the othe

being the etenal and the immovable' (Baudelaie 1972: 403 To

the extent hat he jneur is observing the /eeting and the con

tingent content of he eterna and he immovable forms (and he

poject of fnding the eterna in the ansitoy uns hough Sartreand Musi and fo hat matter even Benjamin), hen in obseving

Pais, the flneur is looking at nothing othe han the curren

expession of modernty When Baudelaie has Constantin Guys(o should it be Manet?) admie the eterna beauty and he aston

ishing harmony of life in the capial cities, a hamony so poviden

tialy maintained in the umult of human liberty (Baudelaire 197

Keih Tese 17

40), Guys is acually admiring Pais and modeniy a he same

time Guys s admiing the beauty in he unity of the transien andhe timeess.

n other wods and to caify, the jneur cetainy occupies thespecifc times and places of nineteenthcentuy Pais, but that Pais

is itself made impotant because i is an expession of modernity.

Baudelae's uncetanty as to whethe he was alkng about Pais omodenity is, hen bette undestood in tems of an atempt to talk

abou both at one and the same time. For Baudelaire, modernity is

theform; Pais is he content. Thejineuris the figue and the point

of obsevaion tha sraddles he two and pulls them togethe into a

unityf i can be said that Robert Musil invents a univesal Vienna then

smilaly Chales Baudelaie invents a universal Pais Baudelare

makes the jneurinto a figue who has two objects of specificity;

Paris and modenity This duaism leads to the identification of

othe axes of specificity the ocal and he geneal; the particula and

the universa The advantage of Baudeaires move is hat i makes

eterna his re/ections on the tansiory; it maes Modenity out ofhis modenity (the reationships beween Baudelaie's personaParisian modernity and a moe univesal Modenity are expored in

Beman 1983). The disadvanage is tha it could ead to jneriebeing made so specificaly about Paris at a given moment in is

histoy thatjnerie becomes of no contemporay reevance a all.Either tha, o jnerie becomes so geneal as to be almost meaning

less and most cerainly historically ootless if not seemingly some

what ahisorical.The essays in this book deal with some of these wists and uns

of he gue of he jneur The essays also attempt to pull he

figue out of the dak shadows in which he othewise all too

feuenly luks. In the achievement of hese aims i becomes quiteclea that thee is a lot moe o be said about thejneurhan is said

in the usualy cited texs by Baudelaie and Benjamin. The cultuahisoy of he flneur is explored in a numbe of ways Piscila

Parkhust Ferguson locaes he gue in nineeenth-cenury Pais;

Buce Mazlsh offes a geneaogy of the jneurwhich agues fo

the importance of Adam Smiths concep of the impatial spectato; David Frsby traces the hidden ole of jnerie in the

development of socia theoy; and Zygmun Bauman provides abackground organied aound the categoies of modenity and

postmodeniy.


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18 Introductio

On f h ain h h pn in h ay hlainhip bn gn an h pi by llaakh Fgn Jan Wff an Zygn Baan all ai aqin ab hh n l an) al h hh ina n a) fa hank n bnly alk n again, h qin g f h naf h lainhip linking h an an an a h bginning f

Mil nvl) n if an aiviy f pbli pa hi a h pbl ppy? Mv h xn

ha n nifi a h b f ni inninnhny a gn) an niy Baan), apan hf b n a ga pivaph a pp pbli pa?

Manhil i invaably nifi a an aiviy lan h a f h pi f h gaz an h pa f anxplan f ninnhny ai a pal, Cak985) Cnqnly, pan b pblai inih h bgh lgh hy a bh pa h plian

pal an pla f hih h pa igh b bvY gh b ab han lking Th ay byDavi by Bay Sa an B Mazlih nain gginf nnin bn an avi hh ly n h

n han h ah bvain f h f Balaian Bnain hng iby) aing Sa), haing Mazlih).h nnin bn an h in f p h

kn f ipiali, xp by Rb Shl inally h bknain h f a pbl ln f nqy ab h ak,pnin an piblii f inlal k h a iing

an pif npi lk lal ilgy an lalhy iby Baan an Maki all xain hh

i in fa h pniin f n n h nly han f flin pn h l nhabi.

Th g f hi lln a a ll l yian a l hallnging Th fig i f h aginh h ha ally bn lf. Th an bffn an nigng ky naning h al anal ilix Thi ln ff ay f ning hky

Keth Tester 9

NOTES

todcto rpt my ow togt o t qto of tnur ad nr old o b amd a ay of t cobor wold caly agr wt wat ay.

av cald nur 'm ad w do o togo rodcto. qo of t gdr ccty of nr vy mc a for dba S Jat Wof atcl o v Fnu

(orgly Wolff 98, rptd Wolff 99) ad t Polock 988(ag 9 Wlo 99 S ao BckMor 986 989 Som daof rtrcto o t frdom of wom o tol tctry Par c xractd from Hgo 99

3 kow tat o mg wll ay mo abot m ta do aotBadar o Cota Gy w rad t aag almommdaly og of Dracla. Cold b at nur rarlk a mtropola vamp a domcad varat of t gr oarzd by Bra Sokr?

4 Ml nr a aratv dvc. Howvr a kd ofjnr ao mport i t otr gra wcry yttc ovl:Gorg PrLA Ur's Manual (Pr 987 Pr ook mto radomy mov from floor o foor ad fom aartm to aarmtw bdg 1 R SmoCll. Pc t r t radrto nurof x Prc av to rad to y o fd tmag of xc fom wt pag of ovl. Pc mak rad fr of ay g potl ad awar of og o mc a tmllcty of xc ad of t xt radr polfor t mag of t ook v og / do ot coo ttor coa f t radr a w ay o a of ov,t mag fod oly aal A g atfacto qckly ovwmd y a dafacto cad y t oty a praomg car or v b ca b fod wt x at x aparmt Ad o t rad a nura o gt p oto waylg ad ta gog p ad dow t ta oc aga

5 mg rtg qcky to pcla o wy Ml cty a modagro pac for yca g a Badr d for atmat Sa c. (Bo Badlar d Sartr td o coctra

o xt dagr; Ato Roqt vr md t raffc w co a oad. Pra dffc c b xld trm oft nauazaon of t ara vrom of t cty BotBadla ad Sarr t cy a a tly fabrcatd wod fabrcad cac mg ad a a mc a pk d rt.Coqy for m cy ycally dtct from atatat b rddld w ocal ra Howvr wt Ml qato rvrd H val Va a atral ad a vtab awar fo ovr t Alc Coqtly M cy maatvly cotrctd to lk atr w f ad lm tatd yfo dagr wc lk aod cor ad wc rkwo warg.

Bjam comm o t atoaao of Par ar o vy fa


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Tester, Flanuerism