“Over the Bridge of Sighs into Eternity.” On S ren Kierkegaard’s Prominent Role in the History of Melancholy

Just as a woman who is unhappy at home spends a lot of time looking out the window, so the soul of a melancholic [Tungsindig] person keeps on the lookout for diversions. Another form of melancholy [Tungsind] is the kind which keeps its eyes shut in order to have darkness all around. (Pap. VIII1 A 239; NB2:125)It isn’t as easy as one would think to bring up the theme of melancholy and to claim something definitive about it. However one approaches it, melancholy always strongly resists any atte...