INTERVIEWER Why don’t you write tragedy? BARTHELME I’m…
““INTERVIEWER Why don’t you write tragedy? BARTHELME I’m fated to deal in mixtures, slumgullions, which preclude tragedy, which require a pure line. It’s a habit of mind, a perversity. Tom Hess used to tell a story, maybe from Lewis Carroll, I don’t remember, about an enraged mob storming the palace shouting “More taxes! Less bread!” As soon as I hear a proposition I immediately consider its opposite. A double-minded man—makes for mixtures. INTERVIEWER Apparently the Yiddish theater, to which Kafka was very addicted, includes as a typical bit of comedy two clowns, more or less identical, who appear even in sad scenes—the parting of two lovers, for instance—and behave comically as the audience is weeping. This shows up especially in The Castle. BARTHELME The assistants. INTERVIEWER And the audience doesn’t know what to do. BARTHELME The confusing signals, the impurity of the signal, gives you verisimilitude. As when you attend a funeral and notice, against your will, that it’s being poorly done. [...] I think of the line from the German writer Heimito von Doderer: “At first you break windows. Then you become a window yourself.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Barthelme sees tragedy as requiring a pure, singular line, while his own work embraces mixtures and contradictions, reflecting a habit of mind that seeks opposites and impurity to capture reality's complexity.
In simple terms: He values mixed, contradictory narratives over pure tragedy.
Key Takeaway
Mixture creates authenticity.
Themes
contradiction
mixed narrative
authenticity
theatre of the absurd
opposites
impurity
Mood
ironic
reflective
playful
Type
philosophical
literary
dialogue
When to use this quote
- writing fiction
- theatrical performance
- audience reception
- creative brainstorming
- critical analysis
Key Concepts
duality
verisimilitude
signal impurity
psychological complexity
Practical Applications
- Developing layered characters
- Designing ambiguous plot twists
Questions to Reflect On
- How does impurity affect audience empathy?
- Can contradictions enhance narrative realism?
A Different Perspective
Some argue that pure tragedy can also convey deep truth without the need for mixed signals.