---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As we read through this small pile of…"
description: "\"“As we read through this small pile of correspondence, a curious duplicity gradually emerges. In their language, the letters are among Kierkegaard’s mo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/joakim-garff-248409_kierkegaard_as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-co_2265772.jpg"
---

#  As we read through this small pile of correspondence, a…

![“As we read through this small pile of correspondence, a curious duplicity gradually emerges. In their language, the letters are among Kierkegaard’s most outstanding achievements so far as a writer. The pen no longer pauses with the ink bleeding onto the paper; the creaky Latin syntax that once…” quote by Joakim Garff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/joakim-garff-248409_kierkegaard_as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-co_2265772.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/joakim-garff-248409_kierkegaard_as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-co_2265772.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/joakim-garff-248409_kierkegaard_as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-co_2265772.jpg)

> ““As we read through this small pile of correspondence, a curious duplicity gradually emerges. In their language, the letters are among Kierkegaard’s most outstanding achievements so far as a writer. The pen no longer pauses with the ink bleeding onto the paper; the creaky Latin syntax that once could force Kierkegaard’s language into lackluster constructions is here replaced by a beguiling suppleness that lifts the lines from the page. They steal gently around their subject and draw on well-known Danish writers, such as Johannes Ewald, Jens Baggesen, Adam Oehlenschläger, Christian Winter, and Poul Martin Møller. Far from being ordinary communication, these letters are art. Therein lies the triumph and the tragedy. For the letters, by virtue of their undeniably aesthetic quality, almost cry out to the writer that a husband is not at all what he is to become, but an author. This makes them in effect letters of “farewell that try, with great discretion and an ingenious indirectness, to make the recipient understand that the man who celebrates her up and down the page has long ago vanished from her life because he has lost himself in recollection of her. His love is bound in artifice and imagination, and he has to accept the truth of the situation, that he is in real life unsuited to the married state. From the recollection that gives life to imagination there spreads also the death that parts the lovers.””

Joakim Garff

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Kierkegaard's letters blend art and personal tragedy, revealing a writer's self‑loss and the decline of marital commitment.

**In simple terms:** Letters expose artistic brilliance and personal failure.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the art in personal communication.

Themes

philosophy literature art marriage identity tragedy

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

letter literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- academic study
- personal journaling
- creative writing

Key Concepts

aesthetic expression self‑reflection literary analysis

Questions to Reflect On

- How does artistic expression reveal personal truth?
- Can letters heal or harm relationships?

A Different Perspective

The analysis may romanticize suffering, overlooking practical implications.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [“I am poor—you are my riches; dark—you are my light; I own nothing, need nothing. And how could I own anything? After all, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/i-am-poor-you-are-my-riches-dark-you-are-my-light-i-own-nothing-need/)

[Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/)

> [Kierkegaard was by far the most profound thinker of the last century. Kierkegaard was a saint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/kierkegaard-was-by-far-the-most-profound-thinker-of-the-last-century/)

[Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/)

> [ But, inevitably, as he \[Kierkegaard\] approaches what we might call his Christocentric climax many readers drop off. Many scholars just leave that part of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pattison/but-inevitably-as-he-kierkegaard-approaches-what-we-might-call-his/)

[George Pattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pattison/)

> [“I never really saw the celerity of your heart When steadily fighting off the Kierkegaardian part I listened to Plutarch While you threw out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/i-never-really-saw-the-celerity-of-your-heart-when-steadily-fighting/)

[Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/)

> [What Kierkegaard said about love is also true of creativity: every person must start at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/what-kierkegaard-said-about-love-is-also-true-of-creativity-every/)

[Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/)

> [I ... had what Kierkegaard called 'the sickness of infinitude,' wandering from one path to another with no real recognition that I was embarked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-had-what-kierkegaard-called-the-sickness-of-infinitude-wandering/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [“I venture to say Kierkegaard meant that truth has lost its force with us and horrible pain and evil must teach it to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-venture-to-say-kierkegaard-meant-that-truth-has-lost-its-force-with/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [“It was not surprising that after the war Dostoevsky was linked to Kierkegaard as a prophet of social resignation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jay/it-was-not-surprising-that-after-the-war-dostoevsky-was-linked-to/)

Martin Jay

> [Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's a paradox here! Kierkegaard's own indirect communication proposes that we start with the experience of those who don't believe and meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pattison/perhaps-unsurprisingly-there-s-a-paradox-here-kierkegaard-s-own/)

[George Pattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pattison/)

> [“What is particularly striking about his reconstruction and criticisms of the traditional account of friendship is that he finds it deficient not only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-smith/what-is-particularly-striking-about-his-reconstruction-and-criticisms/)

Graham Smith

> [“And therefore, all of those for whom authentic transformation has deeply unseated their souls must, I believe, wrestle with the profound moral obligation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/and-therefore-all-of-those-for-whom-authentic-transformation-has/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [“I would have liked to say, "I'm a doctor," to those who asked me what I did, doctors being the current purveyors of magic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-would-have-liked-to-say-i-m-a-doctor-to-those-who-asked-me-what-i/)

[Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/)

> [“as in Heinrich Heine’s (a contemporary of Kierkegaard’s) well-known saying that one should value above everything else ‘freedom, equality and crab soup’. ‘Crab soup’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/as-in-heinrich-heine-s-a-contemporary-of-kierkegaard-s-well-known/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [“As Kierkegaard said, “To venture causes anxiety; not to venture is to lose oneself.” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-krech/as-kierkegaard-said-to-venture-causes-anxiety-not-to-venture-is-to/)

[Gregg Krech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-krech/)

> [“My love consumes me. Only my voice is left, a voice which has fallen in love with you whispers to you everywhere that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/my-love-consumes-me-only-my-voice-is-left-a-voice-which-has-fallen-in/)

[Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/)

## More Kierkegaard quotes

> [“I am poor—you are my riches; dark—you are my light; I own nothing, need nothing. And how could I own anything? After all, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/i-am-poor-you-are-my-riches-dark-you-are-my-light-i-own-nothing-need/)

[Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/)

> [“As Kierkegaard said, “To venture causes anxiety; not to venture is to lose oneself.” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-krech/as-kierkegaard-said-to-venture-causes-anxiety-not-to-venture-is-to/)

[Gregg Krech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-krech/)

> [“as in Heinrich Heine’s (a contemporary of Kierkegaard’s) well-known saying that one should value above everything else ‘freedom, equality and crab soup’. ‘Crab soup’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/as-in-heinrich-heine-s-a-contemporary-of-kierkegaard-s-well-known/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [“I would have liked to say, "I'm a doctor," to those who asked me what I did, doctors being the current purveyors of magic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-would-have-liked-to-say-i-m-a-doctor-to-those-who-asked-me-what-i/)

[Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/)

> [“And therefore, all of those for whom authentic transformation has deeply unseated their souls must, I believe, wrestle with the profound moral obligation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/and-therefore-all-of-those-for-whom-authentic-transformation-has/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [“What is particularly striking about his reconstruction and criticisms of the traditional account of friendship is that he finds it deficient not only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-smith/what-is-particularly-striking-about-his-reconstruction-and-criticisms/)

Graham Smith

> [Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's a paradox here! Kierkegaard's own indirect communication proposes that we start with the experience of those who don't believe and meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pattison/perhaps-unsurprisingly-there-s-a-paradox-here-kierkegaard-s-own/)

[George Pattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pattison/)

> [“It was not surprising that after the war Dostoevsky was linked to Kierkegaard as a prophet of social resignation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jay/it-was-not-surprising-that-after-the-war-dostoevsky-was-linked-to/)

Martin Jay

> [“I venture to say Kierkegaard meant that truth has lost its force with us and horrible pain and evil must teach it to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-venture-to-say-kierkegaard-meant-that-truth-has-lost-its-force-with/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [I ... had what Kierkegaard called 'the sickness of infinitude,' wandering from one path to another with no real recognition that I was embarked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-had-what-kierkegaard-called-the-sickness-of-infinitude-wandering/)

[Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/)

> [What Kierkegaard said about love is also true of creativity: every person must start at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/what-kierkegaard-said-about-love-is-also-true-of-creativity-every/)

[Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/)

> [“I never really saw the celerity of your heart When steadily fighting off the Kierkegaardian part I listened to Plutarch While you threw out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/i-never-really-saw-the-celerity-of-your-heart-when-steadily-fighting/)

[Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/)

> [ But, inevitably, as he \[Kierkegaard\] approaches what we might call his Christocentric climax many readers drop off. Many scholars just leave that part of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pattison/but-inevitably-as-he-kierkegaard-approaches-what-we-might-call-his/)

[George Pattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pattison/)

> [Kierkegaard was by far the most profound thinker of the last century. Kierkegaard was a saint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/kierkegaard-was-by-far-the-most-profound-thinker-of-the-last-century/)

[Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/)

> [“My love consumes me. Only my voice is left, a voice which has fallen in love with you whispers to you everywhere that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/my-love-consumes-me-only-my-voice-is-left-a-voice-which-has-fallen-in/)

[Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/)

Browse all 68 Kierkegaard quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“As we read through this small pile of correspondence, a curious duplicity gradually emerges. In their language, the letters are among Kierkegaard’s most outstanding achievements so far as a writer. The pen no longer pauses with the ink bleeding onto the paper; the creaky Latin syntax that once could force Kierkegaard’s language into lackluster constructions is here replaced by a beguiling suppleness that lifts the lines from the page. They steal gently around their subject and draw on well-known Danish writers, such as Johannes Ewald, Jens Baggesen, Adam Oehlenschläger, Christian Winter, and Poul Martin Møller. Far from being ordinary communication, these letters are art. Therein lies the triumph and the tragedy. For the letters, by virtue of their undeniably aesthetic quality, almost cry out to the writer that a husband is not at all what he is to become, but an author. This makes them in effect letters of “farewell that try, with great discretion and an ingenious indirectness, to make the recipient understand that the man who celebrates her up and down the page has long ago vanished from her life because he has lost himself in recollection of her. His love is bound in artifice and imagination, and he has to accept the truth of the situation, that he is in real life unsuited to the married state. From the recollection that gives life to imagination there spreads also the death that parts the lovers.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Joakim Garff"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joakim-garff/as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-correspondence-a-curious/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Kierkegaard"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joakim-garff/as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-correspondence-a-curious/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/joakim-garff-248409_kierkegaard_as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-co_2265772.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/joakim-garff-248409_kierkegaard_as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-co_2265772.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/joakim-garff-248409_kierkegaard_as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-co_2265772.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“As we read through this small pile of correspondence, a curious duplicity gradually emerges. In their…” — Joakim Garff",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Joakim Garff",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joakim-garff/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“As we read through this small...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joakim-garff/as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-correspondence-a-curious/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joakim-garff/as-we-read-through-this-small-pile-of-correspondence-a-curious/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```