The Storyteller - Cornell University

1 TheStorytellerReflectionsontheWorksofNik olaiLeskovWalterBenjaminIFamiliarthoughh isnamemaybetous,thestorytellerinhislivin g immediacy is bynomeansa presentsomeonelike Leskov asa storytellerdoesnotmeanbringinghimclosert ousbut,rather, certaindistance,thegreat,simple outlineswhichdefinethestorytellerstandou tinhim,orrather, they becomevisible inhim,justasina rocka humanheadorananimal s bodymayappeartoanobserverat almosteveryday. It teachesusthattheartofstorytellingis taleproperly. Moreandmoreoftenthereis embarrassmentallaroundwhenthewishtoheara storyis is asif somethingthatseemedinalienabletous,these curestamongourpossessions, looksasif it is a newspaperdemonstratesthatit hasreacheda new low,thatourpicture,notonlyoftheexternalw orldbutofthemoralworldaswell, [First]WorldWara notnoticeableat theendofthewarthatmenreturnedfromthebatt lefieldgrownsilent not richer, but poorerin communicableexperience? hasexperiencebeencontradictedmorethoroug hlythanstrategicexperiencebytacticalwarf are,economicexperiencebyinflation,bodily experiencebymechan-icalwarfare,moralexpe riencebythoseinpower.

2 A generationthathadgonetoschoolona horse-drawnstreetcarnowstoodundertheopen sky ina countrysideinwhichnothingremainedunchang edbuttheclouds,andbeneaththeseclouds,ina fieldofforceofdestructive torrentsandexplosions,wasthetiny, passedonfrommouthtomouthis thesourcefromwhichallstorytellershave writtendownthetales,it is thegreatoneswhosewrittenversiondiffersle astfromthespeechofthemany , amongthelastnamedtherearetwo groupswhich,tobesure,overlapinmany Whensomeonegoesona trip,hehassomethingtotellabout, WalterBenjamin TheStorytellergoestheGermansaying,andpeo pleimaginethestorytellerassomeonewhohasc omefromafar. Buttheyenjoy nolesslisteningtothemanwhohasstayedathom e,makinganhonestliving,andwhoknowstheloc altalesandtraditions. If onewantstopicturethesetwo groupsthroughtheirarchaicrepresentatives ,oneis embodiedintheresidenttillerofthesoil, ,eachsphereoflifehas,asit were, Thus,amongnineteenth-centuryGermanstoryt ellers,writerslike HebelandGotthelfstemfromthefirsttribe,wr iterslike SealsfieldandGerst ,however, asstatedabove,it is onlya oftherealmofstorytellingin itsfullhistoricalbreadthis inconceivable withoutthemostintimateinterpenetrationof thesetwo thesamerooms;andeverymasterhadbeena traveling peasantsandseamenwerepastmastersofstoryt elling,theartisanclasswasitsuniversity.

3 Init wascombinedtheloreoffarawayplaces,suchas a much-traveledmanbringshome,withtheloreof thepast,asit bestrevealsitselftonativesofa memberoftheGreekOrthodoxChurch,a nolesssincereopponentofecclesiasticburea ucracy. Sincehewasnotabletogetalongany betterwithsecularofficialdom, ,theoneheheldfora longtimeasRussianrepresentativeofa bigEnglish ,andthesetripsadvancedhisworldlywisdomas muchasthey didhisknowledge thecountry. sawalliesinhisfightagainstOrthodoxbureau cracy. Therearea numberofhislegendarytaleswhosefocusis a righteousman,seldomanascetic,usuallya simple,active manwhobecomesa saintapparentlyin is notLeskov s ,eveninpiousnesshepreferstostickwitha is inkeepingwiththisthatbebegantowritelate, at WhyAreBooksExpensive inKiev? Anumberofotherwritingsabouttheworkingcla ss,alcoholism,policedoctors, characteristic ofmany thistraitcanberecognized,forexample,inGo tthelf,whogave hispeasantsagriculturaladvice;it is foundinNodier, whoconcernedhimselfwiththeperilsofgaslig ht;andHebel,whoslippedbitsofscientificin structionforhisreadersintohisSchatzk astlein, is It contains,openlyorcovertly, ,inonecase,consistina moral;inanother, insomepracticaladvice;ina third,ina TheStorytellerIneverycasethestorytelleri s a today havingcounsel isbeginningtohave anold-fashionedring,thisis becausethecommunicabilityofexperienceis ,counselis lessananswertoa questionthana proposalconcerningthecontinuationofa storywhichis seekthiscounselonewouldfirsthave to beableto tellthestory.

4 (Quiteapartfromthefactthata manis receptive tocounselonlytotheextentthatheallowshiss ituationtospeak.)Counselwovenintothefabr icofreallifeis reachingitsendbecausetheepicsideoftruth, wisdom, is ,however, is a processthathasbeengoingonfora merelya symptomofdecay, letalonea modern symptom. It is,rather, onlya concomitantsymptomofthesecularproductive forcesofhistory, a concomitantthathasquitegraduallyremovedn arrative fromtherealmoflivingspeechandat thesametimeis makingit possibletoseea newbeautyinwhatis processwhoseendis thedeclineofstorytellingis fromthestory(andfromtheepicin thenarrowersense)is , thewealthoftheepic,isofa fromallotherformsofproseliterature thefairytale,thelegend,eventhenovella isthatit fromstorytellinginparticular. Thestorytellertakeswhathetellsfromexperi ence theexperienceofthosewhoarelistening Thebirthplaceofthenovel is thesolitaryindividual,whois nolongerableto expresshimselfbygivingexamplesofhismosti mportantconcerns,ishimselfuncounseled, writea novel s fullness,andthroughtherepresentationofth isfullness,thenovel givesevidenceoftheprofoundperplexity oftheliving.

5 Eventhefirstgreatbookofthegenre,DonQuixo te, teacheshow ,theboldness,thehelpfulnessofoneofthenob lestofmen,DonQuixote, ,inthecourseofthecenturies,effortshave beenmade mosteffectively,perhaps,inWilhelmMeister s Wanderjahre toimplantinstructionin thenovel,theseattemptshave alwaysamountedtoa , ontheotherhand,doesnotdeviateinany wayfromthebasicstructureofthenovel. Byintegratingthesocialprocesswiththedeve lopmentofa person,it bestowsthemostfrangiblejustificationonth eorderdetermining itprovidesstandsindirectoppositiontoreal ity. ParticularlyintheBildungsroman, it is thisinadequacy thatis ofepicformsoccurringin rhythmscomparableto thoseofthechangethathascomeover theearth s otherformsofhumancommunicationhave takenshapemoreslowly, beenlostmoreslowly. It tookthenovel,whosebeginningsgobacktoanti quity, hundredsofyearsbeforeit encounteredintheevolvingmiddleclassWalte rBenjamin ,storytellingbeganquiteslowlytorecedeint othearchaic;inmany ways,it is true,it tookholdofthenewmaterial,butit ,werecognizethatwiththefullcontrolofthem iddleclass,whichhasthepressasoneofitsmos timportantinstruments infullydevelopedcapitalism,thereemergesa formofcommunicationwhich,nomatterhowfarb ackitsoriginmaylie,neverbeforeinfluenced theepicformina decisive way.

6 Butnow it turnsoutthatit confrontsstorytellingasnolessofa strangerthandidthenovel,butina moremenacingway, andthatitalsobringsabouta crisisinthenovel. Thisnew formofcommunicationis , thefounderofLeFigaro, characterizedthenatureofinformationina famousformulation. To myreaders, heusedtosay, anatticfireintheLatinQuarteris moreimportantthana revolutioninMadrid. Thismakesstrikingly clearthatit is nolongerintelligencecomingfromafar, but theinformationwhichsuppliesa handleforwhatis whetherthespatialkindfromforeigncountrie sorthetemporalkindoftradition possessedanauthoritywhichgave it validity, evenwhenit ,however, laysclaimtopromptverifiability. Theprimerequirementis thatit appear understandableinitself. Oftenitis ,it isindispensable forinformation provesincompatible theartofstorytelling hasbecomerare,thedisseminationofinformat ionhashada decisive ,andyetwearepoorinnoteworthy becausenoeventany ,bynow almostnothingthathappensbenefitsstorytel ling; , itis halftheartofstorytellingtokeepa storyfreefromexplanation is a masteratthis(comparepieceslike TheDeception and TheWhiteEagle ).

7 Themostextraordinarythings,marvelousthin gs,arerelatedwiththegreatestaccuracy, butthepsychologicalconnectionoftheevents isnotforcedonthereader. It is leftuptohimtointerpretthingsthewayheunde rstandsthem,andthusthenarrative a ,Cam-byseswasbentonhumbling hisprisoner. Hegave maidgoingtothewellwithherpitcher. WhilealltheEgyptianswerelamentingandbewa ilingthisspectacle,Psammenitusstoodalone ,muteandmotionless,hiseyesfixedonthegrou nd;andwhenpresentlyhesawhisson,whowasbei ngtakenalongintheprocessiontobeexecuted, ,anold,impoverishedman,intheranksofthepr isoners,hebeathisfistsagainsthisheadandg ave doesnotsurvive themomentinwhichit wasnew. It lives onlyat thatmoment;it hastosurrendertoit completelyandexplainitselftoit withoutlosing any storyis preservesWalterBenjamin TheStorytellerandconcentratesitsstrength andis capableofreleasingit evenaftera : Sincehewasalreadyoverfullofgrief,it tookonlythesmallestincreaseforit toburstthroughitsdams. :Thekingis notmovedbythefateofthoseofroyalblood,for it is :We aremovedbymuchonthestagethatdoesnotmove usinreallife;totheking,thisservantis onlyanactor.

8 Or:Greatgriefis whythisstoryfromancientEgyptis still resemblestheseedsofgrainwhichhave lainforcenturiesinthechambersofthepyrami dsshutupairtightandhave retainedtheirgerminative nothingthatcommends a ,thegreaterbecomesthestory s claimtoa placeinthememoryofthelistener, themorecompletelyis it integratedintohisownexperience,thegreate rwillbehisinclinationtorepeatit tosomeoneelsesomeday, soonerorlater. Thisprocessofassimilation,whichtakesplac eindepth,requiresa stateofrelaxationwhichis becomingrarerandrarer. If sleepis theapogeeofphysicalrelaxation,bore-domis rustlingintheleavesdriveshimaway. Hisnestingplaces theactivitiesthatareintimately associatedwithboredom alwaystheartofrepeatingstories,andthisar tis is lostbecausethereis nomoreweavingandspinningtogoonwhilethey ,themoredeeplyis whathelistensto impresseduponhismemory. Whentherhythmofworkhasseizedhim,helisten stothetalesinsucha ,then,is thenatureofthewebinwhichthegiftofstoryte lling is how todayit is becomingunraveledat thatthrivesfora longtimein themilieuofwork therural,themaritime,andtheurban is itselfanartisanformofcommunication,asit doesnotaimtoconvey thepureessenceofthething,like informationora sinksthethingintothelifeofthestoryteller , in orderto bringit presentationofthecircumstancesinwhichthe ythemselves have learnedwhatis tofollow, unlessthey simply passit off Deception withthedescriptionofa traintriponwhichhesupposedlyheardfroma fellowpassengertheeventswhichhethengoeso ntorelate;orhethinksofDostoevsky s funeral,wherehesetshisacquaintancewithth eheroineofhisstory A ProposoftheKreutzerSonata ;orheevokesa gatheringofa readingcircleinwhichwearetoldtheeventsth athereproducesforusinhis InterestingMen.

9 Thushistracksarefrequentlyevidentinhisna rratives,if notasthoseoftheonewhoexperiencedit,thena sWalterBenjamin ,storytelling,wasactuallyregardedasa craftbyLeskov himself. Writing, hesaysinoneofhisletters, istomenoliberalart,buta craft. It cannotcomeasa surprisethathefeltbondswithcraftsmanship ,butfacedindustrialtechnologyasa stranger. Tolstoy, whomusthave understoodthis,occasionallytouchesthisne rve ofLeskov s storytellingtalentwhenhecallshimthefirst man whopointedouttheinadequacy .. It isstrangethatDostoevsky .. ButI simply cannotcomprehendwhyLeskov is a truthfulwriter. Inhisartfulandhigh-spiritedstory TheSteelFlea, whichis midwaybetweenlegendandfarce,Leskov ,thesteelflea,is significantwayasbyPaulVal ery. Hespeaksoftheperfectthingsinnature,flawl esspearls,full-bodied,maturedwines,truly developedcreatures,andcallsthem thepreciousproductofa longchainofcausessimilarto oneanother. Theaccumulationofsuchcauseshasitstempora llimitonlyatperfection. ThispatientprocessofNature, Val erycontinues, ,ivorycarvings,elaboratedtothepointofgre atestperfection,stonesthatareperfectinpo lishandengraving,lacquerworkorpaintings in whicha seriesofthin,transparentlayersareplacedo neontopoftheother alltheseproductsofsustained,sacrificinge ffortarevanishing, andthetimeis pastinwhichtimedidnotmatter.

10 Modernmannolongerworksat whatcannotbeabbreviated. Inpointoffact, have witnessedtheevolutionofthe shortstory, whichhasremoveditselffromoraltradition andnolongerpermitsthatslow pilingoneontopoftheotherofthin,transpare ntlayerswhichconstitutesthemostappropria tepictureofthewayinwhichtheperfectnarrat ive is revealedthroughthelayersofa eryconcludeshisobservations withthissentence: Itis almostasif thedeclineoftheideaofeternitycoincidedwi ththeincreasingaversiontosustainedeffort . thisideadeclines,sowereason,thefaceofdea thmusthave turnsoutthatthischangeis identicalwiththeonethathasdiminishedthec ommunicabilityofexperiencetothesameexten tastheartofstorytelling hasbeenobservablefora ,bymeansofhygienicandsocial,privateandpu blicinstitutions,realizeda secondaryeffectwhichmayhave beenitssubconscious mainpurpose:tomake it publicprocessinthelifeoftheindividualand a mostexemplaryone;thinkofthemedievalpictu resinwhichthedeathbedhasturnedintoa benohouse,hardlya room,inwhichsomeonehadnotoncedied.