Hoelderlin's Madness - Chronicle of a Dwelling Life, 1806-1843

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Hölderlin's life is divided exactly in two halves: the 36 years from 1770 to 1806 and the 36 years from 1807 to 1843, which he spends as a madman in the carpenter Zimmer's house. In the first half, the poet lives in the world and participates, to the extent of his abilities, in the events of his time; the second half of his existence is spent entirely outside the world, as if, despite the occasional visits he receives, a wall separates him from any relationship with external events. For reasons that may become clear to the reader, Hölderlin decided to expunge any historical and social character from the actions and gestures of his life. According to the testimony of his earliest biographer, he obstinately repeated: "nothing happens to me." His life can only be the subject of a chronicle, not a biography, let alone a clinical or psychological analysis. Yet, the hypothesis of the book is that in this way Hölderlin has delivered to humanity another, unprecedented figure of life, whose genuinely political significance remains to be measured, but concerns us closely.