The Sublime in the Pedestrian: Figures of the Incognito in _Fear and Trembling_

This article introduces a novel conceptualization of sublimity: the sublime in the pedestrian. This pedestrian form of sublimity is exemplified by the Biblical figure Abraham, the central character in Kierkegaard’s pseudonymous work “Fear and Trembling: Dialectical Lyric by Johannes de silentio”. It is grounded in the analysis of one of the foundational narratives of the three monotheistic religions: Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac. The defining characteristic of this new, pedestrian form of sublimity is that it remains concealed behind what I term a total incognito. It resembles the classical ‘elevated mode of sublimity’ as developed by Burke, Kant, and Schiller, in that it simultaneously evokes two contrasting emotions: repulsion and attraction. However, it differs in that Kierkegaard’s pedestrian mode of sublimity remains hidden from view and can only be revealed indirectly. This article explores the new, pedestrian mode of sublimity by examining the relationship between the incognito and the sublime in “Fear and Trembling”. It accomplishes this by engaging with three perspectives: (1) the sublime failure that emerges in the incognitos of an imaginary Abraham; (2) the ‘fear without being afraid’ invoked by God’s incognitos; (3) the total incognito of the pedestrian, which conceals Abraham’s sublimity.