Who Is the Angel of History?

I am struggling with this text, for a number of reasons, I think -- because I have trouble with terms, always, and "historicism" and "historical materialism" are no exception; because I am exhausted, and when I am exhausted I am prone to being overly emotional. But the horror and sadness at the root of this text distress me, so much so that it is difficult for me to draw my mind away from those piercing moments and focus on the larger message of the Theses.

Since Benjamin obviously did not have The Answer, I cannot give an Answer. It is not to be found. But I think the imagery he uses and the structure of the text itself bespeak, in part, the method of historical materialism. Benjamin writes that "[t]he past can be seized only as an image which flashes up at the instant when it can be recognized and is never seen again" and that "[t]o articulate the past historically...means to seize hold of a memory as it flashes up at a moment of danger" (255). By referencing memory and recognition, I think Benjamin locates the brief appearance of history in a self, or in a body; the past is embodied within the vision of the present. It is a fleeting image, and it is only true and only possible in one moment, when it resonates with a truth in the present. This I think corresponds with his distinction between historicism and historical materialism: that "[h]istoricism gives the 'eternal' image of the past; historical materialism supplies a unique experience of the past" (262). Time is reduced to and expanded upon within a singularity, the Jetztzeit.

And this reconceptualization of time, this interruption of the flow of homogenous time, disrupts the concept of progress itself. What is the connection between progress and redemption? I was struck by the passage in Thesis II, in which Benjamin says that "our image of happiness is indissolubly bound up with the image of redemption" -- because just on Thursday, Professor Rothe was telling my Worker class that in East Germany, people were inspired by the promise of 'collective redemption'. They were dedicated to Communism / Socialism because it was a fight against fascism; it was a way to gain redemption after the Third Reich. It makes me wonder how much we are still engaged in that project. And how much is Benjamin engaged in that project? Why does Benjamin write, if not for progress? I cannot help but imagine Benjamin as the Angel of History, himself. He stares with horror at the wreckage while he is blown blindly into the future. He stares at the mass death of the Third Reich while he runs toward his own.

I am overwhelmed by the tragedy of these Theses, perhaps because of the dense singularity of time within the text -- Benjamin's death permeates every word, because I know it is coming; it has already happened. His words have a terrible urgency: "every image of the past that is not recognized by the present as one of its own threatens to disappear irretrievably. (The good tidings which the historian of the past brings with throbbing heart may be lost in a void the very moment he opens his mouth.)" (255). A throbbing heart, lost. An image, unrecognized and irretrievable. It seems so lonely to be in the past. I am paralyzed with power, in the present. Benjamin speaks to me from a quiet grave, but his words resound thunderously in my mind.

Honestly, my understanding of what Benjamin is suggesting is so fragmented that I find it nearly impossible to apply it to a real life situation -- as one might apply a formula to set of data. It's not so simple. I understand it as being akin to Fasolt's history, in which the historian (or the reader) constantly refers back to one's self, in order not to get lost. In order not to do violence to history. And I think it is also related to the way I attempt to read texts (as a literature major) -- I never claim to know what the author intended, or attempt to offer an 'eternal' interpretation. I always do a reading through myself. I strip myself of authority. This is perhaps not exactly what Benjamin is proposing, but I think it is related to his "unique experience of history," and the Jetztzeit. It is a new way of writing.