Alterations. Pathosformeln and Literature
Résumé
The idea of alteration is essential in the Pathosformel: only the introduction of a foreign element can lead to 'Superlative der Gebärdensprache' (Warburg/Osthoff). Pathos itself, as an event (especially an unfortunate one), is alteration, since in happening to us, it affects us and thus alters us. Now this concept of alteration, which means modifying someone or becoming another, is not as neutral as it might be: it suggests a change for the worse, a degradation. In the medical sense, it indicates a pathology. But in music, alteration, by modifying the pitch of a note and thus “opening” the dominant key, is a factor of expressiveness. How does the idea of alteration work in literature, between endured and deliberate alteration, between alienation and emancipation of the subject?
