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Knight of Infinite Resignation
The tragic hero is a concept Johannes de silentio uses to represent a person who makes great personal sacrifices for the greater good and is praised for it by everyone because everyone benefits from their sacrifice. Like a knight of faith and a knight of infinite resignation, a tragic hero is willing to give up something very precious to them, but it’s more like an exchange. They give up one precious thing for another benefit, one that helps not just themselves but everyone else around them. Johannes uses Agamemnon—who sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia to appease an angry goddess—as a prime example of a tragic hero. On the other hand, a knight of faith makes a personal sacrifice for both God’s sake and their own (God’s sake because it’s his will and their own sake so that they have the means of proving their faith and devotion to God), and it sometimes violates universal ethics in such a way that they are condemned by all those who don’t understand faith. Because all it takes is sacrificing something personal for the greater good, it is relatively easy to become a tragic hero and achieve greatness that way.
Tragic Hero Quotes in Fear and Trembling
The Fear and Trembling quotes below all refer to the symbol of Tragic Hero. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Problema 2
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The tragic hero renounces himself in order to express the universal; the knight of faith renounces the universal in order to be the particular.
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Problema 3
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But as the task is given to Abraham, it is he who must act, so he must know at the decisive moment what he is about to do, and accordingly must know that Isaac is to be sacrificed. If he doesn’t definitely know that, he hasn’t made the infinite movement of resignation, in which case his words are not indeed untrue, but then at the same time he is very far from being Abraham, he is less significant than a tragic hero, he is in fact an irresolute man who can resolve to do neither one thing nor the other, and who will therefore always come to talk in riddles. But such a Haesitator [waverer] is simply a parody of the knight of faith.
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Tragic Hero Symbol Timeline in Fear and Trembling
The timeline below shows where the symbol Tragic Hero appears in Fear and Trembling. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Problema 1: Is There a Teleological Suspension of the Ethical?
...through the absurd that Abraham got Isaac back, and so he can’t be considered a tragic hero —he either has and acts on faith, or he’s a murderer. Johannes says that he...
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...understand them. The difference between Abraham and these men (who fall under Johannes’s definition of tragic hero ) is that their actions are a “higher expression” of the ethical and they effectively...
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...situation a temptation. For this reason, Johannes both admires and is appalled by Abraham. A tragic hero , at least, makes a definite sacrifice for a definite result, and so anyone can...
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...again, it means he was nothing but a murderer). Either way, Abraham cannot be a tragic hero . A tragic hero can talk to others and get advice during their journey to...
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Problema 2: Is There an Absolute Duty to God?
...the “Church” that demands something of a person, whatever they do only makes them a tragic hero because the “Church” belongs to the universal; a knight of faith acts on something higher...
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A tragic hero ’s struggle is painful, but quick. When they’re finished, they can find comfort in the...
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Problema 3: Was it Ethically Defensible of Abraham to Conceal his Purpose from Sarah, from Eleazar, from Isaac?
...understands. Ethics makes no allowances for third-party interventions and coincidences, though. Agamemnon becomes an ethical tragic hero by telling Iphigenia what will happen to her himself. Still, there are times when people...
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...higher than the universal. However, the Merman can speak, so he can also be a tragic hero .
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...sacrificing another for their own sake. Ethics demands disclosure, which is why ethics loves the tragic hero (who acts for the universal and is disclosed somehow). Abraham, however, remains silent and does...
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...he lacks the courage to speak or act like Abraham did. While people admire the tragic hero , they are baffled by Abraham. However, Abraham doesn’t need praise or tears—he loses sight...
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