t speculative, like a philosopher’s thinking; Proust’s thinking is based on sensation and feeling. 26. The Desire to Die Tragedy depicts suffering, suffering that drives the tragic hero to desire death. Why do we derive pleasure from tragedy? Why do we derive pleasure from the depiction of suffering? Suffering is a universal human experience; it is impossible to live without suffering. When suffering reaches a certain degree, one wants to die, one wants to commit suicide. Almost everyone, at one time or another, has thought of committing suicide. Suffering, and longing for death, deepen and strengthen one’s character. “No man is educated,” said William James, “who has never dallied with the thought of suicide.” If one never suffered, and never longed for death, one would never attain maturity or strength of character, and one couldn’t accomplish anything. As the result of suffering and of longing for death, one resolves to act decisively. Suffering and the desire to die make one fearless, and this fearlessness translates into decisive action. As Johnson said, “after a man has taken the resolution to kill himself...he has nothing to fear.” One decisive action that is often preceded by suffering and by the desire to die is a religious conversion. Tolstoy’s religious conversion, for example, was preceded by suffering and by the desire to die; Tolstoy described his pre-conversion state thus: “Behold me...hiding the rope in order not to hang myself.”(20) Crime is another decisive action that is often preceded by suffering and by the desire to die. The criminal often resolves to commit a crime after suffering has driven him to ask, ‘what have I got to lose? Since I no longer want to live, why don’t I fulfill my criminal desire at the same time as I end my life?’ Mass murderers often end their killing sprees by killing themselves. When Stendhal was ...
