The Terrible Paradox of Self-Awareness | Fernando Pessoa

Summary

The video script delves into the intriguing life of 20th-century writer Fernando Pessoa and his posthumously acclaimed masterpiece, 'The Book of Disquiet'. Born in Lisbon, Pessoa experienced early loss and moved to South Africa, where he developed a love for English literature. Despite publishing little in his lifetime, he foresaw his literary significance. His work, discovered in a trunk after his death, presents a fragmented, philosophical exploration of selfhood and existence, written under various pseudonyms. The book's unique structure and themes of alienation, futility, and paradox resonate deeply, offering a profound reflection on the human condition.

Takeaways

• 📚 The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa is a unique literary work that intertwines the story of the author with the content of the book itself.
• 👶 Fernando Pessoa experienced significant loss in his early life, which may have influenced his later work and worldview.
• 🌍 Pessoa's exposure to different cultures and languages during his childhood in South Africa contributed to his literary development.
• 📖 Despite publishing only a few books during his lifetime, Pessoa's posthumous recognition has solidified his status as a significant literary figure.
• 📦 The manuscript of The Book of Disquiet was discovered in a wooden trunk, highlighting the serendipitous nature of its eventual publication.
• 🔮 The publication of The Book of Disquiet in 1982, at the age Pessoa died, adds a prophetic and eerie element to the story of its creation and discovery.
• 🎭 The book is a collection of fragmented vignettes, blurring the lines between diary entries, poetry, and fiction, reflecting Pessoa's exploration of identity and self.
• 🤹‍♂️ Pessoa used heteronyms, fictitious authors with distinct styles and personalities, to express different aspects of his thoughts and creativity.
• 🧩 The fragmented and nonlinear structure of The Book of Disquiet mirrors its themes of the illusory nature of the self and the existential condition.
• 🌀 Pessoa's writing in the book often conveys a sense of alienation, disorientation, and the struggle to understand and communicate one's internal experiences.
• 💭 The Book of Disquiet explores themes of tedium, futility, and meaninglessness, suggesting that life is a sequence of dreams destined to be forgotten.
• 🔮 Pessoa's self-prophecy within the book about being understood and admired after his death adds a meta layer to the narrative, making the book's story part of its artistic creation.

Q & A

Who was Fernando Pessoa and what is his significance in literature?

Fernando Pessoa was a twentieth-century writer born in Lisbon, Portugal. He is significant for his masterwork, 'The Book of Disquiet,' which has become one of the most unique and important literary works of the twentieth century.

What significant events occurred in Pessoa's early life?

Pessoa experienced the loss of his father to tuberculosis at the age of five and the death of his younger brother the following year. His family moved to South Africa, where he became fluent in English and developed an appreciation for English literature.

How did Pessoa's return to Lisbon influence his life and work?

Upon returning to Lisbon at seventeen, Pessoa spent the rest of his life there, dedicating most of his time to writing. Despite publishing only a few books that went mostly unnoticed, he seemed to know he was a great literary figure.

What happened to Pessoa's work after his death?

After Pessoa's death in 1935, his work, including the manuscript for 'The Book of Disquiet,' remained unknown and tucked away in a wooden trunk. It wasn't until 1982 that the manuscript was found and published.

What is unique about the structure and style of 'The Book of Disquiet'?

The book is made up of fragmented vignettes written in a style between diary entries and poetry, with no real linear order. It is credited to fictitious authors created by Pessoa, reinforcing the themes of the fragmented and illusory nature of the self.

What is the concept of 'heteronyms' as used by Pessoa?

Heteronyms are fictitious authors that Pessoa created to credit different pages and collections of his work. These characters have different writing styles, personalities, views, and backstories, and there are around eighty that he wrote under throughout his lifetime.

How does 'The Book of Disquiet' challenge traditional notions of autobiography?

The book is described as the 'weirdest autobiography ever written' because it is not a non-fiction account from an anonymous author nor a novel about a fictional character or story. It exists somewhere in between, with Pessoa describing it as a 'factless autobiography' or an autobiography of someone who never existed.

What themes does Pessoa explore in 'The Book of Disquiet'?

Pessoa explores themes of reality and dreaming, tedium and selfhood, the absurdity of being and the futility of doing, the complexity and simplicity of life, and the contradiction and paradox at the core of everything.

How does Pessoa view the self in 'The Book of Disquiet'?

Pessoa views the self as fragmented and illusory, often describing inherent alienation, disorientation, and loneliness associated with being a person, and the impossibility of understanding and communicating one's internal experiences.

What is the significance of the book being left unfinished?

The unfinished nature of 'The Book of Disquiet' mirrors Pessoa's philosophical conception of existence, suggesting that life is a sequence of dreams destined to be forgotten upon waking, and that the book itself is a metaphor for a person.

How does the story of 'The Book of Disquiet' reflect its content?

The story of the book, from its posthumous discovery to its eventual recognition, seems to have become a part of its artistic creation, reflecting themes of prophecy, the futility of doing, and the paradoxical nature of existence.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Life and Posthumous Fame of Fernando Pessoa

This paragraph delves into the intriguing life story of Fernando Pessoa, a 20th-century writer from Lisbon, Portugal. Born in 1888, Pessoa experienced early loss and moved to South Africa as a child, where he developed a love for English literature. Returning to Lisbon at seventeen, he lived in relative obscurity, publishing only a few books before his death in 1935. However, his magnum opus, 'The Book of Disquiet,' was discovered and published posthumously in 1982, becoming a landmark in 20th-century literature. The book is a collection of fragmented vignettes, reflecting on themes of reality, selfhood, and the absurdity of existence. Interestingly, Pessoa used pseudonyms, creating fictitious authors with distinct styles and personalities, a concept he called 'heteronyms.'

05:01

🌀 The Philosophical Abyss of Self and Existence

The second paragraph explores the philosophical themes present in 'The Book of Disquiet,' particularly the fragmented and illusory nature of the self. Pessoa's writing conveys a sense of alienation, disorientation, and loneliness, suggesting that self-understanding is a perilous journey into the unknown. He views life as a series of dreams, questioning the significance of actions and achievements, and positing that reality is as fleeting as our nightly dreams. The book's unfinished state and Pessoa's use of paradox reflect his belief in the inherent contradictions of existence, offering a profound contemplation on the purpose and futility of life.

10:04

🔮 Pessoa's Prophetic Legacy and the Impact of 'The Book of Disquiet'

The final paragraph examines the prophetic elements within 'The Book of Disquiet' and its impact on readers. Pessoa foresaw a future where his work would be admired, despite his lifetime of obscurity. The book, left unfinished and discovered only after his death, serves as a metaphor for a person's existence, encapsulating themes of futility, contradiction, and paradox. It is described as having a spiritual quality, offering comfort to those who embrace its nihilistic perspective on life. The paragraph concludes by suggesting that exposure to Pessoa's profound insights may be both devastating and comforting, encouraging readers not to take life too seriously.

Keywords

💡Fernando Pessoa

Fernando Pessoa was a 20th-century Portuguese writer who is central to the video's narrative. He is known for his posthumously published masterpiece, 'The Book of Disquiet.' The video discusses his life, his anonymity during his lifetime, and his posthumous recognition as a literary giant. His work and life story embody themes of obscurity, self-concept, and the posthumous understanding of an artist.

💡The Book of Disquiet

This is the masterwork of Fernando Pessoa, which remained unpublished until 1982, 47 years after his death. The video describes it as a unique and important literary work of the 20th century, composed of fragmented vignettes and reflecting on themes of reality, dreaming, and the nature of selfhood. It is an example of Pessoa's exploration of existential and philosophical ideas.

💡Heteronyms

Heteronyms, as explained in the video, are pseudonyms used by Pessoa that represent different characters with distinct writing styles, personalities, and backstories. This concept is integral to understanding the complexity of Pessoa's work, as it showcases his ability to create multiple literary identities, which ties into the video's theme of the fragmented self and the multiplicity of identity.

💡Fragmented

The term 'fragmented' is used to describe both the structure of 'The Book of Disquiet' and the philosophical concept of the self as presented by Pessoa. The book consists of non-linear, diary-entry-like pieces, and the concept of a fragmented self is a key theme in the video, illustrating the disjointed nature of identity and experience.

💡Autobiography

Although 'The Book of Disquiet' is not a traditional autobiography, it is referred to as a 'factless autobiography' or one 'of someone who never existed' in the video. This term is crucial for understanding the video's exploration of self-concept and the blurring of fact and fiction in Pessoa's work, as well as the unconventional way he approached self-expression.

💡Philosophical

The video discusses Pessoa's work as deeply philosophical, engaging with themes of reality, dreaming, selfhood, and the absurdity of existence. The term 'philosophical' is key to understanding the depth and nature of the reflections and musings within 'The Book of Disquiet,' which grapple with universal questions about the human condition.

💡Paradox

Paradox is a central concept in the video, as it is used to describe the contradictory nature of Pessoa's work and his life. Writing about the pointlessness of writing and the impossibility of understanding oneself are presented as paradoxical actions, which are, however, essential to the themes of the video and Pessoa's approach to literature.

💡Tedium

Tedium, or the state of being bored or monotonous, is one of the themes explored by Pessoa in 'The Book of Disquiet,' as mentioned in the video. It reflects on the mundane aspects of life and the struggle to find meaning amidst routine and repetition, which is a significant part of the existential exploration in the book.

💡Futility

Futility is discussed in the context of Pessoa's view on life and actions. The video describes how Pessoa perceived life as a sequence of dreams and actions as ultimately meaningless, which is a key theme in understanding the overall message of 'The Book of Disquiet' and Pessoa's existential outlook.

💡Alienation

Alienation is a recurring theme in the video and in Pessoa's work, depicting the sense of isolation and disconnection one feels from oneself and the world. It is used to illustrate the inherent loneliness and disorientation of being human, which is a central theme in the video's exploration of the self and existence.

💡Posthumous

The term 'posthumous' is used in the video to describe the publication and recognition of Pessoa's work after his death. It is a key concept in understanding the narrative of the video, which revolves around the delayed discovery and appreciation of Pessoa's literary contributions and the themes of life, death, and legacy.

Highlights

The story behind Fernando Pessoa's The Book of Disquiet is as fascinating as the work itself.

Pessoa's origin is part of the content of his work.

Pessoa was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1888.

He experienced loss early in life with the death of his father and brother.

Pessoa's family moved to South Africa, affecting his childhood landscape.

He became fluent in English and developed an appreciation for English literature in South Africa.

Pessoa returned to Lisbon at seventeen and spent the rest of his life there.

He published only a few books during his lifetime, mostly unnoticed.

Pessoa seemingly knew he would become a great literary figure despite his obscurity.

The Book of Disquiet and other manuscripts were discovered in a wooden trunk after his death.

The Book of Disquiet was published in 1982, forty-seven years after Pessoa's death.

The book is regarded as one of the most unique and important literary works of the twentieth century.

The Book of Disquiet contains Pessoa's reflections on reality, dreaming, tedium, selfhood, and the absurdity of being.

The book is written in a style between diary entries and poetry, with no linear order.

Pessoa used pseudonyms like Bernardo Soares and Vicente Guedes, who are fictitious characters.

Pessoa referred to these author characters as heteronyms, writing under around eighty different ones.

The Book of Disquiet is described as a 'weirdest autobiography' and a 'factless autobiography'.

The book's structure and style support its themes of the fragmented and illusory nature of the self.

Pessoa frequently describes the inherent alienation, disorientation, and loneliness associated with being a person.

Pessoa's view on self-understanding is compared to a free-fall down a rabbit hole.

Pessoa discusses themes of tedium, futility, and meaninglessness, viewing life as a sequence of dreams.

The Book of Disquiet was left unfinished, mirroring Pessoa's philosophical conception of existence.

Pessoa prophesized the fate of The Book of Disquiet in his writing.

The Book of Disquiet has a spiritual quality, described as a 'religious book for atheists' and a 'manual for nihilists'.

Transcripts

Sometimes the story behind a work of art  is just as fascinating as the work itself.  

Sometimes its origin is part of its content.  

The story of twentieth century writer Fernando  Pessoa and his masterwork, The Book of Disquiet,  

is one those cases—where the story behind  it sounds like a work of fiction itself. 

Pessoa was born in 1888 in Lisbon Portugal.  At the early age of just five years old,  

he was exposed to loss and impermanence  when his father died of tuberculosis,  

and then the following year his younger brother  died. Not long after, his mother remarried,  

and his family moved to South Africa, also taking  from Fernando the landscape of his childhood.  

While living in South Africa, Pessoa became  fluent in English and developed an appreciation  

for English literature. When he turned  seventeen, he returned to Lisbon by himself,  

where he would spend the rest of his life  and dedicate most of his time to writing.  

However, by the time he died in 1935 at the age  of forty-seven, he had only published a few books  

that went mostly unnoticed, and he essentially  wrote in complete obscurity, unknown by anyone.  

But yet, he seemingly died knowing that he was  a great literary figure—or at the very least,  

that he would likely become one. And in an  almost unsettling, prophetic way, he was right. 

After his death, Pessoa’s work—the manuscript for  The Book of Disquiet along with tens of thousands  

of other manuscript pages that are still to  this day being edited—remained tucked away  

in a wooden trunk, unknown by anyone. It wasn’t  until 1982, forty-seven years after Pessoa died,  

eerily the exact same age of Pessoa when he died,  that The Book of Disquiet was found and published.  

This book would go onto become what is widely  regarded as one of the most unique and important  

literary works of the twentieth century. Inside the book is a lifetime worth of  

Pessoa’s reflections and musings—about reality  and dreaming, about tedium and selfhood,  

about the absurdity of being and the futility  of doing, about the simultaneous complexity and  

simplicity of life, about the contradiction  and paradox at the core of everything. 

The book is made up of a collection of  fragmented vignettes written in a style  

somewhere between diary entries and poetry. There  is no real linear order to the book, and it can  

arguably be experienced just as well backwards  as forwards. Even more interesting, Pessoa does  

not claim to be the author of any of it. Rather,  it is credited to a man named Bernardo Soares,  

an assistant bookkeeper from Lisbon Portugal,  as well as possibly a man named Vicente Guedes.  

Guedes and Soares, however, aren’t real. They  are characters Pessoa created to create the book. 

Found throughout the massive collection of  all of Pessoa’s manuscript pages are various  

pseudonyms—fictitious authors that he credits  different pages and collections to. These authors  

aren’t just different pennames though. They are  different characters with different writing styles  

and personalities and views and backstories.  Pessoa referred to these author characters  

as heteronyms, and there are around eighty  that he wrote under throughout his lifetime.  

Thus, The Book Disquiet is not exactly a  non-fiction book from an anonymous author,  

but nor is it really a novel about a fictional  character or story. It somewhere in between.  

Because of this, it is often described as the  weirdest autobiography ever written. Pessoa  

himself described it as a factless autobiography,  or an autobiography of someone who never existed. 

The book’s unique structure and style is, in many  ways, an essential supporting leg of the book’s  

themes. The use of heteronyms seems to reinforce  a key philosophical theme throughout the work:  

the fragmented and illusory nature of the self.  With incredible accuracy and poignancy that feels  

cathartic to read, throughout the book, Pessoa  frequently describes the inherent alienation,  

disorientation, and loneliness  associated with being a person. 

He wrote: “I don't know how to feel or think or love. I'm  

a character in a novel as yet unwritten, hovering  in the air and undone before I've even existed,  

amongst the dreams of someone who never quite  managed to breathe life into me. I'm always  

thinking, always feeling, but my thoughts lack  all reason, my emotions all feeling. I'm falling  

through a trapdoor, through infinite space . .  . in a directionless, empty fall. My soul is a  

black maelstrom, a great madness spinning about  a vacuum, the swirling of a vast ocean around  

a hole in the void, and in the waters, more like  whirlwinds than waters, float images of all I ever  

saw or heard in the world: houses, faces, books,  boxes, snatches of music and fragments of voices,  

all caught up in a sinister, bottomless whirlpool.  And I, I myself, am the centre that exists only  

because the geometry of the abyss demands it;  I am the nothing around which all this spins,  

I exist so that it can spin, I am a centre  that exists only because every circle has one.”

For Pessoa, self-understanding, or perhaps  the attempt of to understand the self,  

is a free-fall down a rabbit hole  with a landing that kills you. And  

the impossibility of understanding and  communicating one’s internal experiences  

while on this freefall lends itself to a  lifetime of disquiet and disorientation. 

Throughout the book, Pessoa also often  discusses themes of tedium, futility,  

and meaninglessness. For him, everything is a  sort of delusion. Life is a sequence of dreams.  

“I've never done anything but dream. This, and  this alone, has been the meaning of my life. My  

only real concern has been my inner life,”  Pessoa wrote. For Pessoa, there is no real  

point in doing or achieving anything. Reality,  as we experience it, is as deluded and false and  

meaningful as the several dreams we had last night  that dissolved upon awaking, never to be known or  

thought of again. Life is but a dream destined  to be coated over with the fog of consciousness  

and forgotten upon the morning’s sunrise.  Pessoa wrote, “If I write what I feel, it’s  

to reduce the fever of feeling. What I confess is  unimportant, because everything is unimportant.” 

The recognition of the futility of doing  anything and the advocation of receding  

into a dream world reinforces another major theme  of the book: contradiction and paradox. Afterall,  

why write about the pointlessness of doing  anything and the impossibility of ever adequately  

saying anything while doing something and saying  things? Perhaps, however, this does not speak to  

the incoherence of Pessoa, but rather, speaks to  what Pessoa might believe is useful in paradox.  

In medicine, certain preventative and  preparation treatments contain forms  

of the bacteria or virus that causes the  disease the treatment is used to prevent.  

Likewise, arguably, both creating and  consuming good literature and good art,  

expose you to the virus of being, so you can  hopefully develop enough immunity to survive.  

Perhaps paradoxically then, the driving force  that compelled Pessoa to create and write and  

do was the awareness that creating  and writing and doing is pointless. 

It is also relevant to note that The Book  of Disquiet was left unfinished. With this,  

it is almost as if the book mirrors Pessoa’s  philosophical conception of existence.  

Trapped inside a trunk, only truly known  after Pessoa’s death, once it could no  

longer be changed by him, interpreted only  through a fragmented collection of vignettes,  

written by someone who never existed, finished by  time not by intention; the book itself seems to  

be an almost perfect metaphor for a person. It is unsettling to consider all of this,  

and then realize that the word Pessoa, his  birth name, translates in English into person. 

If that’s not enough, perhaps the most confounding  aspect of The Book of Disquiet’s story is that it  

contains passages that prophesize its fate. In it, Pessoa wrote: 

It sometimes occurs to me, with sad delight, that  if one day (in a future I won’t be part of) the  

sentences I write are read and admired, then at  last I’ll have my own kin, people who ‘understand’  

me, my true family in which to be born and loved.  But far from being born into it, I’ll have already  

died long ago. I’ll be understood only in effigy,  when affection can no longer compensate for the  

indifference that was the dead man’s lot in  life. Perhaps one day they'll understand that  

I fulfilled, like no one else, my instinctive duty  to interpret a portion of our century; and when  

they've understood that, they'll write that in my  time I was misunderstood, that the people around  

me were unfortunately indifferent and insensitive  to my work, and that it was a pity this happened  

to me. And whoever writes this will fail to  understand my literary counterpart in that future  

time, just as my contemporaries don't understand  me. Because men learn only what would be of use  

to their great-grandparents. The right way to  live is something we can teach only the dead.

And of course, all of this came true. It’s  happening right now with these words. We  

are currently participating in Pessoa’s  fortune told by himself a century ago.  

One can only wonder, was this a masterfully  constructed plan by a genius creative mind? Was  

it chance? Was it both? Or was it something else? Whatever the case may be, the story of The Book of  

Disquiet seems to have almost become a part of its  artistic creation. It elicits an almost mystical,  

spiritual quality. It feels like a religious book  for atheists. A manual for nihilists. It can and  

probably will devastate most of those who read it.  But it will also help comfort and remind one to  

not take oneself or life too seriously. Sometimes,  exposure to the ailment is part of the treatment.