EuroLife: Day 46

Destiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Well, if Goethe wished to have a lasting impact on the lives of the average citizens of Jena almost two hundred years after his death, then he got what he wished for, though most certainly not in the way he wished for it.

This is the sign outside the entrance to our local mall, which the citizens of Jena, with a deference towards the weight of German classical culture and an enthusiasm for the limitless possibilities of modern consumerism, have named the Goethe Gallery. In the Goethe Gallery, you can buy cell phones, teas from China, shampoo, beer, lingerie, and many other marvelous things. Goethe shouldn't feel too bad, though, for his is one of the prettiest malls I've ever seen. As with in the university library, the designers of this building have used glass to good effect, so that main promenade almost feels like an avenue. The many tables from the mall's coffee shops and cafes add to this effect.

In any case, Goethe has faired much better than Schiller, whose shopping center, called the Schiller Passage, has three or four stores, most of which look like run down K-marts.

The Germans like to fill their everyday world with reminders of their rich intellectual culture. Jena boasts a Thomas Mann street, a Karl Marx way, a Nietzsche street, a Frege road, a Reinhold way, a Luther square, a Goethe street, a Fichte square, a Schiller street, and a Holderlin way. It should be noted that most of these people spent a fair amount of time in Jena. Nietzsche spent the last years of his life in an insane asylum here. Holderlin lived here in the house that is now the institute for philosophy. He didn't go insane here. He did that elsewhere. Reinhold and Ficthe both served as professors here, and Luther occasionally passed through, sleeping at the Schwarze Bar, the hotel where we spent our first night. Thomas Mann never spent time here, but he did receive an honorary degree from the university of Jena. Marx never spent any time here, but he still has some fans in the local Lutheran church, which among other things, organizes a weekly Brecht reading group. Ah the sweet truth of the gospel.

It should also be noted that, although Hegel wrote his most famous book here, there is no Hegel street. Even Melanchthon, who as far as I know (which isn't far at all) never set foot in Jena, has a street, but not Hegel. I plan do address the city council on this matter. I think the difficulties may stem from Hegel's later fame as servant of the Prussian state.

I should also note that Dolores and I will soon make a pilgrimage to Frege's house, assuming it still stands. We're also petitioning the Lutheran church to start a Frege reading group. We feel that the Begriffschrift would greatly encourage the congregants in their spiritual lives.