Divine Suspense: On Kierkegaard's 'Frygt og Bæven' and the Aesthetics of Suspense

What is suspense, and why do we feel it? These questions are at the heart of the first part of this study. It develops and defends the ‘imminence theory of suspense’ – the view that suspense arises in situations that are structurally defined by something essential being imminent.

Next, the study utilizes this theory as an interpretative key to Søren Kierkegaard’s seminal work ‘Frygt og Bæven’ (‘FB’). FB is an exploration of what it means to take the story of Abraham and Isaac as a paradigma...