The Immemorial: The Subject and Its Doubles

A thought—provoking exploration of the fragility of bourgeois identity.

Vienna, 1825. News of a sickly, listless boy is making the rounds. In broad daylight, he falls into deep sleep and his personality changes dramatically. While sleeping, he reads, writes, plays cards, challenges his doctors with amusement, and accomplishes the most astonishing of exercises with his eyes closed. A new subject has appeared, a second “I” has now supplanted the first.

Andrea Cavalletti carefully registers th...