શબ્દો

I've never been a big fan of Nietzsche, mainly because of his opposition to Christianity, but one idea he expressed that I find very interesting and have thought a lot about is: 

Whatever we have words for, that we have already got beyond. In all talk there is a grain of contempt. (translated by Walter Kaufmann)

Marie Cardinal would probably disagree. She wrote a book called The Words to Say It (1976), which is a true account of how she recovered from mental illness through the process of finding the words to express her issues. but then, that actually supports Nietzsche's contention // just not in the way I think he meant it // because Marie Cardinal's use of words did correspond to 'getting beyond' her mental health issues. And maybe there was also a grain of contempt in her words ⇾ 

I remember reading part from the end of the book and I was really surprised. I had thought that she would have a really kind and friendly relationship with her therapist who had been instrumental in her recovery, but from what I read, she kind of despised him for some reason. She was really glad to 'get beyond' not just her disorder but her relationship with him. 

So Nietzsche's quote is not necessarily inconsistant with the idea that the use of language is meaningful and worthwhile. 

Here's the quote from the end of The Words to Say It (translated from the French by Pat Goodheart 1983):

"Doctor, I am going to settle our accounts. I will not be coming here anymore. I feel able to live alone now. I feel strong. My mother transmitted the Thing to me, you have transmitted the analysis, they are in perfect balance, I thank you for it."

"You don't have to thank me, it's you who came here to find what you were looking for. I could not have done anything without you."

"Goodbye, Doctor."

"Goodbye, Madame. I'll be here if you need me. I will be happy to hear how you're doing if you consider it necessary to tell me."

Inviolable little man, so he's going to maintain the role to the end! 

The door closes behind me. In front of me, the cul-de-sac, the city, the country and an appetite for life and for building as big as the earth itself. 

So, the contempt is very real and undeniable, but it seems to be a different thing from what Nietzsche was talking about. Or maybe it's an interesting and extreme example of what he was talking about. 

Her reference to 'the Thing' is not some kind of euphemism or personal code - it relates to psychoanalysis....and that opens up all kinds of interesting (and complicated) links to Freud, Lacan and other theorists, and to the relationship between words and thoughts, theory and literature. 

I think, to simplify, you could say that 'the thing' is the central problem or concern of the individual...it's what all their attention is focused on, but the problem is that the thing can't be focused on - it's too complex and self-contradictory (or ironic). It embodies opposites - love and hate, apathy and desire, disturbance and composure.