The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa
*The Book of Disquiet*, authored by Fernando Pessoa, is a unique literary work resembling a journal or diary, characterized by its collection of vignettes and reflections. Initiated in 1912 and compiled throughout Pessoa's life, particularly in his later years, the text is presented as fragments of thought attributed to Bernardo Soares, a "semi-heteronym" of Pessoa, who serves as a minor clerk in Lisbon. The book's introspective theme invites readers into a realm of deep self-examination and contemplation, offering poignant insights that often juxtapose serenity with existential angst.
Although written in prose, its poetic essence shines through, exploring the complexities of identity and solitude. Pessoa's reflections encompass a wide range of literary figures, from Dante to Shakespeare, revealing his admiration for their contributions while simultaneously critiquing their works. Notably, the book was published posthumously in 1961, after Pessoa's death, and has since garnered global acclaim, translated into various languages and appreciated for its fragmented yet profound nature. Readers can engage with its content at any point, making it a timeless exploration of the human experience, inviting reflection on the nature of existence itself.
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The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published:Livro do desassossego, wr. 1912-1935; pb. 1961, 1982 (English translation, 1991)
Type of work: Nonfiction
The Work
The Book of Disquiet (also translated as The Book of Disquietude) has a format somewhat like a journal or diary and is also a collection of vignettes and reflections. Begun in 1912, Pessoa made entries for it throughout his life, especially in his later years. He described it as a collection of fragments. Although originally written under his own name, he eventually attributed the book to Bernardo Soares, whom he considered a “semi-heteronym,” even a mutilation of himself, who is described as an assistant bookkeeper in the city of Lisbon, a minor, anonymous clerical bureaucrat. Some critics attribute earlier parts of the work to another heteronym, Vicente Guedes.
What has impressed most readers of the book is its serene, succinct insights, as scintillating as they can be paradoxical. Though The Book of Disquiet is a work in prose, it is of a singularly poetic nature. The dominant theme or spirit of the work is introspection and self-reflection. This steady pursuit of self-inquiry gives the work a serenity that often belies its tortuous insights. Pessoa speculates that a heart would stop if it could think. Solitary reflection results in anguished isolation. Interested in everything but attached to nothing, he describes himself as a bisected individual, Siamese twins that are separated. The intensity of self-analysis leads him to conclude that his true dimension should not be measured in physical height but the size of his imagination.
The work also contains ironic reflections. Thinking of the banality and tensions of his life, he wryly observes that he suffers from a headache and the universe. He punctures pretensions by noting that while someone may have touched the feet of Christ, they should not be excused for lax punctuation. There are also lyrical recollections of the haunts of Lisbon, its cafés, bars, and byways, and of dreamlike delights.
A significant part of the work consists of reflections on prominent literary figures and their works. The literary masters for the author are Dante, William Shakespeare, and John Milton. He considers Shakespeare’s King Lear (pr. c. 1605-1606, pb. 1608) to be defective; nonetheless, he is envious of its creator for what the drama does accomplish. He admires classical authors, such as Homer, Vergil, and Horace. The most exotic figure in his canon is the Persian poet and scientist Omar Khayyám. Recognized also are nineteenth century writers, such as François-René de Chateaubriand, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine, and Heinrich Heine. The author is moved by the vibrant writings of Charles Dickens and the severe reflections of Thomas Carlyle.
The Book of Disquiet was not published in Pessoa’s lifetime, and how he would have organized it for publication is not known. Those who discovered the multitude of jottings that compose it were only able to organize and publish it after his death, in 1961. It quickly attracted favorable critical attention and was translated into numerous languages, with several admirable editions in English.
Ironically, while the author recognized it as a collection of fragments and conceived of it as a book, he never assembled it as such. Moreover, its creator had little sense of himself as an identifiable person. Thus the work has been described as a nonbook by a nonauthor. The word pessoa means “person” in Portuguese, although even Pessoa thought of himself as a nonperson.
While the chronological development of the work can be traced, its narrative continuity is nonexistent; it could be organized by either time or theme and has neither a beginning nor an end. One can dip into its thoughts at any point, drawn along on the serpentine allure of its insights. The work has nether a beginning nor an end, either as a genre or a pursuit.