Sarah Kofman and the Allure of Music

Abstract

This article delves into the discreet yet persistent presence of music in Sarah Kofman's work. Three strands or movements of unequal length are explored here, each of which touches upon a specific volume of Kofman's: Nietzsche and Metaphor, L'Imposture de la beauté and, lastly, Rue Ordener, Rue Labat. More specifically, the article shows how her interpretations of Nietzsche's writings on music are almost paradigmatically neutral in their readerly fidelity to the originals, whereas Rue Ordener, Rue Labat suggests a more emotionally charged rapport with music. In closing, the article considers the possibility that these two, ostensibly divergent modes of reading and writing are very much in tune with each other in that they blur the line between interprétation as philosophical commentary and interprétation as musical performance.