Paratext

The epigraphs have a very peculiar status, since they are citations but stand outside of the main text, which suddenly looks a lot more like a main text when you see the epigraphs. And what kind of reading are we supposed to commit to the epigraphs, what kind of understanding of how language and history coincide should be invoked? They seem to refer to an entirely different world, to the old world perhaps, the dying world. They also put forward the idea that the convolutes as a whole, each in its own complete existence from first passage to last, should be taken in as a single entity, one where an overriding impression is made and considered, where conclusions are drawn and reflected on, summarized. A critique of the Arcades Project might turn on a criticism of the epigraphs, along with the convolute titles, their alphabetical organization, and the title of the overall work (Passengenwerk). It might be a critique of these things but also of course a drawing out of the implications, for the work as a whole, its theories and practices of textuality, of the fact that they exist at all.