ABSTRACT
His life had been adventurous, and his resurrection was to be the same. On December 13, 1820 the famous publishing firm of Brockhaus received a letter from an unknown correspondent named Gentzel, inquiring whether the Histoire de ma vie jusqu'a Van 1797 by a certain Signor Casanova would be acceptable for publication. As fly-flapper to ward off boredom, a remedy against intellectual ossification - surely this is a strange motive, the objector will exclaim, for the writing of one's memoirs. But it would be a mistake to underrate the importance of tedium as an incentive to literary creation. Casanova's sole purpose in operating peepshow, this old man's toy, is to please himself; he wants his vivid memories to distract his attention from the dull present. It is this negative element of absolute aloofness and unconcern which gives his work its peculiar psychological value as self-portraiture.
