ABSTRACT
In his famous study of forgiveness, Jacques Derrida reverses the theories of philosophers such as Hannah Arendt, for example, who argues that crimes of radical evil cannot be forgiven. Derrida writes: “Must one not maintain that an act of forgiveness worthy of its name, if there ever is such a thing, must forgive the unforgivable, and without condition?” Heteronomy resides in pure forgiveness so that only the unforgiveable crimes call for forgiveness. The victim’s forgiveness can be compared only to the depth of the perpetrator’s remorse. I would like to connect W.G. Sebald’s story “Max Ferber” to these abstract thoughts. Who does the story address? How does the story relate the fact that it is staging a quest for forgiveness made by a German to Jews? How does the story portray forgiveness and salvage forgiveness from being abused by the practical world? How does it represent the unforgiveable crimes of the perpetrator? I will closely study citations from Derrida, Jean Améry, W.G. Sebald, and Bruno Schulz.
