ABSTRACT
To regard Kierkegaard as a misanthropic loner with contempt for the common man is to be trapped by the lopsided depiction of him in the Corsair’s caricatures. It is as inadequate as associating him with the elitist bourgeoisie or interpreting his deprecation of the public as a cultivated conceit. On the contrary, throughout his life Kierkegaard regarded himself as belonging to the common people, and the common man plays a central role in his understanding of true Christianity. Nevertheless, the common man in Kierkegaard’s writings has many names and many features. As the crowd (Mængde), the common man turns into a monster, the phantom of abstraction: Publikum (the public).1 As the passionate poor, however, he could be a role model for the over-reflective nineteenth century. Moreover, as the simple man (den Eenfoldige), he is depicted as the successor of Jesus’ disciples and the hope for the future of Christianity.
