ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at Benjamin's photographic renditions of memory in his theoretical writings must remain erratic here. And while it appears to be likely that the 'photographic' provides the impetus and structure for Benjamin's autobiographical writings, it may also be worth listening to other, rather more hesitant voices that question the significance of photography for Benjamin's thinking. In the chapter 'Die Mummerehlen' from the first authorized version of Benjamin's autobiographical project, the Berliner Kindheit um neunzehnhundert of 1932/33, Benjamin contrasts the metaphor of photographic exposure with a different form of self-representation. If Benjamin's memory images differ from Proust's impressions because they lack the quality of trace, they also resemble them inasmuch as they are 'fluchtig[]' and hence escape visual or textual fixation. Benjamin's poetics of memory is characterized by the permanent figure of the in-between. This explains why the photographic metaphors and with them the Proustian notion of impression can no longer apply.
