Ritorno al sogno: notte, esperienza e capitalismo nel Passagenwerk di Walter Benjamin

Why, among the many themes around which Walter Benjamin’s Passagenwerk is built, does the theme of the night keep appearing? The vast amount of working material from which the text is made up always allows new constellations to emerge. Although some of these have already been analysed, for example those concerning dreams and waking, there is still a lack of adequate study on a related topic: the night. This constitutes a central point still to be investigated in many respects. One of its most notable theoretical cores is its romantic character: night is treated in relation to the concept of experience; starting with some of Benjamin’s youthful writings, we will see the birth of this thematic strand and the extent to which these influences will persist over the years. The second is that of modernity and technology, in the light of which the loss of the night, removed by capitalism that imposes constant illumination, will be analysed.