L'Intrus

Author(s): Jean-Luc Nancy and Susan Hanson

Source: CR: The New Centennial Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, at the heart: of Jean-Luc Nancy (fall
2002), pp. 1-14
Published by: Michigan State University Press
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 L'Intrus

Jean-Luc Nancy
Université
deStrasbourg

TranslatedbySusan Hanson,DrakeUniversity

infactmoreignobly
Thereis nothing
thantheorgan
uselessandsuperfluous
whichis thevilestmeansthat
calledtheheart,
forpumping
onecouldhaveinvented
lifeintome.
-Antonin 1
Artaud

[il] THEINTRUDER [LINTRUS ] ENTERSBYFORCE, THROUGH SURPRISE ORRUSE,

in anycase withouttherightand withouthavingfirstbeen admitted.2 There
mustbe somethingof the intrusin the stranger;otherwise,the stranger
wouldlose itsstrangeness: ifhe alreadyhas therightto enterand remain,if
he is awaited and received withoutanypart of him being unexpectedor
unwelcome,he is no longertheintrus, noris he anylongerthestranger. It is
thus neitherlogicallyacceptable,nor ethicallyadmissible,to exclude all
intrusionin thecomingofthestranger, theforeign.
if
Once he has arrived, he remains
foreign, and foras longas he does so-
- his comingwillnot cease; nor
ratherthansimply"becomingnaturalized"

©Éditions
L'Intrus Allrights
2000.
Galilée, reserved. translation
English State
©Michigan Press,
University
2002.

• 1

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2 • L'Intrus

willitcease beingin somerespectan intrusion:

[12]thatis to say,beingwith-
out right,familiarity,
accustomedness,or habit,the stranger
s comingwill
notcease beinga disturbanceand perturbationofintimacy.
This matteris therefore
whatrequiresthoughtand,consequently, prac-
tice-otherwisethe strangenessof the strangeris absorbedbeforehe has
crossedthe threshold,
and strangenessis no longerat stake.Receivingthe
strangermustthenalso necessarilyentailexperiencinghis intrusion. Most
often,one does not wish to admitthis:the themeof the intrus, in itself,
intrudeson ourmoralcorrectness
(and is evena remarkable
exampleofthe
politicallycorrect).Hence the themeof the intrusis inextricablefromthe
truthof the stranger. Since moralcorrectness[correctionmorale] assumes
thatone receivesthestranger his strangeness
byeffacing at thethreshold, it
wouldthusneverhaveus receivehim.Butthestranger insists,and breaksin
[faitintrusion
]. Thisis whatis noteasyto receive,nor,perhaps,to conceive. . .

000

[13]I have- Who?- this"I" is preciselythequestion,theold question:what

is thisenunciatingsubject?Alwaysforeignto the subjectof its own utter-
ance; necessarilyintrudingupon it,yetineluctablyits motor,shifter, or
heart- I, therefore,
receivedtheheartofanother,now nearlytenyearsago.
It was a transplant,graftedon. My own heart (as youVe gathered,it is
entirelya matterofthe"proper,"
ofbeingone,orones "own"-orelse itis not
in theleast and,properlyspeaking,thereis nothingto understand, no mys-
tery,notevena question:rather,
as thedoctorspreferto say,thereis thesim-
ple necessity[la simple ] of a transplantation)-myown heartin
évidence
factwas wornout,forreasonsthathaveneverbeen clear.Thusto live,itwas
necessaryto receiveanother's,
an other,heart.
[14] (But in thiscase whatotherprogramwas to cross or runintomy
own,physiological,program?Less than twentyyearsbefore,transplants
werenot done,and certainlynotwithrecourseto cyclosporine,
whichpro-
tectsagainstrejectionofthegraftedorgan.Twentyyearshence,it is certain
to be a matterofanotherkindoftransplant,
byothermeans.Herepersonal
contingency crosseswith in
contingency the Had I
historyof technology.

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 Jean-LucNancy • 3

livedearlier,I wouldbe dead; later,I wouldbe surviving

in a different
man-
ner.But"I" alwaysfindsitselfcaughtin thebattlements and gaps oftechni-
This is whythedebateI saw unfolding,
cal possibilities. betweenthosewho
considerthisto be a metaphysical
adventureand thosewhowouldsee it as
is vain:it is a matterofboth,one in theother.)
a technicalperformance,
Fromthe momentthatI was told thatI musthave a hearttransplant,
everysigncould havevacillated,everymarkerchanged:withoutreflection,
ofcourse,and evenwithoutidentifyingtheslightestactionor permutation.
[15] There is simplythe physicalsensation of a void alreadyopen [déjà
ouvert] in mychest,along witha kind of apnea whereinnothing,strictly
nothing,even today,would allow me to disentanglethe organic,the sym-
bolic,and theimaginary,
or thecontinuousfromtheinterrupted - the sen-
sationwas somethinglikeone breath,now pushedacrossa cavern,already
imperceptiblyhalf-openand strange;and, as thoughwithina singlerepre-
sentation,thesensationofpassingovera bridge,whilestillremainingon it.
Ifmyheartwas givingup and goingto dropme,to whatdegreewas it an
organof"mine,"my"own"?Was it evenan organ?Forseveralyearsalready,
I'd been acquaintedwithmyhearts arrhythmia and palpitations-nothing
reallythatsignificant
(thesewerethemeasurements ] ofmachines,
[chiffres
whosenameI liked):notan organ,nota deep red,
likethe"ejectionfraction,"
muscularmass withpipes stickingout of it,whichI now suddenlyhad to
pictureto myself[mefigurer]. Not"myheart"endlesslybeating,as absentto
me [16]tillnow as thesoles ofmyfeetwalking.
It was becominga strangerto me, intrudingthroughits defection -
almostthroughrejection,ifnot dejection.I had thisheartsomewherenear
mylipsor on mytongue,likean improperfood... a sortofmildindigestion.
A gradualslippagewas separatingme frommyself. ThereI was: itwas sum-
mer,I had to wait,somethingwas detachingitselffromme,or was coming
up in me,therewherenothinghad been: nothingbut the "proper"immer-
sion in me of"myself"thathad neveridentifieditselfas thisbody,evenless
as thisheart,and thatwas suddenlyconcernedwithand watchingitself.
Later,forexample,whilegoingup stairs,feelingeach extrasystole beat dis-
connect like the fall of a pebble to the bottomof a well. How does one
becomeforoneselfa representation? - a montage,an assemblyoffunctions?

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4 • L'Intrus

Andwheredoes thepowerful, was holding

muteevidencethatuneventfully
all thistogetherdisappearto?
[17] My heartwas becomingmyown foreigner - a strangerprecisely
couldonlycome fromoutsidefor
because itwas inside.Yetthisstrangeness
havingfirstemergedinside. A void suddenlyopened in mychest or my
soul- its thesame thing-whenit was said to me: "You musthave a heart
transplant.. . ." Here the mindruns into a non-existentobject [un objet
nul]- thereis nothingto know,nothingto understand, nothingto feel:the
intrusionon thoughtofa bodyforeignto thought.Thisblankwillstaywith
me,at thesame timelikethoughtitselfand its contrary.
Thishalf-heartedheartcan be onlyhalfmine.I was alreadyno longerin
me.I alreadycomefromelsewhere, or I come no more.A strangeness
reveals
itself"atthe heart"ofwhatis mostfamiliar-but familiarsaystoo little:a
strangeness at theheartofwhatneverused to signalitselfas "heart."Until
now it was foreignby virtueof its beinginsensible,not even present.But
now it falters,and thisverystrangenessrefersme back to myself: "I" am,
I
because am ill.[18]("111"is not theproperterm;my heart is not infected-
its stiff,blocked,rusted.) But what is done foris this other,myheart.
Henceforth it mustbe extruded.
intruding,

000

[19]Doubtless,thistakesplace onlyon conditionthatI wantitto,and some

otherswithme."Someothers":thosewho are close to me,but also thedoc-
torsand,finally,I who findmyselfheremoredoubleor multiplethanever.
Everyone, must
all at once and formotivesthatare in each case different,
agreethatit is worthprolonging mylife.Its not hardto imaginethe com-
plexityofthestrangeensemblethatin thiswayintervenes in whatis most
intensely"me."Let us pass overthosewhoarecloseto me,and also my"self"
(which,as I have said, becomes its own double: a strangesuspensionof
judgmentcauses me to representmyselfdying- withoutrevolt,and also
withoutattraction:one feelstheheartletgo,thinksone is goingto die,[20]
Butthedoctors-who arehere
feelingthatone willno longerfeelanything).
-
an entireteam intervene muchmorethanI wouldhavethought: theymust

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 Jean-LucNancy • 5

firstassess ones suitability

fora transplant,
and thenpropose,notimposeit
(at thispointtheytell me thattherewillbe a compulsory"follow-up," no
more- and of what else could theyassure me? Eightyearslater,afteran
arrayof otherdifficulties,
I will have contractedcancer as a resultof this
treatment-and yetI am surviving today:who can say whatis "worththe
and exactlywhat"trouble"?)
trouble,"
But thedoctorsmustalso, as I learnedbitbybit,decide to inscribemy
name on a waitinglist(and,in mycase, heed therequestthatI be enrolled
onlyat theend ofthe summer, whichsupposesa certainconfidencein my
hearts capacityto hold out). Furthermore,
thislist presupposeschoices:
theyspoketo me,forexample,ofanothertransplantcandidatewhosecon-
ditionwas too poor to withstandthe regimenof follow-uptreatment,
in
particularthe medications.[21] I knowas well thatI can onlybe grafted
witha heartbelongingto blood typeO positive,whichlimitsthepossibili-
ties.I willneverask the question:how does one decide,and who decides,
whena singleavailableorganis suitedto morethanone potentialgraftee?
The demandhereis knownto exceedthesupply.. . . Fromthefirst,
mysur-
vivalis inscribedin a complexprocesswoventhroughwithstrangersand
strangeness.
What mustwe all agreeupon,in thefinaldecision?A decisionregard-
ing a survivalthat cannot be consideredfromthe point of view of strict
necessity:in this case, wherewould one findone? Moreover,whatwould
obligeme to survive?This last questionopens ontomanyothers:Whyme?
Whysurvive,generallyspeaking?Whatdoes itmean"to survive"? Is it even
a suitableterm?In whatrespectis thelengthofones lifea good?I am fifty
yearsold at thispoint:but fifty yearsold is youngonlywithreferenceto
the population of a developed countryat the end of the twentiethcen-
tury.. . . Dyingat the age of fifty
was in no way scandalous [22] onlytwo
or threecenturiesago. Whytoday does the word "scandalous"come to
mindin thiscontext?Why,and how,is thereno longerforus- we of the
"developed countries"of the year 2000- a "right"[juste] time to die
(scarcely before the age of eighty;and will not this age continue to
increase)?One day,when theyhad givenup findinga cause formycar-
diomyopathy, a doctorsaid to me,"yourheartwas programmedto last to

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6 # L'Intrus

Butwhatprogramis this,fromwhichI can fashionneither

theage offifty"
providencenor fate?No morethan a shortprogrammaticsequence in a
generalabsence ofprogramming.
Wherearerightmeasure'justesse]and justicein all this?Who measures
them,who pronouncesthem?Everything in this affaircomes to me from
elsewhereand outside- just as have myheartand mybody,whichare an
elsewhere"in"me.
I would notwantto treatquantitywithscorn,noram I declaringthat,
indifferent
to its "quality,"
all we knowanymoreis how to reckonwiththe
lengthofones life.[23] I fullyunderstandthatthereis muchmoreto a for-
mulationlike"Butthisis betterthannothing!" thanit mayseem.Lifecan-
not but impel life;but lifealso moves towarddeath. Why,in me, was it
proceedingaccordingto thelimitsofthisheart?Whywouldn'tit have?
To isolatedeathfromlife- not leavingeach one intimately
woveninto
the other,witheach one intrudingupon the others core [coeur]- this is
whatone mustneverdo.
For eightyearsnow,duringtheseordeals,how oftenI have heard,and
myselfrepeated:"butotherwiseyouwouldno longerbe here!"How to think
- or desirablecharacter
the kindof quasi-necessity - of a presencewhose
absencecould have,quitesimply, theworldotherwisefora few?
configured
Atthecostofsuffering? Butwhyalwaysrevertback to theasymp-
Certainly.
An old [24] question,but one whosestakes
toteofan absenceofsuffering?
are raisedbytechnology to a heightforwhich,it mustbe admitted,we are
farfromready.
Modernhumanity, at leastsincetheera ofDescartes,has made thewish
forsurvivaland immortality an elementof a generalprogramof "mastery
and possession of nature."In this way,humanityhas programmedan
of"nature."
increasingstrangeness It has revivedtheabsolutestrangeness of
thedoubleenigmaofmortality and immortality. Whatreligionsused to rep-
resent,modernhumanityhas exposedto thepower{puissances] of a tech-
nologythatpostponesthe end in all the senses of theword.In prolonging
the end,technologydisplaysan absence of ends:whichlifeshouldbe pro-
longed,and to whatend?To deferdeathis thusalso to exhibitand under-
scoreit.

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 Jean-LucNancy • 7

has neverbeen readyforanyformof

Onlyit mustbe said thathumanity
thisquestion,and thathumanity's
non-preparationfordeathis buttheblow
and injusticeofdeathitself.

o o o

[25] Thus, the multiplestrangerwho intrudesupon mylife (my feeble,

windedlife,whichat timesslides into a malaise thatvergeson a simply
astonishedabandonment)is noneotherthandeath- or rather, a
life/death:
suspensionofthecontinuumofbeing,a scansionwherein"I" has/havelit-
tle to do. Revoltand acceptance are equallyforeignto the situation.But
The meansofsurvivalthemselves,
thereis nothingthatis notforeign. these,
firstofall,are completely what
strange: can it mean to replacea heart?The
thingexceedsmycapacityto represent it.(Openingtheentirethorax,main-
tainingtheorganto be graftedin theproperstate,circulatingthebloodout-
side of the body,suturingthe vessels... I fullyunderstandwhysurgeons
proclaim[26] theinsignificanceofthislastpoint:thevesselsinvolvedin the
bridginggraftsare muchsmaller.. . . But it matterslittle:organtransplant
imposes the image of a passage throughnothingness,of an entryinto a
all intimacy
space emptiedofall property, - or,on thecontrary, theimageof
in me: oftubes,clamps,sutures,and probes.)
thisspace intruding

000

[27]Whatis thislife"proper"thatitis a matterof"saving"?Attheveryleast,

it turnsout thatit in no way residesin "my"body;it is not situatedany-
where,not evenin thisorganwhose symbolicrenownhas longbeen estab-
lished.
(One mightsay:still,theresthebrain.And ofcourse,fromtimeto time
the idea of a brain transplantenlivensthe news. Humanitywill one day
doubtlessspeak ofthisagain.Forthemoment,it is acceptedthatthebrain
cannotsurvivewithouttherestofthebody.On theotherhand,and to leave
the matterhere,the brainwouldperhapssurvivewithan entiresystemof
bodyparts
transplanted )

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8 • L'Intrus

A life"proper"thatresidesin no one organbut thatwithoutthemis

nothing.A lifethat[28] notonlyliveson [survit],
butthatstilllivesproperly,
withinthethree-fold gripofthestranger/ theforeign:
thatofthedecision,of
theorgan,and ofthetransplant s effects.

000

[29] At first,
the graftpresentsitselfas a restitutio
ad integrum:
a beating
hearthas been found.In thisrespect,thedoubtfulsymbolismofthegiftof
the other- a complicity,or secretphantasmalintimacybetweenselfand
other- swiftly
crumbles;it seems,moreover,
thatits use, stillwide-spread
whenI receivedthe transplantsome yearsago, is graduallydisappearing
fromtheconsciousnessofthosewhoreceivethem:thereis alreadya history
oftherepresentations A notionofsolidarity,
oforgantransplant. ifnotfra-
between"donor"and receiverwas greatlyemphasized,withtheaim
ternity,
of promotingorgan donation.And no one can doubt that this gifthas
become an elementaryobligationof humanity(in the two senses of the
word);norcan one doubtthatitinstitutesamongus,withoutanylimitother
ofblood type(and,in particular,
than [30] the incompatibility withoutthe
limitsofsex or ethnicity:
myheartmaybe theheartofa blackwoman),the
possibilityofa network
whereinlife/deathis sharedout,wherelifeconnects
withdeath,wheretheincommunicable communicates.
Verysoon,however, the otheras foreignelement[étranger] maymani-
festitself:not thewomanor the black,not the youngman or the Basque;
rather,the immunesystemsother- the otherthatcannotbe a substitute,
butthathas nonethelessbecomeone.This is called"rejection";
myimmune
systemrejectsthatof the other.(This means "I have"two immunesystem
in vomit-
identities ) Some believethatorganrejectionconsists,literally,
ingup theheartand spittingit out: afterall,thewordrejectionseemscho-
it is a matterofwhatin the
sen to conveythis.Butthatisn'tthecase: rather,
- and thisis verysoon mortalifitis not
intrusionoftheintrusis intolerable
treated.
ofrejectionestablishesa strangeness
[31]The possibility thatis two-fold:
on theone hand,theforeignness ofthe graftedheart,whichthe hostbody

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 Jean-LucNancy • 9

and attacksinasmuchas it is foreign;and, on the other,the for-

identifies
eignnessofthestatethatthemedicalregimenproducesin thehostbody,to
protectthegraftagainstrejection.The treatmentsgivento theone who has
receivedthe graftedorganlowerhis immunity so thathis bodywillbetter
toleratethe foreignelement.Medical practicethus rendersthe grafteea
strangerto himself: thatis,to hisimmunesystemsidentity-which
stranger,
is somethinglikehis physiological
signature.
In me thereis theintrus
, and I becomeforeign Iftherejection
to myself.
is verystrong,I mustreceivetreatments
thatwillmakeme resistthehuman
defensesystemmechanismsthatproduceit (thisis done withan immuno-
globulinthat comes froma rabbit,and is intendedforthis "anti-human'
application,as specifiedon thepharmaceuticallaboratory's
notice;I recall
thedrugs surprising effectsas an almostconvulsivetrembling).
But becomingforeignto myselfdoes not reconcileme withthe intrus .
Rather,itwouldseem thata generallaw ofintrusionis exhibited:therehas
neverbeen onlyone [il n'ya jamais eu une seule intrusion
]. [32] As soon as
intrusionoccurs,it multiplies,
makingitselfknownthroughits continually
renewed internaldifferences.
So, again and again, I became familiarwith shingles or the cyto-
megalovirus- foreigners/strangersthathave alwayslain dormantwithin
me,nowsuddenlyrousedand set againstme bythenecessarydepressionof
myimmunesystem.

000

[33] At the veryleast,thisis what it amountsto: identityis equivalentto

immunity, the one identifying itselfwiththe other.To reducethe one is to
reducethe other.Strangenessand strangerness become ordinary, everyday
occurrences.This is expressedthrougha constantself-exteriorization: I
mustbe monitored,tested,measured.We are armedwithcautionaryrec-
ommendationsvis-a-vistheoutsideworld(crowds,stores,swimming
pools,
smallchildren,thosewhoaresick).Butthemostvigorousenemiesareinside:
theold virusesthathavealwaysbeen lurkingin theshadowofmyimmune
system- life-long
intrus
, as theyhavealwaysbeen there.

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10 • L'Intrus

In thiscase thereis no possibleprevention.

Buttherearetreatments
that
one intostrangeness:
[34]keepdeporting ruinthestomach,and
thatfatigue,
bringon thehowlingpain ofshingles Throughoutall ofthis,whichself
wouldhavebeen following
whichtrajectory?

000

[35]Whata strangeself!
It is notthattheyopenedme wide [béant]in orderto changemyheart.
It is ratherthatthis gapingopen [béance] cannot be closed. (Each x-ray
moreovershowsthis:the sternumis sewn throughwithtwistedpieces of
wire.)I am closed open.Thereis in factan openingthroughwhichpasses a
streamofunremitting strangeness:theimmuno-depressivemedication,and
others,chargedwithcombattingcertain,so-calledsecondaryeffectsthat
one does not know how to combat,(such as kidneydeterioration);the
repeatedmonitoring and observation;
an entireexistenceset on a newreg-
ister,sweptfrom top to bottom.Lifescanned and reportedupon bywayof
multipleindices,[36] each ofwhichinscribesotherpossibilitiesofdeath.
It is thusmyselfwhobecomesmyown intrusin all thesecombinedand
opposingways.
I feelit distinctly;
it is muchstrongerthan a sensation:neverhas the
strangenessof myown identity,whichIve nonethelessalwaysfoundso
touchedme withsuch acuity."I" has clearlybecome the formal
striking,
indexofan unverifiable
and impalpablesystemoflinkages.Betweenmyself
and metherehas alwaysbeena gap ofspace-time:butnowthereis theopen-
ingofan incisionand an immunesystemthatis at odds withitself,forever
at crosspurposes,irreconcilable.

000

[37] Now comes the cancer:a lymphomawhose eventuality (clearlynot a

pass thisway)I'd onlyremarkedin passingon
necessity:fewtransplantées
thecyclosporinenotice.The cancerresultsfromtheloweringofmyimmu-
nity;it is likethefigure-worn,jaggedand ravaging-oftheintrus.Stranger

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 Jean-LucNancy • 11

to myself
and myself, How can I saythis?(Buttheexogenous
self-estranging.
or endogenousnatureoftheoccurrenceofcanceris stillin dispute.)
Here,too, althoughin anothermanner,the treatmentrequiresviolent
intrusion;it incorporatesa vast quantityof chemotherapeutic
and radio-
therapeuticstrangeness.While the lymphomagnaws at the body,[38]
exhaustingit,the chemoand radiationtreatments
also attackit and cause
in severalways:thissuffering
it to suffer is therelationoftheintrusionand
its refusal.Even morphine,whichcalms the pain,provokesothers:bewil-
derment,disarray.
The mostelaboratetreatment
is called"autologous,"
or "stem-cell
trans-
plant":afterhavingincreasedmywhiteblood cell productionby means of
"growth forfiveconsecutivedayswhiteblood cells are removed(at
factors,"
thispointones entirebloodsupplyis madeto circulateoutsidethebodyand
whiteblood cells are taken).Theyare thenfrozen.Next,I am put in a ster-
ile room for three weeks, where I undergo a very strongregimenof
chemotherapy, whichknocksout mybone-marrow productionbeforeit is
once again kick-started
by injectingback intomyblood-streamthe frozen
stem-cellsthatwereremoved(duringthisinjection,thereprevailsa strange
odor of garlic . . .). The loweringof ones immunity - which becomes
-
extreme givesriseto highfevers, mycosis,and an entireseriesofdisorders
beforetheproductionoflymphocytes
once againtakeshold.
[39] One emergesfromthisadventurelost.One no longerknowsor rec-
ognizesoneself:but herethesewordsno longerhavemeaning.Veryquickly,
one is no morethana slackening, suspendedbetween
floatingstrangeness,
poorlyidentified states,betweensufferings, incapacities,lapses.Relatingto
sucha selfhas becomea problem,a difficulty oropacity:one does so through
or no is
pain fear, longer anything immediate - and mediationsare tiring.
The emptyidentity ofan "I" can no longerrestin its simpleadequation
(its"I" = "I") whenitspeaks[s'énonce]:"I am suffering"impliesthatthereare
two"I"s,each one foreignto theother(yettouching).So it is with"I am in
ecstasy"[jejouis] (one can showhowthisis manifested in thepragmaticsof
each ofthesetwoutterances[énoncé]):in "I am suffering," one "I" rejectsthe
other"I,"whilein "I am in ecstasy"one "I" exceedstheother.The tworesem-
ble each other,doubtlessliketwodropsofwater,neithermorenorless.

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12 • L'Intrus

OOO

[40] T end/endsup beingno morethana tenuousthread- frompain to

pain, strangenessto strangeness.
And therecomes a certaincontinuity
of
intrusion,its permanentregime:added to the more-than-daily doses of
medication,and beingmonitoredin the hospital,are the dentaleffectsof
radiationtherapy, supervisionas wellas thatof
theloss ofsaliva,alimentary
contactsthatmaybe contagious,theweakeningofmusclesand kidneys, the
diminutionofmemoryand ofthe strength
to work,thereadingofmedical
and
analyses,the insidiousreturnsof mucositis,candidiasis,polyneuritis,
the generalfeelingof no longerbeingdissociablefroma networkof meas-
and [41] symbolic
urements,observations,and of chemical,institutional,
which
connections, do not allow themselvesto be ignored,as can be those
ofwhichordinarylifeis alwayswoven.On the contrary,
theseconnections
keep lifeconstantlyalertto theirpresenceand surveillance.I
deliberately
becomeindissociablefroma polymorphous dissociation.
Thiswas always,moreorless,thelifeoftheinfirm
and theaged:but,pre-
cisely,I am neitherone nor the other.What cures me is what infectsor
Myheartis
affectsme;whatallowsme to livecauses me to age prematurely.
twentyyearsyoungerthanI am, and the restof mybody(at least) a dozen
yearsolder.So havingat the same timebecome youngerand older,I no
longerhavean age proper, speaking,I am no longermyown
just as, properly
age.Justas I no longerhave an occupation,althoughI am notretired,so too
I am nothingof what I am supposed to be (husband,father, grandfather,
friend)unlessI remainsubsumedwithintheverygeneralconditionof the
, ofdiverseintrusthatat anymomentcan appearin my[42] place in
intrus
myrelationswith,or in therepresentations
of,others[autrui].
In a singlemovement, the mostabsolutelyproper"I" withdrawsto an
distance(wheredoes it go?;intowhatvanishingpointfromwhichI
infinite
could stillclaimthatthisis mybody?)and subsidesintoan intimacymore
profoundthananyinteriority (the impregnablerecesswherefromI say "I,"
butthatI knowto be as gaping[béant]as thischestopeneduponemptiness,
and fear,
or as theslippingintothemorphinicunconsciousnessofsuffering
mergedin abandonment).Corpusmeumand interiorintimomeo, the two

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 Jean-LucNancy • 13

togetherstateveryexactly,and in a completeconfigurationofthe deathof

god,thatthe truthofthesubject is its and itsinfinite
exteriority excessivity:
exposition.The intrusexposes me, excessively.It extrudes,it exports,it
expropriates:I am the illnessand the medicalintervention,I am the can-
cerouscell and the graftedorgan,I am the immuno-depressive agentsand
theirpalliatives,I am the bits ofwirethathold together[43] mysternum,
and I am thisinjectionsitepermanently
stitchedin belowmyclavicle,just
as I was alreadythese screwsin myhip and thisplate in mygroin.I am
becominglikea science-fiction
android,or theliving-dead,
as myyoungest
son one daysaid to me.
We are,alongwithall mymoreand morenumerouscounterparts3,
the
beginningsof a mutation:man recommencesgoinginfinitely beyondman
(thisis what"thedeathofgod,"in all itspossiblesenses,has alwaysmeant).
[44] Man becomeswhathe is: themostterrifying and troublingtechnician,
as Sophoclesdesignatedhimtwenty-five centuriesago. He who de-natures
and re-fashions
nature;he who re-createscreation;he who bringsit out of
nothing,and,perhaps,returnsit to nothing.He who is capableoftheorigin
and theend.

000

[45] The intrusis no otherthanme,myself;none otherthanman himself.

No otherthanthe one, the same, alwaysidenticalto itselfand yetthatis
neverdone withalteringitself.At thesame timesharpand spent,stripped
bareand over-equipped,
intrudingupon theworldand upon itself:a disqui-
etingupsurgeofthestrange,conatusofan infinite
excrescence.4

C-

NOTES
I would
liketothankherePhilipAdámek forhiscontribution
tothistranslation
ofL'Intrus,
whichowesitsfluidity
tohisear.Thevoiceorheart
oftherhapsode
whohereintellshisstory,
andwhoserhythms beatsoinsistently
inmyear,holdlesssway
overhis.Theearoftheother

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14 • L'Intrus

indeed thetextitreads,
signs anddoublyso inthiscase,inasmuch
as itnodoubt
bearsthe
of
rhythms both
hisear and -
mine. Trans.

1. In84,no.5-6(1948): 103.
2. [Byvirtueof,andtokeep, insofar
as ispossible,
thestrangeness ofthisnoun, l'intrus
willremaininFrench. Harraps NewStandard French and EnglishDictionary the
offers
"intruder,"
following: "intruding," "unqualified
"gate-crasher," The
[...]," "trespasser."
page numbers of theFrench text
(Galilée,2000)aregivenin square brackets
to facili-
- Trans.]
tatecross-referencing.
3. I haveinmind certain offriends:
thoughts AlexspeakinginGerman ofbeing"un-eins"
with AIDS,toexpress anexistence
whose unityholdsinitsdivision anddiscord with
orGiorgio
itself, speakinginGreekof a biosthat
isno more than zoé,a formoflifethat
be life's
would but simple maintenance. Alex
Cf. García-Düttmann, Uneins
mit Aids
Fischer,
(Frankfurt: 1993),andGiorgio Agamben, Homo sacerI (Turin: Einaudi,1995),
LeSeuil,
(Paris: Tosaynothing
1997). ofDerrida's and
supplements,prostheses.
grafts,
Andthememory ofSylvieBlocher's
drawing, "Jean-Lucwitha Woman's Heart."
4. Thistextwasfirst publishedinresponse toaninvitation,byAbdelwahab Meddeb, to
intheissueofhisjournal,
participate no.9-10(1999)(Paris:
Dédale, Maisonneuve et
Larose),andentitled"The ofthe
Coming Stranger." was
[L'Intrus also in
published book
form Galilée,
(Paris: 2000)]

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