The overarching theme of these tracts seems to be that of solving some kind of puzzle. The author is clearly groping for some solution, some “path”, through to a resolution. You almost feel as if the author is in some way trapped and is trying to discover a way out of his or her situation. It makes me wonder whether this feeling of entrapment is merely mental or whether it might be actually physical in nature. In later tracts we start to have images of windows and rooms and trees which physically constrain, block the sight and offer glimpses of possibilities.
Could this person have been physically constrained and is trying to actually escape or are these tracts a description of the search for a philosophical “enlightenment”? It is clear that there are flashes of clarity where the author “sees” whatever they are looking for or it is “clear” which direction that they should take. The thing that makes me more persuaded of some kind of physical constraint is the fact that the tracts are enciphered (albeit in a very simple way), perhaps to hide their contents from someone else and that they are written in very different notebooks – almost as if the author was constrained by whatever writing material he or she could get hold of. As a converse, the philosophical or mental constraint is indicated for me by the apparent requirement to write 200 words, no more, no less and start each tract with the “signature” vxvx.
I don’t know if I’m overanalysing all this. The more I work through the tracts, the more I feel that I’m getting some insight into the personality of the author and the condition in which he or she finds themselves. Obviously all this is based on my perceptions only, so if any of you have views, I’d be interested to hear them.
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