What is suspense and why do we feel it? These questions are at the heart of the first part of
this study. It develops and defends the 'imminence theory of suspense' - the view that suspense
arises in situations that are structurally defined by something essential being imminent. Next
the study utilizes this theory as an interpretative key to Søren Kierkegaard's seminal work
'Frygt og Bæven' ('FB'). FB is an exploration of what it means to take the story of Abraham and
Isaac as a paradigmatic example of faith. The study argues that a core aspect of how
Kierkegaard conceptualizes faith through the figure of Abraham is suspense. The argument is
built upon the observation that to have faith is to be a hero. To be hero means to belong to a
story. Stories manifests different conceptualizations of time. Abraham's story as FB frames it
is radically geared towards something imminent - it is characterized by an essential relation
of suspense. The study then explores how suspense not only forms part of the conceptualization
of faith but is also part of how this conceptualization is communicated. Thus the study
argues that there exists a symmetry of suspense between the rhetorical and the conceptual
levels of the text.
