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Søren Kierkegaard, the nineteenth-century Danish philosopher rediscovered in the twentieth century, is a major influence in contemporary philosophy, religion, and literature. He regarded Either/Or as the beginning of his authorship, although he had published two earlier works on Hans Christian Andersen and irony. The pseudonymous volumes of Either/Or are the writings of a young man (I) and of Judge William (II). The ironical young man's papers include a collection of sardonic aphorisms; essays on Mozart, modern drama, and boredom; and "The Seducer's Diary." The seeming miscellany is a reflective presentation of aspects of the "either," the esthetic view of life. Part II is an older friend's "or," the ethical life of integrated, authentic personhood, elaborated in discussions of personal becoming and of marriage. The resolution of the "either/or" is left to the reader, for there is no Part III until the appearance of Stages on Life's Way. The poetic-reflective creations of a master stylist and imaginative impersonator, the two men write in distinctive ways appropriate to their respective positions.… (more)
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The first piece focuses on the question of marriage; while the aesthetist disagrees with marriage on aesthetic ground, the judge in this volume argues for the aesthetic and ethical validity of marriage. The second main piece in this volume is titled "Equilibrium", and is written more generally about life – love, God, and occupation. There is also a short sermon at the end, which is not written by the judge, but which the judge is sending to the first character.
The second volume is more unnecessarily wordy than the first volume, and could have benefited more from being condensed. It is not, however, lacking in philosophical seriousness, which is an impression it would have been possible to get from the first volume (perhaps wrongly).
A quote might allow one to gain some idea of the book's purpose:
"My either/or does not in the first instance denote the choice between good and evil; it denotes the choice whereby one chooses good and evil / or excludes them. Here the question is under what determinants one would contemplate the whole of existance and would have himself live. That the man who chooses good and evil chooses the good is indeed true, but this becomes evident afterwards; for the aesthetical is not the evil but neutrality, and that is the reason why I affirmed that it is the ethical which constitutes the choice."
From this one can see that Kierkegaard anticipates, at least in part, some of the distinctions that Nietzsche makes about good, evil, and ethics, though the two otherwise differ greatly, not least regarding their attitude to morality.
This volume is best read after the first, and in the preface it is stated that neither should be read without the other, as alone they cannot be properly understood. I think the author is correct in saying this. This is certainly more the case with the second volume though, and while the first could be read alone, it would not have the effect that it's author intended if the reader chose to do this.
Kierkegaard makes a great impression on the reader with these two volumes, with his diversity of styles, the way he uses multiple psuedonyms to present the work, and with the content of his thoughts. For this reason these volumes will be of interest to the reader of philosophy and the general student of literature.