In the great tradition of the American narrative, I begin this paper with my own narrative, which lays the foundation of my argument. Making allegorical connections is something that anyone raised in a strict Christian environment, based on the Bible, can easily do. In fact, it is a connection that those who, like Mary Rowlandson, he and others, could easily bring about many difficulties in our lives. Hence religious allegory, and more specifically biblical allegory, becomes a kind of second consciousness, or a metaphor extended to the lives of those people. My personal experience with allegorical consciousness is essential in the case that Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative serves as Joban’s allegory.
I was born in Southern Kentucky, and I am the son of a Pentecostal preacher. My father’s family believes in Holiness Pentecostalism and has practiced the religion since the early 1900s. Holiness Pentecostalism is by no means easy to describe. However, these main beliefs can be noted: Jesus is the son of God and faith in his resurrection saves the soul from eternal damnation, but in order to be certified of salvation, one must literally be baptized by the Holy Spirit and receive a supernatural conversion. experience Furthermore, after a person has been legally saved from his sins, he must separate himself from the world and live a sinless life . For my family, this means abstinence from all kinds of corruption, such as television, non-Christian music, dancing, sports, alcohol, lewd language, and any association with people who enjoy such activities. A life dedicated to us is a monastic life of meditation, prayer, and fasting.
The only text we were encouraged to read and study was the King James Bible. My father was the ultimate example of a theologian. Bible perfectly more times than I can count. He read the whole New Testament once in one day. He was experienced in interpreting biblical texts not by individual chapters and verses, but by completely separate books. Once I remember him dropping everything he was doing, because of divine inspiration, to read the whole thing at once. the book of Isaiah
In this atmosphere after my conversion experience I began my study. beyond the thin pages I have digested an abnormal hunger and thirst for knowledge. I want to listen to the sermons with interest and think about other people’s thoughts and interpretations of these letters. I memorized much of what I read and began to develop an allegorical consciousness, by which I interpreted the unfolding events of my life as signs in an extended biblical metaphor. Every facet of my life is filled with metaphorical images from the Bible. I, like Mary Rowlandson, made personal connections with biblical texts and events to establish a similar existence between them and the events of my life. When I went out to the garden to pick beans from the vine, I remembered Jo. and everyone who bears fruit purifies him so that he may bring more fruit. When I felt lost and without hope, I remembered the mistakes of the children of Israel in the Sinai desert and their deliverance to the Promised Land. Thus the allegorical connections between the biblical texts and the events of our modern life have been confused into a metaphysical consciousness of the race; religious life itself was an extended allegory.
While Mary Rowlandson was not a member of Holiness Pentecostalism, she was instead seen as a devout Puritan whose husband was a minister in the faith. We claim that Rowlandson also shared this allegorical awareness and consistently made metaphorical connections between the events of our lives and biblical texts. His writing is littered with biblical references and quotations that parallel today’s struggles and emotions. He begins the scripture in the second paragraph by mentioning it with “2 Cor. xii. 9, And he said unto me: My grace is sufficient for thee” (11) and pursues the whole narrative with these indications. . One of the most lament references is the one she makes in the third paragraph when she states, “Out of the thirty-seven persons who were in this one house, none escaped either imminent death or the most painful captivity, except one who said: Job 15, “And I escaped alone to announce” (11).
The most serious questions surface when the artist claims that the texts have religious allegories. First, and most obviously, we must ask whether the author intended the work to be considered a task. I pose the problem of discerning the authorial intentions of Mary Rowlandson in her narrative for exactly what it is: a personal narrative. This is not a work of fiction, but to be invoked in the mind of a foolish woman, but recognized by the author to be true and systematic of capture, captivity, and restitution. Therefore, in order for the allegorical argument to really work, the intentions of Mary Rowlandson’s authorities must be considered. To say that the work is allegorical, or specifically Joban’s allegory, it is necessary to say that Rowlandson either consciously or unconsciously intended a series of events and images in text para parallels with those in the Book of Job. If you have a work like John Bunyan’s ThePilgrim’s Progress, it is very easy to do so when the author writes in his apology “And so it was: I wrote of the Way and Race of the Saints, in this our In the Gospel, he suddenly fell into an allegory of his journey, and of the way to glory” (7-10). Bunyan overtly identifies his work as an allegory, a work of fiction, and it is universally accepted that it works as such. Bunyan’s intentions are clearly stated and parallel The Pilgrims’ Progress is easily recognizable, but Rowlandson’s work is not classified as an allegorical work, but I argue that it works as such.
Authorial intention, however, is a concept quite literally dead when Roland Barthes wrote “On the death of the author”. Barthes points out that the act of divining the authorial intentions of a work is a “pathetic sight” and that “every text is eternally written here and now” (255). That is, Barthes expressly denies that the author has any say in what the work is supposed to mean in form, function, or anything else. The author is simply the one who wrote the text and the text alone stands. All are addressed in turn to the reader and “the reader is the space in which all the quotations that make up one writing are written without losing any part” (257). Barthes writes, “Classical criticism has nothing to do with the reader; for the writer is alone in literature”, and transitions to the final statement “… the birth of the reader must be free. of the death of the author” (257). Since his opinion has been received by many in the field, it must be asserted again, since Rowlandson’s writing is such a personal and scientific text, that his authorial intentions cannot be willingly sacrificed in the name of more modern literature.
The introduction to Rowlandson’s narrative hints at his authorial intentions. It is written;
This dispensation, I think, bears some resemblance to Joseph, David, and Daniel, nay, to the three children whose narratives they make and to represent us, curious about the divine work, by the excellent textures of divine providence. And truly this, and therefore not to be forgotten, but worthy of being presented and looked upon and pondered by all, is not disdained to consider the operation. of his own hands… This was the story penned by this very naive woman, that she should remember God’s dealings with her, that she should never forget, but should remember the same, and the circumstances of the particulars. his all the days of his life (6-7).
This seems to suggest that Rowlandson was writing his stories to glorify God and preserve the story for posterity. Allegorical links to his story and various biblical figures are mentioned here, but this list does not include Job. While Rowlandson does not specifically state his intention to make the story of Job an allegory, connections can be made between it accounting and Job‘s account to show that to perform such
Authorial intentions aside, one test of whether a work will function as a religious allegory is to determine whether the sequence of events in the text corresponds to any known religious textual events without exceeding the imagination. Allegory, in its simplest form, equates one event or series of events with another well-known event or series of events. Robert Hariman wrote in his essay “Allegory and Democratic Public Culture in the Modern Era, ‘allegories give us dynamic juxtapositions in a stable frame'” (268). In an allegory, then, there are events or a succession of events that can be paralleled in these. Another work. An example of an allegory can be seen visually in the equation “(x + y) = (a + b)” where “x” is connected to “a”, “y” to “b” and “b” follows “(x + y)”. The following is combined “(a + b)”. These variables can be compared to each other.
It is useful and necessary to explore the theory behind the allegory and try to define it in terms of literary criticism at lilud. Bainard Cowan wrote about this issue in his article “Walter Benjamin’s Theory of Allegory”, which appeared in the New German Critique. His article was an exploration of Walter Benjamin’s theory of allegorical studies. Cowan writes about allegorical theory;
A certain experience excels in the analysis of Benjamin’s allegories. Paraphrases of the exposition could begin, allegory arises from the apprehension of the world not lasting, as passing from being: the sense of transience, the imitation of mortality, or the conviction, as in Dickinson, that “this world is not a conclusion. Allegory would then be the expression of a sudden insight. But allegory is more than the form of speaking is also an inner experience. The form of this world is fragmentary and enigmatic; in it the world ceases to be an aggregation of signs. Nor does this transformation reach into the depths of being heaven, whether to the irreparable past or to the grave (110).
Thus, according to Benjamin, allegory can be constructed as a metaphysical experience. Cowan’s interpretation of Benjamin’s allegorical theory suggests that the concept of allegorical consciousness is real. Immersion in an environment that imbues a person’s mind with symbols and connections to a single text or concept necessarily leads to this phenomenon, as seen in Rowlandson and myself. Rowlandson views his world in the context of biblical events, as evidenced by an almost constant flow of biblical narratives in his narrative, and through these shows he interprets the events of his life. His biblical mind subtly consciously filters the events of his life and transmits them to consciousness in terms of metaphorical biblical events, or religious allegory. Thus, as Cowan theorizes, “the world ceases to be purely physical and becomes an aggregation of signs,” or, that is, an allegorical consciousness is formed.
Hariman suggests that looking at the world through allegory is more a phenomenon in the sense of allegorical consciousness than simple metaphorical association. Hariman explores the concept of allegorical consciousness in a modern world where everyday existence is broadcast through constant signs of signs and riddles through mass media. He argues that this proliferation is affected by the development of social media, politics and even our consciousness. Having set the stage for the allegorical concept as a phenomenon, he then sets out to describe the allegorical composition.
The key to an allegorical composition is that juxtaposition, and especially the accumulation of images, to indicate a common theme that is otherwise silent in its entirety. Affinities with enthymematic content and ideological manipulation should be obvious… Although allegory is constructed in devices easily adapted to mystification, with personification, depiction of cosmological order, fetishized details of typification, magical powers, hypertrophic landscapes, and formulaic arguments – these. techniques are often accompanied by complementary designs that complement the allegorical consciousness… In short, allegorical art imbues iconography that can create powerful identifications with technological forces which continually shift their attention from image to interpretation” (273).
Thus, using Hariman’s interpretation of allegorical theory, we compare the form and function of Rowlandson’s narrative with Job to determine the amount and degree of allegorical correlations. If the two texts are parallel in plot and function, my hypothesis is based on Rowlandson’s allegorical narrative of Joban.
To explore the archetype of the allegory of Job, it is useful to know some important facts about the history of Job. The book of Job is the eighteenth book of the Bible and is contained in the Old Testament. The story of Job can be seen as the passion of God’s innocent chosen servant and his deliverance. The narrative of Job begins in the book of Job;
There was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and fearing God, and shunning evil. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. and his sheep seven thousand, and camels three thousand, and oxen five hundred, and donkeys five hundred, and a large household. so that he was the greatest of the East. And his sons went and made a feast from house to house, each in his own day; And they sent for their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had passed into the world, he sent them and sanctified them. because my children sinned and blessed God in their hearts. This is what Job did constantly, i 1-5.
Indeed, Job was an honest and just man. His genius was not only admirable, but also a little fortune which was fruitful, by which he showed that he was also prudent and industrious. There was a certain concern about Job, which always made him very anxious about the uncertainty of the future. Job did not know what the uncertain future would be. His story continues;
One day, when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their first-born brother, a messenger came to Job saying: “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them; he took them; for they killed their servants with the edge of the sword. and I escaped alone to tell you. While he was still speaking, another came and said: The fire of God fell from heaven and burned the sheep and servants and consumed them. and I escaped alone to tell you. While he was still speaking, behold, another man said: “Three hands of the Chaldaeans came out and rushed at the camels, and took them away, and smote the children with the edge of the sword: and I escaped alone to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another came and said: Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their brother’s house: and behold, a great wind arose from the desert and struck the four corners. the house, and it fell upon the children, and they died; and I escaped alone to tell you. Then Job arose and tore his cloak, and with his shaved head fell to the ground, and worshiped, and said: Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave, the Lord gave. be taken away; may the name of the Lord be blessed (Job i. 13-22).
Thus, through what seems to be an impossible series of events, Job lost everything imaginable. Job’s life becomes worse later in the story when he is attacked by an illness. To make matters worse, three friends come to console him, who in turn accuse him of being unjustly punished. Kate Cochran discusses the passion of Job in her article, ‘In the Lessons of Hurting’: The Third Life of Grange Copeland as Joban Allegory;
Through all the different sections of the book of Job, Job intends to test two things, both the comforters and God: his punishment is light, cunning and unjust; and his innocence is just and worthy of punishment. What Job and his consolers do not notice is that Job’s punishment is not a traditional teaching; that is, it should not cause Job such pain to do anything. For God does not say that Job deserved such suffering, but Almighty. Job knows that justice is not a reward, but that punishment is suffered for wisdom. Therefore, the patient learns A job can be more constructive than destructive. If one allows pain to change one’s way of thinking, to broaden one’s perspective or to alternate ways of expressing oneself, then the patient acts not to destroy oneself, but to build it up (79).
In the end, Job is ultimately betrayed and vindicated by all who once opposed him. The story illustrates that sometimes the righteous suffer innocently and unjustly, but they will always continue if they can preserve their integrity.
Rowlandson adapts the model of Job’s allegory to the captivity narrative. Rowlandson was a religious Puritan, had prospered in their settlements, and evidently had not much thought of being decimated by a band of . A most accurate description of the whole of America. Rowlandson writes, “When we are in good fortune, O Little One, that we think so terrible a sight” (11). He lost everything he held dear: his home, his little one, his other children, his relatives, his freedom. He writes
To the sadness of the former day, and the sadness of the present night, in my wasted and sad state my thoughts run. They all retired; my husband (at least he was separated from me when he was in the Gulf; and, to add to my grief, the Indians told him that they would kill him on his return home), my children were gone; When my relatives and friends were gone, house and house, and all comforts within the door and without, were gone (besides life), and I do not know until the next time, when too much would go (12).
Thus, Rowlandson, like Job, lost bands of robbers (Indians for Rowlandson and Arabs for Job) and a series of other unfortunate events. Neither Rowlandson nor Job had any comfort in pernicious times, Rowlandson commenting “…one Indian would come, tell me one hour, And your Master will knock your child on the head, and then the second, and then the third, your Master will quickly knock your child on the head). he wept saying;
let the day perish in which I was born, and the night in which it was said: Man was conceived. Those who wait for death, but it does not come; they dig up more than treasures; Do they rejoice greatly, and do they rejoice when they find the tomb? (Job iii. 3, 20-22).
Rowlandson wrote in the same vein, “My son Joseph suddenly came to me; we begged each other’s safety, deploring our sad condition and the change that had come upon us” (21).
Rowlandson’s story would not really be Joban’s allegory without a great (and divine) deliverance. Rowlandson attributes this deliverance to “Providence” (43) and commented: “And God’s goodness to us in family matters was wonderful, because he raised up for us compassionate friends on every side” (45). This is the end of Job, because it is written:
And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. And all his brothers and all his sisters and all who knew him came to him and ate bread with him in his house. (Job 42:10-12).
Thus both the captivity of Rowlandson and Job are resolved. The wrong is sworn, the house and the estate are restored, and the equally grateful Rowlandson and Job are again in a place of favor.
The narrative of Rowlandson’s captivity, reduced to its first elements, thus serves as an allegory of Joban, as all the aspects of the Joban archetype are perfectly matched. In telling the story, the pious servant of God was a prey to his enemies, and almost lost his life, suffered at the hands of merciless consolers, and was finally divinely redeemed and restored. While it seems to be an oversimplification, it should be noted that the elements of each plot of the story follow the same pattern and both function to listen to God’s divine providence. Therefore both the form and the duty in both places, at that fundamental level, are equal, and thus allegorical.
Rowlandson’s own motives, although he never specifically indicated that this story was an allegory, can be surmised. Rowlandson, looking at his life through the filter of a biblically based institution and an ultra-religious environment, may have been somewhat subconsciously revisionist in his approach. The effects of stress on brain and psychological function are well documented in that memory is often unconsciously distorted and overstated. by victims of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. These two Rowlandsons were able to match the account with Job’s unconscious. In doing so, he claims the archetypal Job experience of his captivity and his position, at least in his mind, as God’s chosen one, of suffering and servitude. Rowlandson also ends his narrative with Moses’ message to the Israelites at the Red Sea: “Stand and see the salvation of the Lord” (48). Thus, Rowlandson’s own allegorical awareness shines through his work, adding to the evidence that this text is fully functional both in spirit and in letter, like bona fide Joban allegories.
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