Goodbye house

The past month has been hard, and horrible. The latest in a string of four very long months

This is the house I bought for Mom.  It's the house I worked hard to make lovely for her. It's the house I failed her in. It's the house she died in.

Dad and I discussed when I started my PhD program that selling the house if we could not get solid renters in downstairs was Plan B. After the debacle of renters who seemed good on paper and then did not pay rent for two months and had to be evicted, the house went on the market at the end of December. January and February and March saw me making mortgage payments, watching savings dip lower and lower, and no bites on offers. It also saw me dropping the price, to no avail.

Finally got an offer on the house at the end of March. Then began the panic- had to pack Dad, find him a new place, get him moved. Did not have a signed lease on the new place until Friday. Dad cannot move into the new place until this upcoming Saturday so he's staying at a friend's.

Moving day was yesterday. Sort of. It took four hours to move all of us into the house four years ago. Yesterday, they were there for seven hours, still did not finish (because Dad did not finished packing) and they're coming back tomorrow to finish. Dad keeps telling me it's fine. He refused all offers of help, and sorry myth of Southern neighbors pitching in- no one came to help despite repeated pleas. I'm trying not to think about how much more expensive this move suddenly got. Movers are holding everything in a trailer until they can move him into the new place. Cats are boarded at vet to avoid multiple moving traumas with schizoid cats.

To complicate all of this, buyer is being weird. When they made the offer, they had a super long due diligence period, and a closing of the 30th (their specific dates). Hence the rush. But now they're dragging their feet, and will not make 30th closing date. So that's all apparently in limbo.

Dad actually found a place where we used to live, so back to the beginning. There's a cyclical logic to that. But I am not there to make sure this all gets done. I am 2000 miles away. I'm not there to say goodbye to the house. I am not there to say goodbye to Mom's memory, the last place I knew her. The new place will be Dad's, and I will not have a connection to it.

I've been so focused on checking things off my list and getting things done that I have not taken any time to focus on the emotional impact of all of this. This is Mom's house. It's the house where Nehi grew up.

Dad keeps telling me it's all fine. But it's not. But there's nothing I can do from so far away.

I will feel better once he's in next week and settled, and then it's just the house sale I need to focus on. Oh, and end of semester papers, exams, and grading. Because you know- PhD program.

I feel guilty Dad had to move, that I could not afford to keep the house. I feel bad that I'm not there to help. I all around feel shitty. But there's not a whole lot I can do about any of this.

Mary and the Devil- research update (revised and revised again)

I love digital archives. I just finished an article arguing that folklore is the foundation of the American Gothic, and specifically looked at original editions from Irving, Chesnutt, and Simms (non-mucked around with texts). Likewise, the British Library and their ever increasing digital archives are lovely. I couldn't do half the work I do from the States without them, or TEAMS.

The Internet often seems to have everything. So when I have a day liked yesterday when I can't find a single thing I need, banging my head against my desk seems a viable option.

I'm currently looking at medieval plays that illustrate Mary interceding on the part of sinners, negotiating for them, and facing off against the devil as an article, but also a larger part of my dissertation. However, reading The Mary Play from the N-Town Plays, does not show this (despite Price's work), Cox discusses demons/devils in general in the N-Town cycle which I'll use some of, but  Boyarin discusses the Theophilus legend in the South English Legendary, which I cannot find. That is, TEAMS has part of it but I cannot find the one with Theophilus in it.


Makes me long for clearer citations/indicators of sources. Actually, makes me long for OpenSource, online work where sources are hyperlinked.
What I did find:

• York
• Play 44: The Death of Mary
•  
• Ashmole 61
• Item 22: The Jealous Wife
• Item 23: The Incestuous Daughter
• N-Town 
• Play 1: Creation of Heaven; Fall of Lucifer
• Play 11: Parliament of Heaven
• Play 31: Satan and Pilate's Wife
• Play 42: Judgment Day

What I need: medieval plays that show the Mary-Devil interactions/intercession.
What I seem to be missing:

• Chester

Hours and hours yesterday yielded nothing. With my writing/research, I like to start with a close reading of the text, teasing out what I am discussing, and then historicize that text. So finding the original source text is important.
Originally, I focused on drama because a big part of my argument is that the folkloric devil is most often seen in drama, the genre of the people. But now I'm wondering if I need to expand my argument to Marian legends in general in order to find the texts I need.
Anyone have any references/digital archives of original sources they can point me to?

The Importance of Storytelling in Dante’s Inferno

    There are more references to telling and writing stories in Inferno than in either Purgatorio or Paradiso.  In this way, to a modern reader, Inferno appears to be the most literary of the three canticas; its concern more with the literary prowess of Dante as author and less about the ecclesiastical instructions. The modern reader finds it hard to ignore the fact that Dante emphasizes the literary aspects of Inferno. Dante’s focus can be seen in numerous ways: the numerous references throughout the text to poets and their creations, the focus on the fame to be gained through telling stories and references to actual writing within the text. Dante the author makes a distinction within the text between shades who talk when prompted by Virgil and Dante and shades who are specifically seduced by the idea of having their story told. The latter shades fall into several categories: shades who wish to be famous, literary figures who wish to be remembered (reread?) in the world above and poets who wish their tales to be retold and referenced.

Dante’s literary emphasis can be seen in how he places importance on the poets in the Inferno from the very beginning. In Canto I, Virgil gives his qualifications as a poet, not a guide to the underworld: “I was a poet and I sang/the just son of Anchises come from Troy/after proud Ilium was put to flame.” (line 73-75). This is also what Dante praises him for when he refers to Virgil as his “teacher” and “author” (line 85). He credits Virgil with the inspiration to write in his “noble style” (line 87). Virgil’s qualifications are partly as a man who has written about the underworld, but in Canto I, Dante appears to want the reader of Inferno to see Virgil as a literary guide. This emphasis on literature is further emphasized with the invocation at the beginning of Canto II. Despite Dante wanting Inferno to be seen as an instructional text for Christians, he opens Canto II with an invocation to the Muses to guide his writing (lines 7-9).  Dante then calls Virgil by the title “Poet” emphasizing Virgil’s literary knowledge, and not his knowledge of the underworld. This reference can be interpreted that what Dante chooses Virgil more as a guide for the literary work Dante is writing than for any guidance Virgil can offer to a Christian in Hell. In this way, Virgil’s presence is to help Dante tell the best story he can, as well as to make sure that Dante gets stories from the shades.

Dante continues to emphasize literature by his presentation of the classical poets and the grand characters they’ve created, who all receive special attention.  Canto IV focuses on Dante’s encounter with the classical poets, and his inclusion in their midst: “Honor the loftiest of poets!” (line 80). Dante in a sign of literary arrogance manages to include himself in this great company: “And then they showed me greater honor still, /for they made me one of their company” (lines 100-101). This inclusion in such lofty company will come up again when Dante addresses his own writing later in the poem. He goes on to describe the people in Limbo who are the creations of these great poets: Electra, Hector, Aeneas, Caesar, Camilla, Penthesilea, Julia, Marcia, Latinus, Lavinia, Brutus, Lucretia, and Cornelia.  Dante creates another literary list in Canto V when he lists the ladies and knights. Throughout Inferno, Dante encourages shades to speak to him by bribing them with the idea of having their story written down. These instances differ slightly from those in their placement. These shades, while they do have interesting stories, are valuable because they are the creations of great poets. Therefore, the structure Dante is focusing on here is the importance of poets and their poetry, not necessarily the stories these shades have to tell. These “classical” shades do share with their counterparts a desire to have their story told. The further influence of literature is seen in Francesca’s story, where she blames her fall on the power of literature (lines 130-138).  Again, it is the power of the author of the literature that is emphasized; Francesca is simply the vehicle for conveying this information. The continued emphasis on poetry and poets can be seen again in canto 15 when Dante once again stresses the importance of poets as teachers and guides but this time with the more modern example in Brunetto. Dante credits Brunetto with how he was taught “how man makes himself immortal.” (line 85). As in the earlier example of the classical poets, with including himself in their lofty company, Dante is stressing the importance of poets in his poem while also elevating his own poetry.

The next structure that Dante uses to emphasize the literary nature of Inferno is the use of the written word. In Inferno writing is divided into two categories: the writing actually seen by Dante the pilgrim and the references Dante the author makes to his own writing. Surprisingly, there are only four direct references to the written word in Inferno. In Canto 3, there is the reference to the writing above the gates of Hell:

THROUGH ME THE WAY TO THE CITY OF WOE,

THROUGH ME THE WAY TO ETERNAL PAIN,

THROUGH ME THE WAY AMONG THE LOST.

JUSTICE MOVED MY MAKER ON HIGH.

DIVINE POWER MADE ME,

WISDOM SUPREME, AND PRIMAL LOVE.

BEFORE ME NOTHING WAS BUT THINGS ETERNAL,

AND I ENDURE ETERNALLY.

ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE.

Dante returns again to the image of writing and the power of it in Canto 8 when he recalls for the reader the image of the “deadly writing” that stands above the gate of hell (lines 127-130).

The last reference to the written word, versus Dante’s own written work, in Inferno  comes in Canto 11, when Dante encounters the writing above the tomb of Pope Anastasius “I hold Pope Anastasius: Photinus drew him from the right and proper path.” (lines 8-9). This is of note because it is one of the few times that Dante sees writing in hell, or indeed in any of the canticas. The shades in this circle are punished for the sin of fraud, yet the words seem to hold the truth, which is interesting for the simple fact that it is just as easy to lie with the written word as it is with the oral. This writing though, is meant to convey the truth of the occupant. An ongoing idea in Dante’s entire Commedia is that he expects the reader to take this fantastical tale and if not take it for reality, then to at least recognize the truth contained within it. The idea of seeking any sort of truth from a group of sinners may seem paradoxical however, Dante frames the entire Inferno with the art of storytelling; both his own and that of the shades.

In Canto 9 Dante addresses the reader directly and the topic is his own writing: “O you who have sound intellects, /consider the teaching that are hidden/behind the veil of these strange verses.” (lines 61-63). Dante apparently wants to make it clear to his reader the strange and hidden meanings that writing can reveal but also to reinforce that this is a work of literature.  In canto 32, Dante returns again to the mention of his own language within the poem:

If I had verses harsh enough and rasping

as would befit this dismal hole

upon which all the other rocks weight down,

more fully would I press out the juice/of my conception. But, since I lack them,

with misgiving do I bring myself to speak.

(lines 1-6)

Here, Dante’s language seems to fail him in describing the vision that greets him on this level of Hell. It may be that due to the high opinion of his own literature that Dante simply doesn’t want to lower himself to use the language needed to describe the scene.  Just when the reader has almost reached the end of the journey with Dante the pilgrim, Dante the author lets the reader down. Given the fantastical and grotesque descriptions that he has given up until now, this seems out of place. Since this is the last time Dante refers to writing in Inferno, perhaps he is emphasizing an end to storytelling in this cantica.

Returning to Canto 3, Dante turns to Virgil for help in understanding the inscription above the gates of Hell: “Master, for me their meaning is hard.” (lines 12). Dante seems to need help in not only interpreting his own work but  in composing it as well. Dante seems unsure about what story he is supposed to be telling, as there are times when he chooses not to report on certain activities or people. He glosses it as being something that the world will “not permit report of them.” (line 49).  In this case, Dante’s references to his own written work become even more valuable to the reader.

The third structure, that of storytelling can be seen throughout Inferno and it is important to define storytelling in this context. Throughout Inferno Virgil and Dante hear the stories of the different shades. However, there is a marked difference between the explanations that the shades tell on their own and the situations in which either Virgil or Dante specifically ask for the story of the shade so that Dante may write it down and carry the tale back to the world.  In Canto 6, Ciacco asks of Dante “bring me back to mind” (line 41) and “But when you have returned to the sweet world/I pray you bring me to men’s memory.” (lines 88-89). Dante’s power over the shades lies in his ability to tell their story to the world even though they are dead. By rewriting some of the classic characters, the reader is meant to infer that Dante’s power is great if he’s willing to not only rewrite the classics, but to have the audacity to state that his version is the correct one.

    Canto 16 offers a twist on Dante and his storytelling. In this instance Jacopo Rusticucci, Guido Guerra and Tegghiaio Aldobrandi ask Dante to “let our fame prevail on you/to tell us who you are, who fearless/move on living feet through Hell.” (lines 31-33). In this case, it is the shades that want to hear Dante’s tale and not the other way around. Yet, both serve the same purpose as Dante is still able to write the story down. Later in the exchange the shades leave Dante with one admonition “See that you speak of us to others.” (line 85).  Later in Canto 28 with the interaction with Bertran de Born, Dante returns once again to the idea of his story acting as a conduit for the stories of the shades back to the living. Bertran asks only that Dante “carry back the news of me” (line 133). This foreshadows the words of the shades of Purgatory who ask Dante to carry back their names, not so that their story can be told but so that they can be prayed for.

The nature of storytelling and fiction, specifically the fallibility of words is seen in Canto 13 when Virgil speaks to Dante, warning him of what he will soon see: “Look well-/you will see things that, in my telling, /would seem to strip my words of truth.” (lines 19-21). Virgil who has been set up as Dante’s literary and spiritual guide warns him that Virgil’s shifting authority is not necessarily to be trusted. Dante the author has already set this up by describing Virgil as a character who comes close to the truth, but misses the point, the revelation at the end. Virgil also cashes in on Dante’s value as a storyteller when he tells Pier delle Vigne to “tell him who you were, so that, by way/ of recompense, he may revive your fame/up in the world, where he’s permitted to return.” (lines 52-54). Again, given that the suicides are denied even bodies, the idea of living on in a greater way is a very appealing concept. Dante’s ability to not just listen to these stories, but carry them back to the world as a piece of literature is what is stressed.  Dante specifically acknowledges the importance of fiction writing in Canto 16: “To a truth that bears the face of falsehood/a man should seal his lips if he is able,/for it might shame him, through no fault of his,/but here I can’t be silent. And by the strains/of this Comedy- so may they soon succeed/in finding favor- I swear to you, reader.” (lines 124-129) Dante acknowledges the fiction that he writes, but also asks that his lies, for lack of a better term, find favor with his readers.

In canto 26 the reader it is Virgil who asks the shades to tell Dante their story, by appealing to their love of his writing to get them to tell theirs:

if I have earned your favor while I lived,

if I have your favor-in whatever measure-

when, in the world, I wrote my lofty verses,

then do not move away. Let one of you relate

just where, having lost his way, he went to die.

(lines 80-84)

He is successful, and Ulysses tells his tale to them. The fact that it is Ulysses that stops and tells his tale is worth noting. First, that Dante the author would choose Ulysses as the representative epic hero rather than Achilles or Aeneas, considering that Virgil is his guide. Second, that the focus here is not on the sin that the shade committed, but rather how he died. Dante the author seems to again draw the reader’s attention to the great tale the shade has to tell with his glorious end, rather than emphasize the sin he is there being punished for. Finally, the fact that it is Virgil who must ask the story of a hero that is not his own is intriguing. Ulysses is unique in that Virgil doesn’t outright appeal to his vanity to get the story. Ulysses seems more than willing to tell his story. This is in contrast to canto 31 where Virgil must appeal to the vanity of the giant Antaeus so that he and Dante aren’t harmed in trying to use Antaeus as transportation: “He still can make you famous in the world,/because he lives,” (lines 127-128). It seems that even the non-shade inhabitants are susceptible to the lure of having their story told.

    In canto 27, Dante returns again to the idea of appealing to the vanity of the shades so that they will tell their story. He tells Guido da Montefeltro that it is in his best interest to tell his story “so may your name continue in the world.” (line 57). The further Dante goes in Hell, the more the appeal for having the story told changes. In canto 28, Mohammed is not interested in having his own story told, but rather he wishes Dante to “warn Fra Dolcino” (line 56) so that perhaps he can avoid his fate. He then goes on to ask Dante to warn Guido and Angiolello of the treachery they will experience (lines76-81).  This transition makes perfect sense because as Dante the pilgrim approaches Purgatory he should be more concerned with salvation than with storytelling.

    While throughout most of Inferno  Dante and Virgil have no problems convincing shades to share their stories, the further Dante travels down into Hell, the more reticent the shades are to have their stories told. The act of storytelling changes so that Dante finds himself recording the motivations for why the shades don’t wish their stories told, and in the case of Bocca, using telling stories as a kind of literary blackmail. In canto 18, Venedico Caccianemico says “unwillingly I tell it” (line 52). Yet he goes on to say that the reason he does tell is because he has been “moved only by the truth of what you’ve said” (line 53). Again in Canto 21, Dante addresses the idea of what his Comedy will discuss and cover when he says he and Virgil reached the highest point and that they were “speaking/of things my Comedy does not care to sing.” (lines 2-3). One has to wonder, with such a grand undertaking, and how specific he is, what exactly Dante would see as something that he didn’t care to write or explain.

    In canto 32, Dante encounters the most resistance from shades not wanting to tell their story. Camiscion de’ Pazzi says that Dante will “coax no further words from me” (line 67).  However, Dante continues to try to bribe the stories out of shades by promising to make them famous, and it continues to work until Dante encounters Bocca. Dante tries to convince him to tell his story: “if it’s fame you seek, /it might turn out to your advantage/if I put your name amoung the others I have noted.” (lines 91-93). However, the shade of Bocca is not to be moved, and not even the physical violence Dante commits against him can make Bocca tell his story. However, by this point, Dante does not need Bocca to tell his own story, he has figured it out and threatens to use what he knows “to your shame/shall I bring back true news of you” (lines 110-111). Bocca is an oddity in that he seems not to care what Dante will say of him, he tells him to “tell what tale you will” (line 112). While Dante encounters two more shades who tell their story, Count Ugolino and Fra Aberigo, neither has to be prompted or bribed by Dante to do so.

    It seems fitting that Bocca’s story is the last we hear. Dante has reached the end of his story to tell, and how ironic that the last person whose story we hear does so unwillingly. If we return to the idea of Dante wanting his readers to extract truth and not reality, maybe the end analysis is that the truth is, no matter what. Just as Dante will tell Bocca’a tale, and the “true news” no matter what, so will Dante tell the greater truth through Inferno. Perhaps it is only through fiction, whether it is prose or poetry, that the truth can be told. Dante’s emphasis on great poets, their characters, the written word itself and the art of storytelling certainly seems to say as much.

Works Cited

Alighieri, Dante. Inferno. Ed. Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander. January 2002. New York: Anchor Books, 2000.

     

Milton’s Expansion on Biblical Sources Regarding Angels, Specifically the Character of Raphael in Paradise Lost

In his book The Satanic Epic Neil Forsyth says that people are guilty of “knowing their Milton better than their Bible,” (Forsyth 66). Nowhere is this truer than in Milton’s characterization of the angels. Milton’s expansion of the angels, particularly Raphael, is intriguing because other than the Creation story that Milton has Raphael relate, the expansion of the character of angels is the one subject that Milton makes up entirely out of whole cloth. There are not enough references in the Bible for Milton to pull his sources from there, so he simply creates an elaborate fiction and history involving the angels. It is this fiction that most readers are familiar with. The specific changes Milton makes to the concept of angels and the archangel Raphael in particular are detailed; Milton’s angels are described as being much closer to humans than the Bible suggests, that humans can potentially become like angels. Angels have free will, as man does. He also creates, in Raphael a personable character who establishes a relationship with Adam. Milton also sets Raphael up as a “Divine instructor” as Adam calls him (V, 546), a model for behavior and the “tactful narrator” as Rosenblatt points out.

The archangel Raphael appears only in the Book of Tobit.  He acts as a guide and advisor, although in disguise for most of that time.   His purpose in the book is simple, and given to the reader: he “was sent to cure the two of them.” (Chapter 3, verse 17). He does this in very simple ways. He offers to help Tobit find the way to Media, disguised as his kinsman Azarias, advises Tobit to catch a fish and use the heart, liver and gall to cure someone overcome with demons, and advises Tobit on how he can manage to marry Sarah, who has already been married seven times to men who have all died due to a demon. Tobit follows Raphael’s advice, marries Sarah, and dispels the demon with the burning of the fish’s liver and heart. The demon flees to Upper Egypt where Raphael binds the demon hand and foot. Raphael then acts as a servant for Tobit for the majority of the next three chapters. It is only in Chapter 12 that Raphael reveals to Tobit and Sarah that when they prayed, it was he that brought their prayers to the attention of the Lord and then was sent both test and cure them.

Milton greatly expands the character of Raphael from the Biblical text. According to the Hebraic tradition, there are four archangels; Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael and they are accorded the four cardinal points of the world. Milton takes as the basis for Raphael the idea that he can both test and cure people. Raphael as Milton presents him does not test Adam per se, but he is responsible for giving Adam the information he needs in order to not fall. Raphael, with his dispensation of information in Books 5-8 acts as a counselor, advisor and teacher for Adam, covering topics that range from domestic life, the war in heaven, and creation.

In Book 5, God sends Raphael down to warn Adam because Satan is known to have escaped from Hell. God tells Raphael to inform Adam that:

Happiness in his power left free to will,

Left to his own free will, his will though free,

Yet mutable; whence warn him to beware

He swerve not too secure: tell him withal

His danger, and from whom, what enemy

Late fall’n himself from Heav’n is plotting now

The fall of others from like state of bliss”

(lines 235-241)

Raphael goes down to the garden but instead of first fulfilling his job as assigned by God, he sits down to a domestic meal with Adam and Eve. This is in direct contradiction to the Book of Tobit where Raphael tells Tobit and Sarah that they only imagined him consuming food. The domestic scene in Paradise Lost helps to establish the relationship between humans and angels in a larger sense. Raphael expands on this later in Book 5 when he explains to Adam what life for the angels is like: “though what is Earth/Be but the shadow of Heav’n, and things therein/Each to other like, more than on Earth is thought?” (lines 574-576). This is only one example of Raphael drawing parallels between angels and humans, but it also brings up a question. Raphael ends the preceding lines with a question. This forces the reader to consider whether or not Raphael is completely secure in his role of “Divine instructor” and whether or not Raphael is telling us what he thinks or what is true according to God. Carver comes down on the side that what Raphael says is the true word of God as “an angel is not to be convinced by a logical demonstration, for he understands by direct intuition, without the use of symbols. As he has no bodily senses, he cannot be deluded by pleasant sights and sounds; nor would it be possible, as he has no imagination, to tempt him by drawing verbal pictures of the happiness to be attained by consenting to the course proposed.” (Carver 423). While Carver’s quotation refers to Satan in contrast to his audience, the same argument can be made for Raphael’s validity. He can be trusted because he cannot make anything up and he is the perfect model for Adam and Eve because he cannot be tempted by the offerings of Earth.

Rosenblatt discusses the multiple roles of Raphael: that of a divine interpreter, a model of perfection and as a tactful narrator. The role of divine interpreter can be seen in the explanation Raphael gives on the order of the universe in Book 5. Raphael’s job is to advice Adam and Eve, and to inform them. In his role to Adam and Eve, Raphael also works as a “Divine Interpreter” (132). It is his job to not only advise and warn them, but to also make creation and the explanation of the universe understandable to human minds. In Book 7 Raphael also tells Adam that knowledge must be tempered: “knowledge within bounds” (line 120). Raphael must also find a way to explain the universe in a way that Adam can understand:  “The angel, though he does not himself make use of phantasmata, or mental imagery, knows that the human mind is incapable of reasoning in any other way.” (Carver 424).  He then goes on to tell an expanded version of the creation story.

The final role, of tactful narrator can best be seen in Raphael’s telling of creation. Tactful is a wonderful adjective, although it perhaps refers more to Milton than his creation. It is an arrogant undertaking to assume that the creation story must be improved upon. Milton must walk a fine line, and he accomplishes this by framing Raphael’s story of creation with the actual Biblical text.  Milton has Raphael’s creation story rooted in Genesis 1, and accounts for the differences in the creation story by having Adam relate his story that is rooted in Genesis 2. However, as Rosenblatt suggests, there are several interesting additions between Raphael’s narrative and that given in the Bible. This extension of the creation story is meant to fulfill the function of giving Adam and Eve enough knowledge to make an informed decision- to fall or not. Raphael implies that the angels were created before the heaven and earth and before the creation of light (Rosenblatt 157).  The Bible gives no reference to the creation of angels; instead the assumption is usually that they were created at the same time.  Again, Milton takes the Biblical source, or the absence therein, and expands the description. The reader constantly has to ask him/herself whether or not Raphael’s words can be completely trusted. Adam seems to trust him when he explains creation and what angels are like in regards to eating and sex, but Raphael’s accounts vary greatly from the Biblical knowledge. Indeed, a larger part of Raphael’s job seems to be to engage in a sort of midrashic discussion with Adam.

The reader learns, through Raphael story that he is extremely knowledgeable of the events of creation. He is able, in detail to describe to Adam what occurred and when. In Books 6 and 7, perhaps more than anywhere else, the role of Raphael as “Divine instructor” can be seen clearly. Adam could not have received the information about the war in heaven or creation from anywhere else. However, Raphael’s extensive knowledge of these subjects stands in contrast to Raphael’s apparent knowledge of Adam’s own creation since Raphael says he “that day was absent, as befell,/Bound on a voyage uncouth and obscure,/Far on excursion toward the gates of Hell” (VIII, lines 229-231).  Raphael warns Adam that while curiosity is not a sin, Adam should be careful in what he seeks knowledge of: “heav’n is for thee too high/To know what passes there; be lowly wise:/Think only what concerns thee and thy being” (VIII, lines 172-174). The role of divine interpreter and tactful narrator becomes fused in this instance.

    As part of his role as advisor and mouthpiece for God, Raphael explains to Adam Satan’s rebellion in Book 6. The explanation is meant to make clear to Adam what the consequences are if he and Eve are not obedient and the rewards if they are. Satan and the other rebellious angels are cast down into Hell for their transgression, whereas the angels who fought on the side of God, the Son and Heaven celebrate with a “jubilee”. Raphael tells Adam that he must:

Beware

By what is past, to thee I have revealed

What might have else to human race been hid;

The discord which befell, and war in Heav’n

Among th’ angelic powers, and the deep fall

Of those too high aspiring, who rebelled

(lines 894-899)

Raphael hopes that by telling in detail the story of the war in heaven, that Adam will realize not only the consequences of disobedience but that he will also take seriously the threat that Satan poses: “With Satan, he who envies now thy state,/Who now is plotting how he may seduce/Thee also from obedience,” (lines 900-902).  Thus Raphael again fuses the roles of divine interpreter and tactful narrator.

MacCallum states that Raphael and Michael both serve similar functions in that they “both teach that love arises out of obedience to God, and that in this process the son plays a crucial role in producing unity. Both present the trial of obedience within the context of conflict, loss, and triumph, in which the creative and destructive powers of God are made manifest, and both stress the free response of the individual will as the source of growth.” (MacCallum 203). Raphael demonstrates this when he explains obedience to Adam against the backdrop of Satan’s rebellion.

Raphael also offers himself as a “model of perfection, advising that Adam can alter his own nature from human to angelic simply by obedience.” (Rosenblatt 148). This is in keeping with the Book of Tobit in that Raphael is sent to heal Tobit and Sarah. In many ways, Raphael being sent down to instruct Adam and Eve and serve as a model to them is a way to heal or save them. The information he offers them can lead to their salvation. They simply choose to make a different choice, and hence fall.  As Rosenblatt so clearly states, Raphael is supposed to be a model for what they can achieve if they try and are obedient, a model that they ultimately fail to live up to (Rosenblatt 149). Rosenblatt goes on to state that Raphael is a “Hebraic angel who begins his conversation with an implicit rejection of typology, asserting instead the interchange of matter and spirit.” (Rosenblatt 37). The purpose of this is to suggest that only through obedience to God, and recognition of their own human failings, will Adam and Eve know God. However, he goes on to argue that “Raphael’s purpose- and the law’s- is to prepare, admonish, and forewarn those who cannot be helped because they are doomed.” (Rosenblatt 67). This is a very different picture than Milton seems to want the reader to have of Raphael. Milton has God send Raphael to help and advise, but according to Rosenblatt, Adam and Eve cannot be helped because they are already doomed to fall. This contradicts Milton’s presentation of free will. Adam and Eve cannot be “doomed to fall” because that implies that the fall is predestined, when Milton has Raphael stress free will.

Raphael’s story of the war in heaven in Book 6 is the perfect lead in to the narration he gives in Book 7 because it works with the idea of the story as knowledge. Raphael instructs Adam on God’s story of creation. The idea of divine interpreter can be seen both in Raphael’s explanation of the order of the universe and the story of creation he tells to Adam. MacCallum supports Rosenblatt’s idea of divine interpreter when he says that “Raphael and Michael communicate God’s instructions to man, accommodating heavenly truth to human powers.” (MacCallum 7). It can also been seen in Raphael’s conversation with Adam about how humans, if they remain obedient can eventually become like angels. “God, we are told, who once formed angels into men, “has promised that He will one day form men into angels.”” (Carver 419).  Men will trade their bodies for a more ethereal presence.  This possibility of spiritual evolution is essential to understanding not only the relationship Milton is setting up between angels and humans but also where man fits within the universe.

    Adam’s own story of creation actually comes after Raphael’s explanation of the universe in Book 8. Adam asks, and Raphael, couching his explanation in the terms that God is amused by humans’ “quaint opinions” (line 78), explains how the universe is actually ordered. While this seems to be a departure from Raphael’s role as “Divine instructor”, it does recall the sense of relationship that Raphael sets up in Book 5 with the domestic scene with Adam and Eve and the implication of mishradic conversation. It is also followed by their exchange after Adam’s story of creation when Adam praises the enjoyment of conversing with Raphael. This is important because it presents a completely original view of angels, and Raphael in particular as personable creatures that man can easily relate to.

    Milton has Raphael make an interesting commentary after his explanation of the universe, in that he warns Adam to beware of the difference between outward and inward beauty and the dangers that potentially exist in Eve’s outward beauty. This episode brings into doubt Raphael’s authority, as it can be read that Raphael misunderstands why Adam loves Eve. Whereas before, the reader questions whether or not Raphael truly speaks for God, here the reader can see that Raphael must misunderstand Adam, as there is nothing in Adam’s explanation of his love for Eve that would lead to the need for a warning.  However, when taken in light of carver’s comment, there is no way Raphael can understand what Adam says as angels have no “bodily sense”. This episode serves as an interesting segway for Adam to ask Raphael the interesting question as to whether or not angels have sex. While Raphael doesn’t give an explicit answer, he does blush as he answers: “”Let it suffice thee that thou knw’st/Us happy, and without love no happiness.” (lines 620-621).  Again Milton creates a similarity between man and angels.

    When Raphael first appears to Adam and Eve, he appears to them in a corporeal body, as evidenced by Milton having him participate in their meal. According to Carver, having Raphael eat and exhale his nutrients is “repudiation of every conclusion deducible from “the common gloss,” and particularly of the conclusion elaborated by Duns Scotus.” (Carver 417).  Milton chooses to accentuate the commonality that humans and angels have, rather than follow the Biblical lead with having angels as remote, terrifying figures. However, Raphael is never introduced to Adam and Eve, and they never know his name. It is as though Milton wishes his characterization of Raphael to stand in for all angels.

Milton creates angels that enjoy the same things that humans do: “that angels enjoy their meals “On flours reposed” (V. 634) and take their leisure in “blissful Bowrs” (XI. 77)”. (Knott 487).  Raphael when he describes angelic food he “pictures an inviting natural world” (Knott 491). The banquet that he goes on to describe is elaborate, and yet has a lot in common with the domestic scene the reader witnesses between Raphael, Adam and Eve. The angels also sleep as humans do “enjoying a repose that we can only imagine as more complete than that of Adam and Eve in their Garden.” (Knott 491). Again, Milton stresses the similarities that exist between humans and angels. Just as Adam and Eve labor and then rest in their bower, so Milton stresses that his description of angels alternates “between images of service and of rest” (Knott 494). Knott states that while angels are described in Paradise Lost as soldiers and messengers the most satisfying job they have in heaven is their service to God and the Son. In this way, Milton again relates his angels to humans, as their greatest job is their obedience to God.

One major difference between the Biblical sources and Paradise Lost is the concept that the angels are subordinate to the Son. This is an issue that MacCallum addresses, in reference to Milton’s other writings: “Thus he speaks of the angels as being under Christ as their head, not their Redeemer (Works, XV, 101). Significantly, he rejects the Reformed view that the good angels retain their strength by the grace of God and are thus eager to participate in the mystery of man’s salvation.” (MacCallum 84). Milton changes this approach slightly in Paradise Lost; the majority of angels in Heaven are not heard from one way or another as to how they feel about the salvation of man. However, Milton does put Raphael in the unique position of being the mediator, the voice of God for Adam who warns and advises him. God specifically sends Raphael down to Earth to warn and advise Adam, so even if Raphael is not personally invested in man’s salvation, and the domestic scene at the beginning of Book 5 seems to belie this, God is.

When Milton chooses to greatly expand the Biblical text, it is a clue to the reader to pay close attention. In respect to the angels, Milton takes the greatest liberty next to his expansion of the creation story (which incidentally, he has an angel tell, thus acting in the role of Rosenblatt’s “tactful narrator”). Milton creates the modern image of an angel; relating to humans on a personal level, speaking the word of God and acting as a model for behavior. This personable characterization is the one most readers think of when they think of angels. In this way, the character of Raphael in Paradise Lost is responsible for the formation of the general public’s view of angels in general.

Works Cited

Carver, P.L. "The Angels in Paradise Lost." The Review of English Studies 16.64 (1940): 415-431.

Kerrigan, William, John Rumrich and Stephen M Fallon. The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton. New York: Modern Library Edition Random House, 2007.

Knott, John R. "Milton's Heaven." PMLA 85.3 (1970): 487-495.

MacCallum, Hugh. Milton and the Sons of God. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1986.

Rosenblatt, Jason. Torah and Law in Paradise Lost. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.

Suggs, M Jack, Katherine Doob Sakenfeld and James R. Mueller, The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

The Shield as the Physical Manifestation of Wish Fulfillment in Crétien de Troyes’ Cliges

    While Crétien de Troyes in his Arthurian Romance Cliges tells the story of both Cliges and his father Alexander, there exists an important parallel between Alexander and his brother, the emperor of Constantinople, Alis that relates to the heart of the medieval romance- wish fulfillment. The line “The shields made them take appearance for reality, like a man who dreams and takes a lie for the truth.” (Troyes 148) best illustrates this point by summing up both Alis and Alexander’s wish fulfillment. Alis wants to be emperor and Alexander wants to be a knight of Arthur’s court. The lie that Alis takes for truth is multifold.  He believes that his brother Alexander is dead when a disreputable messenger tells him the ship carrying Alexander to England sank. Alis also believes that he has had carnal knowledge of his wife Fenice, and later believes Fenice is dead. These beliefs are in fact the wish fulfillment of Alis. He wishes to be emperor, and so believes the lie of his brother’s death that allows him to be emperor. Alis wishes to marry Fenice, even though he breaks his word to Alexander in doing so and starts a war with the Duke of Saxony. It is not so much that Alis takes the lie for truth, as that he makes the lie become truth, as does his brother Alexander.

Alexander imagines that the only way to prove his worth is to travel to King Arthur’s court and become a knight. He feels it is the only way for him to seek the glory that he believes is his. The reader knows nothing of King Arthur’s court at this point, Troyes offers no description, yet the place has importance because Alexander gives it importance; having created a fantasy in which the only place where he can prove his worth is to travel to Arthur’s court and become a knight. This fantasy, or dream, is taken to be truth by Alexander.  Because he believes it is must be so.  Therefore, the story parallels how each of these characters make a dream true for themselves.

Alexander travels to England, and in order to earn his knighthood, leads his Greek troops in a campaign for Arthur against Count Angrés who betrayed Arthur in his stewardship. In order to gain access to a keep Alexander has his men don the shields and clothing of the Count’s men. Later, when the dead bodies of the Count’s men are found wearing the Greeks’ shields and clothing, the rest of Alexander’s men mourn him “The shields made them take appearance for reality”. The shield here represents the lies, the untruths that shield both Alexander and Alis from the truth that stands between them and the fulfillment of their dreams. In this case, the shield calls to mind the verb form, “to shield” because that is what it does for Alexander and Alis.  For Alexander, it shields him from the truth he does not with to face, that he can remain behind in Constantinople and earn his glory and valour.  For Alis, it shields him from the truth of Fenice and Cliges’ love as well as the truth that he has betrayed his brother.

An argument can be made that Alis is lead astray and helped along in his belief in these lies; the messenger tells him his brother is dead, Alis wants to believe he has carnal knowledge of Fenice, he sees her dead, however, even if Alis is duped in these situations he still wants to believe the lie; the shield that Alis has is entirely of his own making, as is Alexander’s.  Alexander has no proof that he can only prove himself at Arthur’s court; he knows only that “the king and his barons, who are so greatly renowned for courtesy and valour.” (Troyes 125) Alexander has created a fantasy about Arthur’s court that makes it the only place where he can prove his worth- where his wish of taking part in a courtly romance can come true. Alexander and Alis do not take appearance for reality; rather, they use their shields, their own beliefs, to create reality as they wish it. The shield not only protects them from the reality they do not want to recognize or be a part of but also projects itself outwards.  Alexander’s shield projects outward and convinces his father the emperor that Alexander should go to Arthur’s court whereas Alis’ shield projects outward shaping his marital and martial decisions as well as his death.  

Both characters initially get their wish fulfilled; Alexander does become a knight of King Arthur’s court, participates in a courtly romance and marries.  Alis becomes emperor and marries. The conclusion of the wish fulfillment is different for both men, and it is through these conclusions that a value judgment can be made in regards to the characters.  Alexander representing good, is given the true happy ending of his wish.  He achieves all he could ask for, and succeeds in making his initial fantasy fo Arthur’s court real enough that his son, Cliges follows in his footsteps. Alis on the other hand, represents evil and has a very different ending. As punishment for his betrayal of his promise to his brother, as well as the betrayal of standing in the way of the true love of Cliges and Fenice Alis has to watch his reality, as he has come to believe in it, the appearance of all he desires, crumble.  In a series of events that reveal the actual world, and not the one he has shielded himself within, Alis learns that not only is Fenice not dead, but that she and Cliges have both betrayed his. Alis cannot cope when he can no longer deny reality, and therefore goes insane and dies.

The shield at this point takes on a more symbolic meaning. For Alexander, it is the physical symbol of his knighthood and proof that he has fulfilled his wish. For Alis it is an ill omen, of soldiers being carried home dead on their shields. While these particular ends of the characters are not certain to the reader, at the mention of this line, it becomes apparent looking back, that this symbol of the shield is prophetic in the endings of the characters. This is particularly clear in regards to Alexander and Cliges. The culmination of Alexander’s wish is that he now has a son that can carry on the knightly tradition; there is someone to pick up Alexander’s shield and carry it forward. However, because Alexander has succeeded in making his fantasy world, his lie, the truth, Cliges has no need to create a better reality; instead, he must simply face the challenges that exist within that reality. Alis has no son, as he has never known Fenice; therefore no one is left to mourn Alis, and he leaves no legacy behind. Once Alis’ created fantasy is taken down, there is nothing left so not even the remnants of the lie he took for truth remain as a memorial.