Opposites Attract -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 13:52:06 03/06/08 Thu
Author: Caitlin
Subject: Opposites Attract

Alright, while reading Chapter 3 of Violence and the Sacred I kept getting hit with the idea of opposites in eternal continuity. One attracts the other which, in turn, attracts the first back. Think of light and darkness. There is a saying: "The brighter the light, the darker the shadow". In reading Violence and the Sacred, there are a few quotes that I think fit with this whole idea of the attraction of opposites.

"Indeed, in all such myths [like Oedipus Rex] the hero draws to himself a violent reaction, whose effects are felt throughout the community" (87).

"For order to be reborn, disorder must first triumph; for myths to achieve their complete integration, they must first suffer total disintegration" (79).

"The mechanism of reciprocal violence can be described as a vicious circle. Once a community enters the circle, it is unable to extricate itself" (81).

I think that the application and contemplation of this "vicious circle" is intriguing. There never is one without the other. Good/bad. Health/sickness. Happiness/sadness. Light/dark. Violence/peace. Each opposite attracts the other in a cycle that never seems to end. If one is sick, it is only a matter of time before you are healthy and vice versa. I suppose you could say it's The Cycle of Life. Nice, huh?

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Replies:

Re: Opposites Attract -- Jonathan Dunn, 18:40:03 03/09/08 Sun