Re: Problems of Catharsis -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 20:24:04 03/15/08 Sat
Author: Erin Risch
Subject: Re: Problems of Catharsis
In reply to: JPJ II 's message, "Problems of Catharsis" on 19:05:56 03/09/08 Sun

I was thinking about the necessity of believing in the guilt of the victim today as I was reading Till We Have Faces. So far it seems that Lewis portrays Glome's religion as pretty nearly a perfect reflection of pagan religion and then uses Orual, Psyche, and the Fox to comment on that. Anyway, the priest of Ungit declares that for the Great Offering, an animal, thief, or captive of war will not work. It has to be "the Accursed."

When people stop believing in the victim's guilt (here I am referring to ritual), a breakdown of the sacrificial system occurs, in this case calling for a new, real moment of violence. The priest of Ungit senses that if an animal or nearly-animalistic-human (thief, barbarian) were sacrificed, most of the people would be passive, that is, watching but not believing in the guilt of the victim. A new, stronger, "more guilty" victim must be found.

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