Deterring Violence -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 09:03:27 03/21/08 Fri
Author: Erin Risch
Subject: Deterring Violence

We've talked before about the three methods for deterring violence (sacrifice, compensatory measures, and a judicial system) and their varying levels of efficacy. As I was reading Till We Have Faces, in which all three are present, it occurred to me that Christ's turn-the-other-cheek model (mercy) ought to be linked with this idea as well, as the fourth level of violence deterrence and also the one with the possibility for the greatest efficacy (although, as Girard has discussed, especially in the interview Dr. Jackson gave us, this model has no guarantee and provides no easy recipe for peace and harmony).

Just by way of explanation, in Till We Have Faces, Glome uses sacrificial violence to forestall communal disorder. Glome is pagan through and through, and Lewis, in giving an accurate and understanding picture of primitive cultures, reflects Girardian principles in his portrayal of Glome. Orual, who is conscious of the scapegoat mechanism to a certain degree (mostly because of her conviction that Psyche is innocent and unrelated to the plague/drought), progresses to compensatory measures, engaging in a trial by combat when Trunia enters Glome and war threatens the country. When Orual, who still has no understanding of self-sacrifice, brings her complaint against the gods, Lewis uses a judicial system, with a judge who answers the accusations with one question, "Are you answered?" This is the structure of a judicial system with a prefiguration of mercy, for no punishment is handed down. Finally, although the Fox says that Orual is to be accused by the gods, she never truly is; she instead sees her life and the gods' actions unveiled so that she might understand self-sacrifice and leave the notion of propitiated gods behind. This is truly mercy and forgiveness.

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