2 Eyes in the 2nd Nun's Tale -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 18:01:17 03/31/08 Mon
Author: CS Holden
Subject: 2 Eyes in the 2nd Nun's Tale

I'm interested in how similar the language the Second Nun uses to describe truth and falsehood. She uses the metaphor of sight, which in the context of mimetic desire seems interesting to me. The terms she uses are "inward eye" and "outward eye."

See: "Celia turned and kissed him [Tiburce] on the breast / In joy that he beheld with inward eye / And saw the truth" (460).

And later:

Nothing you [Almachius] lack to make your outward eye
Totally blind, for what is seen by all
To be a stone you seek to glorify,
A senseless piece of stone that you would call
A god! Put out your hand and let it fall
Upon it, tough it, taste it! You will find
Your hand says 'Stone!' although your eyes are blind. (464)

At first glance, I figured she meant the outward eye to mean the eye that sees the material world, and the inward eye sees the spiritual world. But I think there's another possibility. Perhaps the inward eye is the one that seeks to find blame on oneself, and the outward eye looks at others, not only in imitation, but in accusation. She uses the language of stoning and blindness in conjunction, and I don't think that's accidental. Thoughts?

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