Seamus Haney and the Scapegoat Mechanism -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 10:24:03 04/15/08 Tue
Author: Erin Risch
Subject: Seamus Haney and the Scapegoat Mechanism

Seamus Haney saw parallels between the ritual killings of ancient Ireland and some of the practices of today. Here is a segment of his poem "Punishment", which is about a body that some archaeologists found preserved in a bog. The girl was about 14 years old and half of her head had been shaved before she was drowned in the bog. They theorized that she had been punished for adultery.

. . .
Little adultress,
before they punished you

you were flaxen-haired
undernourished, and your
tar-black face was beautiful.
My poor scapegoat,

I almost love you
but would have cast, I know,
the stones of silence.
I am the artful voyeur

of your brain's exposed
and darkened combs,
your muscles' webbing
and all your numbered bones:

I who have stood dumb
when your betraying sisters,
cauled in tar,
wept by the railings

who would connive
in civilized outrage
yet understand the exact
and tribal, intimate revenge."

According to my book, the Irish Republican Army often punished adultresses in a similar way, likewise shaving their heads, and then often stripping, tarring, and handcuffing them. Haney points out that even today, adultresses can be held as responsible for societal ills, but that that they are just scapegoats (as he himself names them) for larger societal problems. He also understands that while he feel immense pity for this girl, since he does not protest the modern-day adultresses, he would have been part of the mob in ancient Ireland, as well. It seems like one of the most important steps if you do desire not to turn around and scapegoat the scapegoaters is to own your own participation in the collective violence, as Haney does.

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