Also on lines 224/230 "The seraph with his six flamingo wings,/ And
Flemish hells with porcupines and things?".
There is the irony in "The grand potato" ( Rabelais reference to God as
"peut-être", a great "perhaps") .
A spiritualist longing for "an after life" is not necessarily exempt of
Christian influence, as are references to "Hell"as we can check
with K's note to line 493: " a serious conception
of any form of afterlife inevitably and necessarily presuposes some degreee of
belief in Providence; and, conversely, deep Christian faith presupposes some
belief in some sort of spiritual survival... In fact, a good Zemblan Christian
is taught that true faith is not there to suppply... Ecstatically one forefeels
the wastness of the Divine Embrace...When the soul adores Him Who guides it
through mortal life, when it distinguishes His sign at every turn of the
trail..."
Kinbote, in his commentary could write: " and I
knew that whatever my agnostic friend might say in denial, at that moment Our
Lord was with him". Also, on Line 549: " For a
Christian, no Beyond is acceptable or imaginable without the participation of
God in our eternal destiny... I had mentioned...certain differences between my
Church and his...Zemblan brand of Protestantism is rather closely related to the
'higher' churches of the Anglican Communion... The Reformation...;our liturgy...
Sybil Shade came from a Catholic family... She had weaned her husband not only
from the Episcopal Church of his fathers, but from all forms of sacramental
worship..." Plus discussions bt. K and Shade on Original Sin, Cain and Abel,
Higher Intelligence... and a lot about Saint Agostine. I'm trying to find the
right name for that Universal Mind, or First Cause,or the Absolute, or Nature, I
submit that the Name of God has priority".
The scholars are Donne, Pope, even Samuel Johnson
cannot be understood if we exclude his Protestant England culture. There is
Catholic T.S.Eliot, religious Oskar Pfister. Even the word "philistines" has a
biblical ring.
Despite all the depreciative remarks,
religious themes abound. Even in the Index there is an entry for "religion" (
items: contact with God; the Pope; freedom of mind; problem of sin and faith;
see suicide.)
Jansy
......................................................................................
Excerpt from Carolyn Kunin's note to Jerry Friedman's "No other Christianity is mentioned in the book, right? (Except the
Pope.)" "Besides the Pope, I can recall (St.) Francis Xavier, and
St. Augustine and "dear Jesus" are mentioned. Also two of the three Magi
(Balthasar and Melchior) are mentioned by name and the third Caspar may be
referred to (the dark gardener who Kinbote arrays in eastern finery)."