Allegory, Animality, and Anagogy: Beyond a Moral Interpretation of George Saunders’s “Escape from Spiderhead”
This essay draws on the philosophy of Emmanuel Falque to argue that George Saunders’s story, “Escape from Spiderhead,” should be read as allegory and anagogy, as well as on literal and moral levels. I argue, therefore, that Saunders’s story follows the book of Revelation in presenting a world tempor...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Johns Hopkins University Press
2023
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| In: |
Christianity & literature
Year: 2023, Volume: 72, Issue: 3, Pages: 460-477 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture HC New Testament NBE Anthropology VA Philosophy |
| Further subjects: | B
Phenomenology
B Emmanuel Falque B George Saunders |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This essay draws on the philosophy of Emmanuel Falque to argue that George Saunders’s story, “Escape from Spiderhead,” should be read as allegory and anagogy, as well as on literal and moral levels. I argue, therefore, that Saunders’s story follows the book of Revelation in presenting a world temporarily governed by a false power. Furthermore, like Falque’s interpretation of Christian sacraments, Saunders draws attention to the biological and animal aspects of human nature. Finally, Saunders’s story locates redemption after the main character’s death. The essay thus responds to criticism that Saunders’s stories fail to achieve their moral ends. |
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| ISSN: | 2056-5666 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christianity & literature
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/chy.2023.a910035 |