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Reading the Afterlife in the Renaissance a Theological Reading of Christopher Marlowe’S Doctor Faustus and William Shakespeare’S Hamlet

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Reading the Afterlife in the Renaissance a Theological Reading of Christopher Marlowe’S Doctor Faustus and William Shakespeare’S Hamlet Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres (FIAL) Reading the Afterlife in the Renaissance A Theological Reading of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet Mémoire réalisé par Asseline Sel Promoteur(s) Prof. Guido Latré Année académique 2016-2017 Master en langues et lettres modernes, orientation germaniques, à finalité approfondie Faculté de Philosophie, arts et lettres (FIAL) Reading the Afterlife in the Renaissance Theological Aspects of the Afterlife in Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet Mémoire réalisé par Asseline Sel Promoteur(s) Prof. Guido Latré Année académique 2016-2017 Master en langues et lettres modernes, orientation germaniques, à finalité approfondie Acknowledgements I would like to thank everyone who made the writing of this dissertation possible, directly or indirectly. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Guido Latré, for his continuous support and his precious advice during the writing of this Master dissertation, as well as for his precious guidance during the entirety of my curriculum. While allowing me to work independently and to develop my own path of research and methodology, he was always available and ready to provide me with useful advice and sources, whenever I felt the necessity to ask for guidance. Secondly, I am indebted to Professor Dirk Delabastita for accepting to be the second reader of this dissertation. I am particularly indebted to Professor Michael Neills, Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and Shakespearian scholar, for his willingness to provide assistance in obtaining sources. Finally, I must express my deep gratitude to my family and friends. I would particularly like to thank my parents, grandparents, and my sister Émilie for their unfailing support, advice, and infinite patience during the entirety of my University years and the writing of this Master dissertation. I would also like to acknowledge my friends for their moral support and encouragements, in particular my best friends Céline, Clélia, and Francesca. Finally, I must express my deep gratitude to my partner Corentin for his unfailing support, his patience, and his reassuring words and presence during moments of doubts. Thank you. Table des matières Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5 Chapter I – Historical background ............................................................................................. 9 1. Protestantism and Catholicism: Historical context ............................................................ 9 2. Catholic and Protestant conceptions of the afterlife ......................................................... 10 2.1. Purgatory ...................................................................................................................... 10 2.2. Locating the afterlife .................................................................................................... 12 2.3. Interacting with the dead: hauntings, remembrance, and prayers ................................ 14 2.4. Providence, predestination, and repentance ................................................................. 16 Chapter II – Main critical and theoretical trends: an overview of previous interpretations ..... 21 1. Doctor Faustus: the problems of a Protestant morality play ........................................... 21 2. Hamlet: some early problems and previous interpretations ............................................. 27 Chapter III – Elements of the afterlife in Doctor Faustus ....................................................... 35 1. Status of the afterlife ........................................................................................................ 35 1.1. “He confounds Hell in Elysium”: Hell as a place of philosophy or a state of suffering 35 1.2. The root of all evil. On Faustus’s self-delusional materialism and literal interpretations 38 1.3. The demonic world ....................................................................................................... 41 2. Boundaries of the afterlife ................................................................................................ 45 2.1. On the representation of boundaries in the play ........................................................... 45 2.2. Striving for the divine: on Faustus’s pride ................................................................... 46 2.3. Demonic deception ....................................................................................................... 49 3. Predestination and the impossibility of repentance .......................................................... 50 3.1. Early signs of apostasy in the play ............................................................................... 51 3.2. “I do repent, yet I do despair”: drowning further into heresy ...................................... 53 3.2.1. First hesitations......................................................................................................... 53 3.2.2. Trying to wake Faustus’s conscience: on the old man scene ................................... 54 3.2.3. The final scene.......................................................................................................... 56 4. Critical assessment of the elements found in the play: possible subversions or criticisms 57 4.2. Re-assessing Faustus’s materialism ............................................................................. 61 Partial conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 63 Chapter IV – Elements of the afterlife in Hamlet .................................................................... 65 1. Status of the afterlife ........................................................................................................ 65 3 1.1. From a Protestant scholar to a doubter ......................................................................... 65 1.2. “The undiscovered country”: Hamlet’s loss of religious reference points and the soliloquy on suicide .................................................................................................................. 70 2. Boundaries of the afterlife ................................................................................................ 72 2.1. Contradictory attitudes ................................................................................................. 72 2.2. Earthly and divine transgression – Hamlet and Laertes ............................................... 75 2.3. “How is it that the clouds still hang on you?”: On grief, mourning and burial ............ 77 3. Predestination, repentance, and confession ...................................................................... 80 3.1. “There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow”: Hamlet’s statements on predestination ........................................................................................................................... 81 3.2. On the Prayer Scene ..................................................................................................... 82 3.3. On confession and repentance ...................................................................................... 86 3.4. Hamlet’s destiny – the resolution ................................................................................. 87 4. Critical assessment of the elements found in the play: possible conclusions and subversions ............................................................................................................................... 90 4.1. On the characters’ destinies .......................................................................................... 90 4.2. “Blurry doctrinal boundaries” and the issue of England .............................................. 93 Partial conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 94 Chapter V – Doctor Faustus and Hamlet: a confrontation ...................................................... 97 1. A generally Protestant representation of the afterlife ....................................................... 97 1.1. General comments and conclusions on the status of the afterlife ................................ 98 1.2. General comments and conclusions on the boundaries of the afterlife ........................ 99 1.3. General comments and conclusions on predestination and providence ..................... 100 2. Potential wider cultural implications .............................................................................. 101 2.1. Possible educational, theological, and political subversions ...................................... 101 2.2. On the Renaissance man............................................................................................. 103 2.3. On nostalgia ................................................................................................................ 105 2.4. Traditionalist views versus social criticism: conclusive remarks .............................. 106 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 109 Bibliography
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