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Marilynne Robinson's Gilead As Modern Midrash Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2010-11-29 Marilynne Robinson's Gilead as Modern Midrash Robert J. Taggart Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Classics Commons, and the Comparative Literature Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Taggart, Robert J., "Marilynne Robinson's Gilead as Modern Midrash" (2010). Theses and Dissertations. 2445. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2445 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Marilynne Robinson‟s Gilead as Modern Midrash Robbie Taggart A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts V. Stanley Benfell, Chair George Handley Susan Howe Department of Comparative Studies Brigham Young University December 2010 Copyright © 2010 Robbie Taggart All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Marilynne Robinson‟s Gilead as Modern Midrash Robbie Taggart Department of Comparative Studies Master of Arts It is the intent of this project to show that Marilynne Robinson‟s novel Gilead might be profitably read within the context of the rabbinical exegetical tradition of midrash. It examines Gilead as a midrashic retelling of the Abraham story in the Bible, and shows how reading it in this light illuminates some of the key theological and social concerns at play in the novel. Midrash offers a unique model for reading Gilead because it combines elements of intertextuality, narrative theology and formal exegesis. Since midrash provides the framework for such a reading of Gilead, the first chapter discusses some of the theoretical issues surrounding the practice of midrash. The second chapter traces elements of the Abraham story from Genesis as retold in Gilead. Finally, the third chapter discusses the theological and social implications of reading Gilead as a midrashic retelling of the biblical story, thereby revealing Robinson‟s theology which emphasizes the holiness of the everyday. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to Professors Benfell, Handley, and Howe for their invaluable assistance with this project. This work is dedicated to Julie—my Sarah; and to Lydia, Emerson, and Oliver— Isaacs all. Taggart iv Table of Contents Introduction: Marilynne Robinson‟s Gilead as Modern Midrash................................................... 1 Introduction: A Voice From the Dust ......................................................................................... 1 Popular Reception of Gilead ....................................................................................................... 2 Midrash and Reception Aesthetics.............................................................................................. 3 Gilead as Midrashic Retelling of Abraham Narrative ................................................................ 7 Chapter I: “Breathe It into Flame Again”: Toward an Understanding of Midrash ...................... 11 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 11 Balancing Tradition and Originality ......................................................................................... 14 Midrash, the Bible, and Intertextuality ................................................................................. 14 Revising the Story/ Respecting the Source ........................................................................... 18 The Demand for Midrash: Inexhaustibility of Biblical Texts ............................................... 20 Midrash: A Hermeneutics of Love ....................................................................................... 22 Narrative Theology ................................................................................................................... 24 “Perhapses”/Fiction/Imagination as Revelation ....................................................................... 29 The Novel as Midrash? ......................................................................................................... 29 Literature, Religion, and Imagination ................................................................................... 32 Beyond the Text: Orthopraxy versus Orthodoxy ...................................................................... 35 Modern Midrash........................................................................................................................ 38 Chapter II: “Fortuitous Resemblances”: Echoes of Abraham in Gilead ...................................... 43 Introduction: Abraham and the Prodigal Son ........................................................................... 43 “Fortuitous Resemblances” ....................................................................................................... 48 “Fortuitous Resemblances” in Rabbinic Midrash ................................................................. 49 Naming and Names ............................................................................................................... 51 Fathers and Sons ....................................................................................................................... 53 Traces of Abraham and Isaac in Gilead ................................................................................ 53 Abraham and Ishmael / Ames and Jack ................................................................................ 57 Abraham and Terah............................................................................................................... 63 Abrahams in Gilead .................................................................................................................. 65 John Ames I as Abraham ...................................................................................................... 69 John Ames II as Abraham ..................................................................................................... 72 John Ames “Jack” Boughton as Abraham ............................................................................ 77 Taggart v Thematic Similarities Between Gilead and Genesis: Blessing and Laughter........................... 79 Blessing ................................................................................................................................. 79 Laughter ................................................................................................................................ 82 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 85 Chapter III: “The Eternal Breaking in on the Temporal”: The Holiness of the Everyday in Gilead ....................................................................................................................................................... 86 Introduction: Perceiving Holiness............................................................................................. 86 The Holy Everyday: The This-Worldliness of Robinson‟s Theology ...................................... 88 Visions and Vision ................................................................................................................ 91 The Holiness of Humanity ........................................................................................................ 93 The Humanity of the Ancients .............................................................................................. 95 Anthropomorphic God or Theomorphic Man?: Revealing God in Humanity ...................... 99 Affirmation of Mind ........................................................................................................... 103 Exaltation of Women .......................................................................................................... 105 Racial Themes ..................................................................................................................... 110 Applying a Theology of the Holy Everyday: Communions ................................................... 112 Conclusion: “The Ballad They Sing in the Streets” ................................................................ 114 Conclusion: Continuing the Conversation .................................................................................. 117 Biblical Gilead: Symbol of Hope ............................................................................................ 117 The Purpose of Midrash: Continuing the Conversation ......................................................... 120 Midrash Engenders Midrash ................................................................................................... 124 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 125 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................ 127 Taggart 1 Introduction: Marilynne Robinson‟s Gilead as Modern Midrash He who leaves a son toiling in the Torah is as though he had not died. —Genesis (Vayera) Rabbah XLIX, 4 Introduction: A Voice From the Dust In Marilynne Robinson‟s second novel, Gilead, the aging and ailing Reverend
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