Joan E Liut’s answer to “I'm a bit confused as to what the purpose of the demigod in the book was. It felt like a random thi…” > Likes and Comments
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Pan was a pagan deity known, among other things, for violent rape. I don't consider this scene Christian at all. It seems bizarrely out of place with the rest of the book, and, as a Christian myself, I found it to be an extremely disturbing interjection to an otherwise very moral and enjoyable tale which is left off without any explanation to the reader...very odd.
I'm not sure 'Christian' is the right word. However, you are right, it is a very spiritual scene. I think anyone of any faith could read a lot into it and take a lot out of it. To counter another comment: as a Christian myself, I found this to be a really beautiful scene
Agreed. One can take the scene, if they are Christian, as a random and off-putting injection of paganism into an otherwise gallantly moral story. But I think any polytheistic or pagan undertones can be forgiven here, given we are dealing with the animal kingdom, for whom Pan is symbolised as the divine incarnation. I think anyone with a spiritual awareness can appreciate this scene for the sheer transcendent beauty. It is my favourite chapter, though I am a not-remotely-pagan Catholic.
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Johanna
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Aug 19, 2020 06:25AM
Pan was a pagan deity known, among other things, for violent rape. I don't consider this scene Christian at all. It seems bizarrely out of place with the rest of the book, and, as a Christian myself, I found it to be an extremely disturbing interjection to an otherwise very moral and enjoyable tale which is left off without any explanation to the reader...very odd.
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I'm not sure 'Christian' is the right word. However, you are right, it is a very spiritual scene. I think anyone of any faith could read a lot into it and take a lot out of it. To counter another comment: as a Christian myself, I found this to be a really beautiful scene
Agreed. One can take the scene, if they are Christian, as a random and off-putting injection of paganism into an otherwise gallantly moral story. But I think any polytheistic or pagan undertones can be forgiven here, given we are dealing with the animal kingdom, for whom Pan is symbolised as the divine incarnation. I think anyone with a spiritual awareness can appreciate this scene for the sheer transcendent beauty. It is my favourite chapter, though I am a not-remotely-pagan Catholic.
