The myth of creation is played out in miniature in the monastery: The monk and the abbot play the roles of creature and Creator, respectively. The monk promises to renounce the “ways of the world” and return to God, reversing the myth of the Garden of Eden and reordering life entirely in order to seek God. The Genesis account of creation and the fall recounts the act of man’s disobedience, of wanting to be like God. Man is initially at home with God and, after the fall, becomes homeless, wanders the earth, and seeks only to return home. The monastery symbolizes a second chance to live a
...more
