Searching for the Self: Classic Stories, Christian Scripture, and the Quest for Personal Identity

by Adrian T. Smith

In my vocation as professor, I obtain guidance from V. Propp’s study of Russian folktales.492 He mentions two minor archetypal functions in quest narratives—the “dispatcher” and the “donor.” If I imagine my students as protagonists, here’s how these minor roles help me become part of their story. The “dispatcher” informs the hero of the absence of something essential to life, and provokes the hero’s journey to find what is missing. How (I ask myself) can I help students see their need for wisdom? (Especially those who already have all the answers before they arrive at seminary, and only enrolled for the diploma.) Once students begin their quest for wisdom, they eventually need a “donor”—someone who imparts a gift to be unwrapped in the future, in the hour of great need, to ensure the successful completion of their quest for wisdom. In class, I sometimes propose ideas that make little sense in students’ present intellectual framework—ideas that may prove surprisingly helpful once that framework has collapsed.