Joan E Liut answers “I'm a bit confused as to what the purpose...”

Sarah Bourdeau asked this question about The Wind in the Willows:

I'm a bit confused as to what the purpose of the demigod in the book was. It felt like a random thing in the middle of the book and like it didn't really fit in. Does anybody know or have any ideas as to why it was included?

Joan E Liut This is a very Christian scene. Pan is the divine incarnate, like Christ. I see it as quite devout and religious.

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Johanna 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 ...more
Aug 19, 2020 06:25AM · flag

Belinda Mellor 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 ...more
May 29, 2022 02:04PM · flag

Benjamin Stahl 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 ...more
Oct 05, 2022 05:43PM · flag

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The Wind in the Willows

by Kenneth Grahame

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