An Argument Against Cain
Certainly, in the story of Cain and Abel as told in the Bible, Cain represents evil. The reader is supposed to feel disgust at his actions, and your feeling of moral superiority is reinforced when he is weak before God because he had such hubris.
But what is interesting about the N-Town Plays version of the story is the detail with which Cain's perspective is laid out. The play gives a fair amount of time to allow Cain to explain his opinion before rejecting it. The majority of the play is simply an exposition of his view that he can get away with giving God the worst tithes and that his wealth will keep him happy without God.
By giving more time to explain Cain's viewpoint the play manages to argue against that viewpoint more fully because you must fully explain the opposing viewpoint before you can effectively argue against it.
But what is interesting about the N-Town Plays version of the story is the detail with which Cain's perspective is laid out. The play gives a fair amount of time to allow Cain to explain his opinion before rejecting it. The majority of the play is simply an exposition of his view that he can get away with giving God the worst tithes and that his wealth will keep him happy without God.
By giving more time to explain Cain's viewpoint the play manages to argue against that viewpoint more fully because you must fully explain the opposing viewpoint before you can effectively argue against it.
Although I agree that N-Town Plays establishes a detailed foundation of Cain's perspective so that the reader can see the selfishness of his actions, I don't believe that Cain represents evil. I believe instead that Cain represents the impulsive and selfish tendencies that all humans feel, while Abel represents a pure soul that we all strive to obtain. Cain needed to kill Abel because he knew that his soul wasn't pure but wasn't ready to face that fact. Instead, to feel in control, he killed the only evidence of his selfish ways, his pure and selfless brother.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it's so certain that Cain represents evil. He's definitely an example of how not to act, but evil is a little harsh. Either way, I like your idea about allowing Cain to express his thoughts so that they can be combatted. I never thought about that, since it seems like most of the time today, people trying to oppose the opinions of others want to cut off as much exposure to their thoughts as possible. Maybe this is due to today's age of impatience, but it certainly seems like they took a more thoughtful approach in this play.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the reason the N-town play gave Cain more time to explain his actions is because they needed to draw out the story more because it was a play or might it have been because they wanted the audience to be able to sympathize more with Cain by making him more relatable so we understood his actions further?
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