Padre Ignacio Blazon: the Reality of the Soul
Padre Ignacio Blazon:
The Reality of the Soul
L. Tamlin
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Religion has forever been, and perhaps will forever be the most controversial topic of humanity. It is arguably one of the greatest characteristics of humankind, and yet it is also one of, if not the biggest cause of violence throughout history. One could spend an entire lifetime attempting to determine exactly what it is about religion that causes such violence. But many would agree at least, that it is interesting that the history and scriptures of most of the world’s religions speak of war and violence, as they preach of peace and love. As a result of this, it becomes easy for many individuals to become lost within their own personal interpretation of religious material. This widespread problem is why so much literature of every language revolves around such issues of religious understanding. Within the novel Fifth Business, Robertson Davies uses the character of Padre Ignacio Blazon to suggest that true spiritual understanding requires more than being a dogmatizing member of the church, or any religious establishment. This is accomplished by first establishing Blazon as the “wise old man” archetype, then by pointing out the benefits and limitations of organized religion, and finally by delivering his overall message about faith.
From the first few pages of Blazon’s appearance within the novel, it becomes axiomatic that he represents the wise old man archetype. Davies does this in order to not only solidify Blazon’s later message about faith to the reader, but also to ensure that the reader takes his message seriously; any audience is unlikely to give thought to anything said by a character who is a known fool. Although it must first be proven that Blazon’s character meets three common criterion of the wise old man archetype. The first, is that the character must be seen in some way to
The Reality of the Soul
L. Tamlin
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Religion has forever been, and perhaps will forever be the most controversial topic of humanity. It is arguably one of the greatest characteristics of humankind, and yet it is also one of, if not the biggest cause of violence throughout history. One could spend an entire lifetime attempting to determine exactly what it is about religion that causes such violence. But many would agree at least, that it is interesting that the history and scriptures of most of the world’s religions speak of war and violence, as they preach of peace and love. As a result of this, it becomes easy for many individuals to become lost within their own personal interpretation of religious material. This widespread problem is why so much literature of every language revolves around such issues of religious understanding. Within the novel Fifth Business, Robertson Davies uses the character of Padre Ignacio Blazon to suggest that true spiritual understanding requires more than being a dogmatizing member of the church, or any religious establishment. This is accomplished by first establishing Blazon as the “wise old man” archetype, then by pointing out the benefits and limitations of organized religion, and finally by delivering his overall message about faith.
From the first few pages of Blazon’s appearance within the novel, it becomes axiomatic that he represents the wise old man archetype. Davies does this in order to not only solidify Blazon’s later message about faith to the reader, but also to ensure that the reader takes his message seriously; any audience is unlikely to give thought to anything said by a character who is a known fool. Although it must first be proven that Blazon’s character meets three common criterion of the wise old man archetype. The first, is that the character must be seen in some way to