Theology And Literature: Rethinking Reader Responsibility

Theology and Literature This page intentionally left blank Theology and Literature: Rethinking Reader Responsibility Edited by Gaye Williams Ortiz and Clara A.B. Joseph THEOLOGY AND LITERATURE © Gaye Williams Ortiz and Clara A. B. Joseph, 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–7198–2 ISBN-10: 1–4039–7198–6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Theology and literature : rethinking reader responsibility / edited by Gaye Williams Ortiz and Clara A.B. Joseph. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. Contents: On reader responsibility: an introduction / Clara A.B. Joseph and Gaye Williams Ortiz—Some dilemmas of an ethics of literature / Liebeth Korthals Altes—Only irresponsible people would go into the desert for forty days / David Jasper—The ethics of biblical interpretation / Robert J. Hurley—Samuel Beckett’s use of the Bible and the responsibility of the reader / Spyridoula Athanasopoulou-Kypriou—On trial / Lewis Owens— Bible and ethics / Johannes Nissen—The playwright, the novelist, and the comedian / Dirk Visser—Dialogue in Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj or Indian home rule / Clara A.B. Joseph—Responsibly performing vulnerability / Erik Borgman—The “Indian” Character of modern Hindi drama / Diana Dimitrova—Film and apocryphal imitation of the Feminine / Elizabeth Philpot—Revolting fantasies / Alison Jasper—Literature as resistance / Dirk De Schutter. ISBN 1–4039–7198–6 1. Religion and literature. 2. Religion in literature. I. Ortiz, Gaye. II. Joseph, Clara A. B. PN49.T4446 2006 809⬘.93382—dc22 2005057422 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: May 2006 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. CONTENTS Notes on the Contributors vii The Editors xi On Reader Responsibility: An Introduction Clara A.B. Joseph and Gaye Williams Ortiz 1 Part 1 Chapter One Some Dilemmas of an Ethics of Literature Liesbeth Korthals Altes Part 2 Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five A Theory of Ethical Reading 15 Reading and the Biblical Only Irresponsible People would go into the Desert for Forty Days: Jim Crace’s Quarantine Or the Diary of another Madman David Jasper The Ethics of Biblical Interpretation: Rhetoricizing the Foundations Robert J. H