The Affirming Flame: Religion, Language, Literature

187 Pages·1988·0.76 MB·English

by  David Patterson

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title: The Affirming Flame : Religion, Language, Literature
author: Patterson, David.
publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
isbn10 | asin: 0806121092
print isbn13: 9780806121093
ebook isbn13: 9780806170046
language: English
subject Language and languages--Religious aspects, Religion and
literature.
publication date: 1988
lcc: BL65.L2P38 1988eb
ddc: 200
subject: Language and languages--Religious aspects, Religion and
literature.
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Page iii
The Affirming Flame
Religion, Language, Literature
By David Patterson
University of Oklahoma Press: Norman and London

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Page iv
By David Patterson
Faith and Philosophy (Washington, D.C., 1982)
(Translator) Confession, by Leo Tolstoy (New York, 1983)
(Translator) The Forged Coupon, by Leo Tolstoy (New York, 1984)
(Translator) Diary of a Superfluous Man, by Ivan Turgenev (New York, 1984)
The Way of the Child (Houston, 1988)
(Translator) Winter Notes on Summer Impressions, by F. M. Dostoevsky (Evanston, Ill., 1988)
The Affirming Flame (Norman, 1988)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Patterson, David.
The affirming flame: religion, language, literature / by David
Patterson. 1 st ed.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8061-2109-2 (alk. paper)
1. LanguagesReligious aspects. 2. Religion and literature.
1. Title.
BL65.L2P38 1988
200dc19 87-30026
CIP
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book
Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc.
Copyright © 1988 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University. Manufactured in the
U.S.A. First edition.

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Page v
FOR MY PARENTS

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Page vii
CONTENTS
Preface ix
1. Opening Remarks: Why Religion, Language, Literature? 3
Part One: Literary Logos and Literary Criticism 19
2. The Johannine Logos and Literary Criticism 21
3. Lacan's Parole and the Literary Critic 37
4. Dostoevsky's Dvoinik per Lacan's Parole 58
Part Two: Religious Concepts of Language and Literature 75
5. Mikhail Bakhtin and the Dialogical Dimensions of the Novel 77
6. The Apotheosis of Presence: Buber, Wiesel, and Hasidism 93
Part Three: Messianic Elements of Language and Literature 115
7. Messianic Aspects of the Child in the Works of Elie Wiesel 117

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Page viii
8. Paltiel's Quest for the Messiah in Wiesel's The Testament 135
9. Conclusion 152
Notes 159
Select Bibliography 169
Index 173

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Page ix
PREFACE
In these chapters I attempt to develop a few strands of thought to establish some integration and interrelation of religion,
language, and literature. Focusing on the selected particulars represented in this volume, I set out to offer the reader a general
sense of the religious dimensions of language and literature, the linguistic elements of religion and literature, and the literary
aspects of religion and language. The religious tradition I draw most upon is Judeo-Christian, and I draw upon only a small
portion of that tradition. If it seems that I indulge in a curious interplay of Judaism and Christianity and at times lump some of
their ideas together, it is because I am more concerned with how they are joined according to the spirit than with how they are
separated according to the letter.
I harbor no illusions about the distance between the vast horizons of this book's subject and the modest scope of its treatment. At
best, I but scratch a few surfaces. My hope, however, is that in scratching those surfaces I may plant some seeds that will grow
and thus bring something up from the depths and into the light. As for the soil in which these seeds are planted, philosophers of
religion, philosophers of language, literary critics, and literary theorists might find these chapters of interest. Certainly among
the people in my audience will be those who have a concern for the ties that bind religion, language, and literature, and that
could include a good number and variety of thinkers. To be sure, the three

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Page x
areas cited in the book's title pervade our intellectual, spiritual, and emotional existence; for religion is the soul, language the
substance, and literature the song of life.
Finally, on a formal note, it should be pointed out that, unless indicated otherwise, all translations are my own. I would also like
gratefully to acknowledge two periodicals, which published earlier versions of two of the chapters in this book. Chapter 4 is
based on the article "Dostoevsky's Dvoinik per Lacan's Parole," which appeared in Essays in Literature, 10 (Fall 1983), 299307,
and Chapter 5 is based on "Mikhail Bakhtin and the Dialogical Dimensions of the Novel," which was published in the Journal
of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 44 (Winter 1985), 13139.
DAVID PATTERSON
STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA

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