Decreation: How Women Like Sappho, Marguerite Porete, and Simone Weil Tell God
Publication Type |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication |
2002 |
Author |
|
Journal |
Common Knowledge |
Volume |
8 |
Number |
1 |
Pages |
188-203 |
Language |
English |
Keywords |
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Annotation |
This article looks at how three women in very different times and places attempted to ‘tell ‘or paradoxically ‘not tell’ about God. Carson begins with the ancient Greek poet Sappho, analyzing a poem that is overtly about jealously, yet ultimately might be interpreted as more about ecstasy and a leaving behind of the self. She then discusses the fourteenth century Christian mystic Marguerite Porete, again focusing on the theme of jealously in her mystical writing. Finally, Carson turns to Weil, who she sees as exemplifying the desire to leave or annihilate the self. In the latter part of the essay, Carson argues all three women embodied the paradox of being writers something that is an act of self –assertiveness, while at the same time, expressing a desire to annihilate the self. Ultimately she argues, all three of these women deal with this paradox by displacing the self, setting it at a distance. Such acts of ‘decreation’, she concludes, carry both great value and great risk. |