Horizons of Grace: Marilynne Robinson and Simone Weil

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

2005

Author

Ryan, Katy

Journal

Philosophy and Literature

Volume

29

Number

2

Pages

349-364

Language

English

Publish Dates

October

Keywords

affliction (malheur)
decreation
Robinson, Marilynne
suffering
void

Annotation

The author examines Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping through the lens of Simone Weil’s thoughts on suffering, waiting, detachment and attention as found in her works Gravity and Grace and Waiting for God. Robinson’s novel, Ryan contends, provides a dramatic example of Weil’s notions of decreation and the acceptance of the void created by suffering which in turn, through the refusal to seek consolation and explanation for such suffering, allows one to find value in it.