Where then is my hope? Who will see my hope? Will it go down to the bars of Sheol? Shall we descend together into the dust? –Job 17:15-16 Job is my favourite character in the Bible, because he has something that I admire but lack, namely, perfect moral integrity. He is someone who can stand before the judgment seat and challenge the justice of God, for though he is blameless, he has endured […]
Read moreTag: despair
“The Tragedy of Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
[Posted on the day of the Boston Marathon bombing] The Tragedy of Macbeth is a psychological portrayal of two murderers, deceived by illusions, goaded by ambitions, and driven to despair. Two people, though alive, yet were long dead. Kierkegaard would characterize Macbeth as in despair wanting to be himself, because he was past the point of no return, and Lady Macbeth in despair not wanting to be herself, because she […]
Read more
“Medea” by Euripides
Despair, Anger and Hatred “Anger arises from offences against oneself, enmity may arise …because of what we take to be their character. Anger is accompanied by pain, hatred is not;… for the one would have the offenders suffer for what they have done; the other would have them cease to exist.” –Aristotle in “Rhetoric“ Medea, princess of Colchis and granddaughter of Helios, was both angry and hateful toward her husband Jason, […]
Read more
“The Sickness Unto Death” by Søren Kierkegaard
What is Despair? “Just as a physician might say there isn’t a single human being who enjoys perfect health, so someone with a proper knowledge of man might say there is not a single human being who does not despair at least a little, in whose innermost being there does not dwell an uneasiness, an unquiet, a discordance, an anxiety in the face of an unknown something, or a something […]
Read more“A Confession” by Leo Tolstoy
Tolstoy wrote this book shortly after he finished “Anna Karenina”. He was in his early 50s, in full possession of his mental and physical powers. wealthy, famous and well-respected, and yet he despaired of life so much that he was on the verge of suicide. This state of mind is also partly reflected in the character of Levin in “Anna Karenina”. This book gives a candid, stunning account of the […]
Read more