Heresy by Sabina
Berman, I think, is very similar to The
Crucible by Arthur Miller. In the two stories, the victims are accused of
pagan practices or witchcraft, which are both intangible and difficult to
gather hard evidence for; thus, it becomes very easy to accuse others of these
heretical practices. Just like how the characters in The Crucible are only able
to gather evidence of witchcraft by word of mouth, the people accused of
paganism in Heresy are convicted
based on this “spectral evidence” as well. There is no way the inquisitors can
know if someone is truly a Catholic or Jew— unless, of course, they find a
Jewish Bible and other religious items. However, largely, it is difficult to
prove what someone may actually believe in.
In picture 3 scene 2 of the play, Luis De Carbajal says, “My
God says he’s the only one. Yours, I’ve heard, says he’s the only one as well.
Why don’t we believe them? Perhaps the two are a single one” (150). This
emphasizes the point that people ultimately don’t know which religion is true,
and that the Office of the Inquisition is just forcing a belief that may not even
exist in the way they think it does or may not even exist at all. Of course,
torture is used to prevent this kingdom’s shaky foundation from collapsing; by
instilling fear into people’s hearts, it is easier to control them and force a
common belief throughout the kingdom.
I really enjoy your interpretation on the idea of torture as a result of interrogation on religious belief. I had not looked at the readings in that light and it just gave me a new perspective on both. The quote cited above was actually one of my favorites from Heresy because it poses such a relevant and philosophical question of what determines that one religion is more accurate than another. It also made me think of Islam because I recall that in the religion, Judaism and Christianity are supposed to be respected because they are religions that follow "the book". Also, Mohammed was told that Allah was the omnipotent God but was also the God that other monotheistic religions worshipped as well.
ReplyDeleteThis response also brings up the topic of using torture to instill force and therefore allow a governing body to gain more power. Scapegoats are created in order to justify human right violations like "ethnic cleansing". The witches as well as non-Christians are blamed for all wrongs in society and therefore must be abolished.
Hey Nancy! In many ways, the “Crucible” and “Heresy” are comparable. There are many overlapping themes like the ones you’ve mentioned: intangible accusations and torture as a way to stabilize a shaky regime. The inquisitors take advantage of the fact that it is difficult to actually prove if one is Jewish. There is no way to defend oneself if he or she is accused because the torturers will not accept anything that is said unless it is what they want hear. By doing this, the inquisitors establish their authority over the prisoner. The hunger for power leads to corruption. Instead of seeking for truth, they want a reinforcement of their control over others. The cause may be the instability of religion, colonization, and economy.
ReplyDeleteThe instability of religion and colonization come hand in hand. In both cases, there is some form of conversion and the question arises of whether or not one can actually be fully converted. No one can truly answer that question because it is all internal. This insecure question of identity resembles the society as a whole. We see this in Luis in the line that you quoted. He is a malleable character and who converts from Catholicism to Judaism.
This is a really great post and I liked seeing the way you looked at the reading. I had thought a little bit about how similar it was to The Crucible, but not in the same depth that you did. I find it very interesting how both readings use torture and interrogations in the same way to gain power and a set authority by putting fear into peoples eyes and how the inquisitors get their power by forcing an answer they want to hear, not the actual truth. There are so many questions left when looking at something that can not be seen such as witchcraft or pagan practices. I really like the quote you chose. I too found that quote to stand out a lot. Not only is it impossible to know where the truth in religion is, but in what people personally believe as well. This shows how much the beliefs of the people in charge are held higher than anyone else's.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the two plays are similar. Many accusation and torture are based on religious reasons, especially the Christian. In The Crucible, they are condemned because of the practice of witchcraft (which is against Christianity) and reasons based on verbal evidence. In Heresy, they are accused because of the differences in their practice and belief. Most of the evidence are based on accusation, though some evidence can be found as objects (shown when Jesus said the bible causes him to be treat as pagan) and actions (such as the candles). The Crucible are accused due to daily activity while the people in Heresy are accused due to different practices.
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