SACRAMENTAL SUFFERING: THE FRIENDSHIP OF FLANNERY O’CONNOR AND ELIZABETH HESTER1

As the only orthodox Christian writer the American nation has yet produced, Flannery O’Connor created a remarkable body of fiction rooted in a profoundly sacramental theology. The depth of O’Connor's sacramentalism has recently been revealed with the opening of her remarkable letters to Elizabeth Hester, her most important epistolary friend. Their eleven‐year correspondence centers upon two inseparable matters: conversion and suffering. The aim of this essay is to explore how the gift (or refusal) of faith comes through the embrace (or rejection) of a participation in God's own life through a life of sacramental suffering.     

A Queer Death: The Funeral of Diana,Princess of Wales

Abstract

Elizabeth Stuart opens her paper by commenting that she feels that the most significant part of Michael Vasey's book, Stranger and Friends, is the final chapter on death. Vasey, she notes is one of the very few people to address the question of sexuality and death and his call for the queering of death has to be taken seriously. Stuart goes on to explore what a queer death might actually look like by reference to the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. Through a close reading of the event, combined with personal experiences of having been in Hyde Park, Stuart shows how the many different mixed and ambiguous messages were brought together in the one event. The overall effect of this ambiguity was to subvert what should have been a national establishment ritual to make it accessible to many different people, especially to those who are gay, lesbian or bisexual. Stuart sees this as a possible pattern for the future and calls for far more work on this neglected area of sexuality and worship.     

Eternally Separated Lovers: The Argument from Love

A message scribbled irreverently on the mediaeval walls of the Nonberg cloister says this: ‘Neither of us can go to heaven unless the other gets in.’ It suggests an argument against the view that those who love people who suffer in hell can be perfectly happy, or even free from all suffering, in heaven. This paper considers the challenge posed by this thought to the coherence of the traditional Christian doctrine on which there are some people in hell who are suffering and others in heaven who are not suffering. More precisely, it defends the following argument:

1. No one who loves another can be perfectly happy or free from suffering if they know that their beloved is suffering.

2. Anyone in hell suffers (at least as long as they are in hell).

3. Anyone in heaven is perfectly happy or at least free from suffering.

4. There can be no one in heaven who is aware of the fact that his or her beloved is in hell. (1, 2, and 3)

The paper argues that the first premise is eminently plausible and that those who accept the traditional Christian doctrine should endorse the claim that some of those in heaven love people whom they know to be suffering in hell. So, it concludes that there is reason to reject the traditional Christian doctrine.     

Revisiting the Reformation—Shakespeare and Fletcher's King Henry VIII

Abstract

This paper looks afresh at William Shakespeare's and John Fletcher's Henry VIII. The piece, while obsessed with truth, makes no attempt to define the nature of that truth—and truth is closely related to the issue of the Reformation. Henry VIII's role is questioned. The terms ‘Lutheran’ and ‘heretic’ appear as by-words to describe the threat of up-and-coming new influences around the king. The opposition of the Catholic Wolsey and the Protestant Cranmer in the play is all-important. Wolsey emerges as somewhat reformed from his disgrace. Cranmer, like Wolsey, is demonized; however his prophecy at the end of the play is highly significant. Prophecy in Tudor England tended to be subversive and part of the implications of Cranmer's prophecy are that James should model himself on Elizabeth. However, Cranmer's prophecy also announces that Elizabeth, ever a virgin, will manage to engender her successor, King James. As the play is about to close, Cranmer's prophecy about the reign of Elizabeth I and that of James I cannot dispel the impression that Henry VIII's reformist intentions remain inconclusive. Shakespeare, it seems, never veered in his view that religious reformations are not ‘once and for all events'. Something has happened that has altered the world, but the full meaning of these events is denied.     

ANOTHER LOOK AT UTILITARIANISM IN MO-TZU'S THOUGHT

In his article about utilitarianism and Mo-tzu's thought, Dennis Ahem has argued that we should distinguish between two types of utilitarianism. The first he calls "strong utilitarianism". Ahern says that the distinctive characteristic of this type of utilitarianism is the notion that the final criterion for an action, value, etc. is its utility (i.e., does the action maximize value for the greatest number of people).¹     

A First-Person Account of Using Mindfulness as a Therapeutic Tool in the Palestinian Territories

This is a personal account of the clinical work done in the Palestinian Territories by a clinical psychologist working with an international medical Non Governmental Organization (NGO). In her interventions the author used mindfulness-based therapy with people who suffered from severe psychological distress due to the political conflict. Such interventions can be therapeutic and heal deep suffering, whilst offering clients coping strategies when possibly facing other traumatic events in a situation of “chronic emergency” such as the one that people have to face in a country that has been under military occupation for over 40 years. Using a case study approach, the author discusses the intervention with two women, one suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the loss of her baby after being kept at a military check-point, and the other suffering from depression following the killing of her son. The mindfulness-based intervention allowed them to explore a therapeutic approach which helped them to overcome their symptoms and “get unstuck”.     

What gives victims satisfaction when they seek revenge?

The present paper aims to elucidate under what conditions victims of injustice who seek revenge feel satisfied and perceive that everybody got what he or she deserved. Two hypotheses are discussed: The comparative suffering hypothesis states that seeing the offender suffer from fate is sufficient for evoking satisfaction and perceptions of deservingness among victims. The understanding hypothesis states that revenge can only be satisfactory when the offender understands it as a response to his or her prior behavior. These hypotheses were tested in three experimental studies. The comparative suffering hypothesis received only weak support. The understanding hypothesis, on the other hand, received much stronger support: When the offender understood revenge as punishment, revenge led to satisfaction and deservingness among victims. These findings are discussed with regard to the question why people take revenge. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In Memoriam: A Tribute to Sister Mary Thomas Burke: A Spiritual Light Goes Out While Lighting Thousands More

All of us who met Mary Thomas know the wonder, integrity, and warmth of our beloved Mary Thomas. Who better to help us remember her than her students? —Dennis W. Engels     

John Knox: Gynaecocracy, ‘The Monstrous Empire of Women’

Abstract

This paper aims at providing a critical reading of John Knox's views on female monarchs, based on his writings, correspondence and interviews with contemporary queens, namely Mary of Guise and her daughter, Mary Stewart, of Scotland, and Elizabeth I, of England, highlighting Knox's religious thought and the political implications of his antigynaecocratic doctrines. From Knox's reasonings with the British queens, one can to some extent perceive his putting into practice the theories of resistance to political authority he formulated during his exile in Geneva, as expressed in the tracts and correspondence addressed to his British friends and proselytes. By the analysis of Knox's antagonistic views on the regiment of women, solidly grounded on the Holy Scriptures, namely the Old Testament, and on long-established tradition—classical, canonical and patristic—, one is made aware of his unwavering faith and indefatigable struggle for the Reformation of the Church, both in Scotland and in England.     

Presidents' wives and First Ladies: On achieving eminence within a traditional gender role

Women sometimes attain distinction through their relationships with highly successful men. This association may entail some combination of several individual and dyadic processes. Possible processes were explored in the lives of 48 wives and First Ladies associated with 39 U.S. Presidents. Three primary dimensions of the women's performance were used to determine the connection between their eminence and that of the President. Although a reflected-glory effect was apparent in the unreciprocated influence of the President's reputation on his First Lady's reputation, the woman's reputation was independently determined by (a) her performance as the President's political colleague and (b) her success at establishing her own distinct personality. On the other hand, her reputation was not influenced by her expertise in fulfilling more traditional gender role responsibilities. Some biographical antecedents of the women's performance were also identified.The following research assistants made this project possible: Bergen Achtel, Pamela Akins, Jill Allen, Gazelle Babaee, Paige Black, Nancy Bouffard, Pendra Boyd, Steve Castellón, David Clemons, Jennifer Cohen, Suzanne Dahnert, Ann del Forge, Stephanie Fisher, Fernanda Formel, John Gotelli, Janelle Gray, Kim Haralson, Erin Harrington, Miguel Herrera, Danny Herz, Michele Hill, Alexander Hughes, Elizabeth Judy, Jacques Koujoumajian, Anneliese Makely, Bettina Murphy, Monica Murray, Ryan Nguyen, Tereza Pena-Hibberd, Steven Sacks, Dan Samsky, Todd Sasano, Melissa Schneider, Brian Victor, and Henry Wong. I also thank Niels Waller for his advice and consultation.     

The Christified Universe and the Vanquished Creatures: The Perspectives of Ilia Delio and Elizabeth A. Johnson

This article is a study of Christology in which Christ, the center of cosmos, is on the side of creatures in pain. I examine the argument of Jesuit paleontologist and mystic Teilhard de Chardin that the whole universe is in the process of Christification. With Ilia Delio and Elizabeth A. Johnson, I contend that Christ takes the side of suffering creatures going extinct just like Christ opts for the people on the margins of power. First, I sketch a background in which natural evil must be placed within an evolutionary framework. Second, in highlighting Delio's and Johnson's views, I ask, where is Christ in evolution? Finally, I revisit christological notions implied in Colossians 1 and John 1.     

The Three Princesses

This article introduces three princesses: Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia (1618–1680); her sister, Princess Sophie who became the Electress of Hanover (1630–1714); and Sophie's daughter, Sophie Charlotte, who became the first Queen of Prussia (1668–1705). After summarizing their common family background, the article presents, for each in turn, her biography and a discussion of her relation to philosophy. In each case their philosophical involvement stems from their friendships with the leading philosophers of their day; Princess Elizabeth was a friend of Descartes while the Electress Sophie and Sophie Charlotte were friends of Leibniz. The article concludes that anyone who has made the acquaintance of the three princesses and has studied their interaction with their philosopher-friends will always see them as part of the history of modem philosophy.     

The Psychoanalysis Between Sándor Ferenczi and Elizabeth Severn: Mutuality,Unconscious Communication,and the Development of Countertransference Analysis

ABSTRACT

The psychoanalysis between Sándor Ferenczi and Elizabeth Severn was characterized by a controversial counterference analysis, in which the analysand, Severn, took an active lead. She can be seen as the co-creator of the Countertransference Analysis. In the two-person analytic dialogue that Severn and Ferenczi created to resolve the intractable therapeutic impasse in their analytic relationship, a dialogue of the unconscious emerged. Severn believed she was attuned to Ferenczi’s unanalyzed countertransference reaction to her. They had a special kind of relationship where attunement was at an unconscious level. In a sustained analytic encounter, she helped Ferenczi retrieve the experience of being sexually abused, which was the unconscious derivation of his negative countertransference to Severn.     

Subjectification and Confession in Contemporary Memoirs of Abduction and Prolonged Captivity

A striking trend is emerging in the Canadian and American literary landscape, and memoirs with the following narrative trajectory are now widely read: a stranger abducts a young woman, and holds her captive for years. She endures sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, eventually escapes, and returns to her former life. The sole scholarly discussion about these memoirs frames them as empowering for the authors, but the social and economic factors that inform these texts remain unaddressed. Drawing from Michel Foucault's discussion of the confession, this article complicates and extends this analysis. First, it situates memoirs by Elizabeth Smart, Amanda Berry and Gena DeJesus, Jaycee Dugard, Michelle Knight, and Josefina Rivera as examples of the Foucauldian sexual confession. It then maps the ways memoirs enable the authors to voice their understanding of the social and economic factors that both gave rise to their plight and inform media discussions that blame them for their suffering. I will ultimately argue that memoirs function as a public venue to resist or reject dominant interpretive frames that shape a survivor's experiences, while simultaneously reaffirming the ubiquity of these lines of thinking.     

THWARTING THE PSYCHOANALYTIC DETECTIVES: DEFENDING THE SEVERN LEGACY

In 1993, The Legacy of Sandor Ferenczi (Aron & Harris) was published. This groundbreaking volume contained the chapter, The Case of “RN”: Sandor Ferenczi’s Radical Experiment in Psychoanalysis (Fortune, 1993), which told the story of “RN”—Ferenczi’s code-name in his Clinical Diary for his critically important patient, Elizabeth Severn. The chapter presented biographical details and original research supporting the rich clinical material revealed in Ferenczi’s Clinical Diary. Now, two decades later, RN has continued to affirm her place as one of the most important patients in the history of psychoanalysis. On this twentieth anniversary, just past, of the recognition of her story, I would like to reflect back and recount the beginnings of my “detective” work on the Case of RN, particularly my encounter with Severn’s daughter, Margaret.     

Better Never to Have Been?: The Unseen Implications

This paper will directly tackle the question of Benatar’s asymmetry at the heart of his book Better Never to have Been and provide a critique based on some of the logical consequences that result from the proposition that every potential life can only be understood in terms of the pain that person would experience if she or he was born. The decision only to evaluate future pain avoided and not pleasure denied for potential people means that we should view each birth as an unmitigated tragedy. The result is that someone who seeks to maximize utility could easily justify immense suffering for current people in order to prevent the births of potential people. This paper offers an alternative framework for evaluating the creation of people that addresses Benatar’s asymmetry without overvaluing the potential suffering of potential people.     

Political humiliation, object use, and psychological changes in the life of Malcolm X

This article examines and describes the traumatic effects of political humiliation in the life of Malcolm X, and the psychosocial changes exhibited in his moving from being snared by the talons of racism to a greater sense of freedom and flexibility in working with a wide variety of people. Malcolm X's suffering and psychosocial changes are framed in terms of object relating and use, as well as by his search for a transformational object that would restore and secure his self-worth and efficacy.     

‘Animals run about the world in all sorts of paths’: varieties of indeterminism

Synthese - In her seminal essay ‘Causality and Determination’, Elizabeth Anscombe very decidedly announced that “physical indeterminism” is “indispensable if we are to...     

Spirituality,health care,and bioethics

This article explores the relationship of spirituality to health care and bioethics in terms of the need and efforts of people to make sense of their lives in the face of illness, injury, or impending death. Moving beyond earlier associations with specific religious traditions, spirituality has come to designate the way in which people can integrate their experiences with their sense of ultimate meaning and related values. The holistic model of health care also affirms that one should not simply treat a body in pain, but respond to the suffering of the whole person within his or her full life. A narrative emphasis in ethics also maintains that ethical decisions occur within the framework of interacting life-stories, each of which embodies a certain core vision and set of values. In each instance it is the life stories of people, their lived narratives, that provide a common thread. The telling of these stories and the discernment of the lived spirituality they contain may assist persons in the process of achieving understanding, making decisions, and finding purpose in the experience of illness, injury, or disability.Maureen Muldoon, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, and Norman King, Ph.D., is Professor in the same department.