In
his novel, Lincoln in the Bardo,
George Saunders derives much of the framework for his ethereal realm of ghosts
from elements of both ancient and contemporary world religions. The structure
of the Bardo itself is derived in both name and concept from a Buddhist belief of
the afterlife. According to Dr. Yonten Arya of the Tibetan Medicine Education Center,
it is the “intermediate state after death or when the consciousness is
separated from the previous body…the state between the past life and the next
coming life” (Arya). This idea is mirrored in Saunders’ creation as ghosts such
as Roger Bevins and Hans Vollman reveal that, “these young ones are not meant
to tarry”, but rather move on to a better place rather than being stuck in
between the mortal world and the paradise that is to come after (Saunders 31).
But
probably the best example of Saunders borrowing aspects from various religions
to shape the inner workings of the Bardo is present in Reverend Everly Thomas’s
encounter with the Christ-like emissary. He recounts entering a great hall,
arm-in-arm with two other men to face the figure and two angels who proceed to
weigh each of their hearts (Saunders 189). He narrates, “The being
on the left reached into the red-bearded man’s chest and, with a deft and
somehow apologetic movement, extracted the man’s heart, and placed it on the
scale…Very good, said the Christ-emissary” (190). This soul of the first man is
rewarded with a place of fulfillment, while the second man
alongside Reverend Thomas is condemned to an eternity of fire as he is embraced
by deformed, monstrous beings and immediately bursts into flames (192). The ritual’s
structure conjures biblical imagery with figures such as the Christ-emissary
and his two messenger angels. Additionally, it can be argued that Saunders’ implications
of both the grand feast reward and the fiery inferno punishment are symbols of
Heaven and Hell respectively.
However,
this scene becomes even more fascinating when analyzed from a non-western perspective.
The act of weighing a heart alludes to an ancient Egyptian practice in which
the soul of a person would be weighed against a feather to determine their
place in the afterlife. In this sense, not only does the judgment ritual
incorporate contemporary Christian themes, but also draws from ancient
religious beliefs as well, and set against a backdrop of Buddhist principles. In
this sense, although Saunders’ can be accredited with building an expansive world governed by its on set of rules and norms, a great deal of Lincoln in the Bardo is shaped by these spiritual concepts that are evident in its various religious undertones.
Arya, Dr. Pasang Yonten. “The Bardo.” Tibetan
Medicine Education Center, 2015, www.tibetanmedicine-edu.org/index.php/bardo.
Saunders, George. Lincoln in the Bardo. Random
House, 2017.
There is no doubt that Saunders grounded Lincoln in the Bardo with strong religious undertones. Examining his personal religious upbringing allows for further interpretation. In an interview from February 2013, Saunders stated, “There was something so powerful about….all the symbols [in Catholicism].” He further explained “there was some….some kind of magic in Catholicism” (Bustillos). From these statements, Saunders respects Catholicism due to the fear of God it often elicits. And this belief appears in his novel with the descriptions of what is assumedly heaven and hell. Regarding heaven, Reverend Thomas cannot “adequately describe the sound of rejoicing that echoed” (Saunders 190) from the angels. Saunders creates imagery by saying there is no way to picture eternal redemption. However, the imagery depicting hell is rather foul and frankly disturbing. After confirming how the funeral-suited man lived, the “beings….crippled and grimacing” brought a “feces-encrusted mirror” (Saunders 191). When the doors open, “the tent was….flesh (speckled and pick with spoiled blood)” (Saunders 191). Here, the imagery aims to paint a terrifying picture of eternal damnation. Saunders’ descriptions are both mystifying and shocking, therefore representing his personal view on Catholicism. While this imagery accurately captures his personal religious beliefs, the bardo’s depiction is more curious. As a man who has at times practiced Buddhism, the bardo does not receive as charming of a review. The bardo is full of trapped souls waiting to complete death; the bardo is regularly haunted by the dead’s loved ones; the bardo has rules everyone follows, yet no one knows why. Saunders must have oppositions to components of both religions.
ReplyDeleteBustillos, Maria. “Real As Hell: A Conversation With George Saunders.” The Awl, 19 Feb. 2013, www.theawl.com/2013/02/real-as-hell-a-conversation-with-george-saunders/. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.
I agree with your analysis that there are heavy Christian undertones within the novel, but I would like to compare the bardo not to a Christian purgatory, but rather the Jewish Sheol. In the Jewish faith, there is no heaven or hell. Rather, after death everyone (good and evil) is sent to Sheol in order to wait for the coming of the Messiah. The Bardo in the novel is very similar in the sense that many of the characters are morally ambiguous. It is even unknown by the finale whether or not the Reverend was damned or sent into the "diamond palace". By portraying a Christian leader as morally ambiguous, Saunders emphasizes the equality of all those within the Bardo and shows that no one person is completely pure because of their so-called religious beliefs. In the Jewish afterlife, those who are morally corrupt exist alongside the pure children and the righteous. Empathy is again important in this sense because it allows the characters to live with both themselves and others who believe in a different set of moral principles. The Bardo within the novel is the communion of all religions and disciplines and shows that all are equal in death.
ReplyDelete