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Jonah and the Whale: Narrative Perspective in Patience
Author(s) -
Clark S. L.,
Wasserman J. N.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
orbis litterarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.109
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1600-0730
pISSN - 0105-7510
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0730.1980.tb00760.x
Subject(s) - whale , perspective (graphical) , narrative , patience , hymn , history , philosophy , literature , theology , art , visual arts , fishery , biology
The Pearl ‐Poet initially links Jonah and the whale in Patience on the basis of a common willfulness which opposes Divine biddings. Jonah's stay inside the whale enables the prophet to purge himself of this willfulness, and the Pearl ‐Poet charts this progress through shifts in narrative perspective. The reader follows Jonah's entry into the whale first from the perspective of the omniscient narrator (11. 251‐255) and then from the individual perspective of the prophet himself as he passes through the whale's gullet to its stomach (11. 266‐272). Moreover, the poet's intent in his description of Jonah's prayers while in the whale is to depict a man who learns that the whale not only holds him in but also keeps the Divine out: through prayer (1 1.282‐288,305‐312) Jonah shifts his perspective from that of a man‐centered universe to one in which all is seen to emanate from the Divine. Finally, God's command to release Jonah from the whale and the swift deliverance of the prophet to shore (1 1.337‐340) attest to Jonah's new poverty of will and to his newfound willingness to do God's bidding.