Role of Religion: Beowulf, Crime

¶ … role of religion: Beowulf, Crime and Punishment, and the Canterbury Tales

Religious traditions influence the themes and construction of literary narratives and religious texts themselves can function as literature. For example, the early English epic poem Beowulf manifests a blend of Christian and pagan influences, suggesting that the poem was a pagan epic that eventually became Christianized over generations of oral transmission. Its central hero Beowulf is a great king, possessing almost godlike strength. However, although the poem is set in pre-Christian times, Christian themes of redemption and resurrection recur throughout the work. Beowulf is a chosen son -- only he can kill Grendel. Beowulf must lie alone in the darkness of the Great Hall, willing to sacrifice himself for the sins of humanity, like Jesus waiting in the garden of Gethsemane. Beowulf kills Grendel, but must 'die' once again, as he must next face Grendel's mother. Finally, after dying in a heroic battle with the most demonic force of all, a dragon, Beowulf is mortally wounded. He is mourned by his people, who feel they do not fundamentally understand him, and he leaves no son. No one like him, we are told, will ever come again.

The solemnity with which religion is regarded, and religion's ability to be transposed into secular life is also shown in Crime and Punishment. Rather than a single, Christ-like figure, Dostoevsky portrays the sorts of people Christ came to earth to save -- prostitutes, drunkards, and murderers. The hero Raskolnikov is tormented, at least in part, because of his inability to believe in God. In contrast, the common prostitute Sofia is able to find comfort in her faith, even though she is forced to sell her body so her family can survive. Religion is her only solace in the wake of her daily humiliation. When asked to talk about what is most meaningful in her life by Raskolnikov, the normally shy Sofia becomes inflamed by the passion she feels for her religion. Raskolnikov is impressed by her faith, even though at that point in the novel he is not a believer.

By observing Sofia's sacrifice for her family, Raskolnikov learns humility and finally is able to repent. Interestingly, although Raskolnikov's punishment comes before the end of the novel, only after he is banished to Siberia is he able to truly let God into his heart. This shows how earthly punishment and salvation are not always linked. The novel ends with him throwing himself upon Sofia's mercy, as she finally understands that he has accepted God into his heart and been redeemed.

Although no figure is Christ-like in the novel, Sofia acts like a figure of wisdom and a facilitator of Raskolnikov's faith. She inspires him to reject secular philosophy for God, as philosophy and his intellect cannot save him, only religion. Although Sofia has no education, she is depicted as wiser than most of the learned men in the novel. Sofia hears Raskolnikov's first confession of his crime, before the authorities. Unlike the anonymous authors of Beowulf, for Dostoevsky true heroism is sacrifice and repentance, not manifesting great and heroic deeds.