Thursday, April 11, 2013
The Condemning Fall
"The Fall was a fall from innocence to Knowledge." The Fall is portrayed as two versatile thoughts in this chapter as the Handmaid is explaining her prayer in almost a vain-like manner. It's vain because of the ingenuinality of her prayers to God. How do we know it's not authentic? Her initial statement "tonight I will say my prayers" suggests inconsistency in communication with her Divine authority, and also suggests an old habit or routine thing for her, like a duty she is forced to do or feel obligated to do. The authorities over her in the house require all the handmaids to pray in a rather strict manner. I know that, as a Christian myself, I must come humbly before God when I pray with an open heart unto Him, ready to receive anything he has to say or do unto me. When I pray, I try not to be selfish and give more hanks and praise and honor to God more than I think or request of myself from him a certain thing.
Yet here in the passage, this particular Handmaid-as we know of for sure, prays vainly and thoughtlessly as she ask for absurd and unusual things. "What we prayed for was emptiness, so we would be worthy to be filled: with grace, with love, with self-denial, semen, and babies." I could assume that most people who righteously pray don't naturally (spiritually) pray for these things. What she prays for though further emphasizes the ignorance of Gilead and their dehumanized people. The Fall (ultimate) was with the creation in the beginning of time in the Book of Genesis of the Bible, when Adam and Eve first sinned against God. From then, they moved from eternal life to knowledge of good and evil, their innocence being stripped from them.
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