The adversary in Literature

06 Sep, 2015 - 00:09 0 Views
The adversary in Literature Cordelia in the Court of King Lear (1873) by Sir John Gilbert

The Sunday Mail

Masimba T. Muusha

WE all watch fascinated as the hero wrestles with the villain in a life and death duel. Tales of spectacular victories secured against all odds enthral and inspire us to believe that it is also possible for us too to face an adversary and prevail. The adversary comes in various forms and sizes. There is no other way we can make history, leave behind a lasting legacy and testimony unless we face up to an adversary. David had his Goliath, Daniel had his den of lions, for Helen Keller, it was blindness and deafness.

Cordelia in the Court of King Lear (1873) by Sir John Gilbert

Cordelia in the Court of King Lear (1873) by Sir John Gilbert

Just like them, it was the manner in which they faced their adversary, how they overcame that adversary that established their identity and reputation. It is the presence of a formidable adversary that makes it possible for us to be heroes, to be great people.

That is what brings us glory. It is in the absence of a worthy adversary that we become complacent, feeble, soft, indulging in trivial pursuits and seeking cheap thrills that degrade us.

Man’s basic need beyond food, shelter and clothing is to have an adversary, an antagonist to grapple with.

This calls forth all the noble qualities that lie resident in him. In confronting the enemy, man summons courage, resourcefulness, resilience, creativity, empathy that lie dormant in season of ease, abundance and comfort.

In our adversary is the opportunity, the very thing that we need and desire. For Samson, sweetness-honey came out of the mouth of the lion that he had killed.

Promotion, prestige, honour were the reward for the three Jewish who defied the fiery furnace in Babylon. We can only be true to ourselves, we can never forgive ourselves if we look for and find a ‘good excuse’ not to face up to our adversary.

That is where shame, disgrace, regrets live – evading our adversary with tails between our legs. No amount of justification, rationalisation, explanation can ever console, appease or reconcile our conscience, self condemnation for being so cowardly, for being treacherous to our true selves.

God in all His mercy and wisdom always sends us back to confront our adversaries. Moses who had fled Pharaoh and was hiding in the back of beyond herding his father-in-law’s sheep after encounter with God in the burning bushes reluctantly packed his bags and with a rod went back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh – the most powerful ruler of that time. Needless to say, Moses secured a resounding victory.

The great people, the truly great people not the media celebrities, are those people who faced and conquered their adversaries – genuine, legitimate adversaries. Standing between the desired goal and you is the adversary daring you. The only way to get to the goal is not by bypassing, sneaking past, appeasing, compromising, bribing, negotiating or bargaining with the adversary, but battling, fighting and defeating the adversary. There is no other way! The adversary has to be vanquished even though he may have to be fought more than one time.

Like David, he cut off the head of Goliath to demonstrate that the adversary was surely dead, no more to rise again. What a gruesome lesson-wounding, bruising an adversary will just not do for he will regroup, and come back more vicious and potent.

The Bible tells of a strong adversary- a demon when cast out goes away for a season before returning to reclaim its territory unless there is a stronger man in place. An adversary will only recognise, submit, retreat, capitulate, surrender and flee in face of an uncompromising opponent.

It is the adversary within that is most formidable. Our greatest adversary is not on the outside-no. It is our own selves, our wills, our desires. The enemy without is easier to combat, but the one is the ultimate one. Once he is defeated, any enemy without like the Philistines who fled when their champion Goliath was slain by David, will be no match for you. Before taking on the world, one has to face and triumph over the adversary within.

In Literature, we are provided with introspection, soliloquy, interior dialogue, monologue to gain an insight into the battle in the mind of protagonist, the battle that has to be fought between will, the desire and the moral issue involved. Jesus Christ had the Garden of Eden moment.

Three times He asked to have the cup, the battle ahead of him to be removed. He finally came to the decisive moment when he resolved to face up to the adversary – Not my will, but Thy will be done. That was the moment victory was secured, the turning point.

All that the religious leaders, Roman rulers, scoffing, mocking people and the Cross were no match for Jesus for the adversary had already been defeated in the garden – moment of release, moment of clarity, moment of surrender, moment of victory. It is a revelation that no one stands in your way to victory except yourself. You are your own adversary. Is it fear of failure, fear of rejection, is it jealousy, is it anger, unforgiving spirit, bitterness. Out of the heart of man comes out the issues of life – that defile, corrupts, trips, destroys. It is in the heart, it is the condition of the heart that is the adversary. Secure the heart and the battle is won, is over.

In “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo’s adversary is his fear of being thought to be weak.

His quarrel with the white-man is an enactment of the battle within him. What you are on the inside, what you become is a result of that inner battle with your adversary. You, you are your own adversary!

Externally Othello’s nemesis is Iago but the heart of the matter is that his jealousy makes him vulnerable to Iago’s machinations, deceit. Iago capitalises on Othello’s ‘green eyed monster which he himself is afflicted with.

It is believed that we are our own worst enemies, blind to our best interests. No one betrays you without you betraying yourself first. The enemy only capitalises, does not initiate. So no finger- pointing.

The Bible says man is lured, enticed by his own desires. We yield to temptation because of our inner desires. It is not Bathsheba’s bathing that tempted David. It was his lust mirrored by his own son who lusted after his half sister Tamar until he raped her.

It is not what happens on the outside us that matters. It is that we allow to happen in us that matters. Moses, the meekest man on earth allowed himself to be provoked by the rebellious countrymen that he offended God to the extent that he was forbidden to enter Canaan – the promised land. His temper long suppressed boiled over with tragic personal consequences.

In the book, “Scarlet Song” by Mariama Ba, both protagonists-Ousmane and Mirelle- the initially fairytale romantic couple face the ultimate test of who their true adversaries are.

On the surface it may appear that their parents are their nemesis. The racist father who calls Ousmane nigger, object, the racist mother-in-law who calls the daughter-in-law a she-devil.

In addition one may get the impression that Ousmane is seduced by Ouleymatou. However, a closer look at Ousmane reveals that his real adversary is “wounded pride”. From boyhood he nurses a bruised ego following his humiliation by Ouleymatou. Initially he steels himself against women. When Mirelle, a white university student appears, she provides a balm to his male ego. Being loved by a white woman soothed his wounded pride.

However, since he does not address the root, or face his inner adversary, the reappearance of Ouleymatou resurrects the male pride in him. He naively believes he is an all conquering male. The materialistic, devious Ouleymatou is perceptive enough to exploit this.

On her part, Mirelle in a fit of rage dramatises the saying ‘hell hath no fury than a scorned woman.’ She stabs her “cheating husband” having killed their son earlier. Her adversary is not Oulematou, Yaye Khardy, nor Ousmane, but her own strong will. She defies her racist father, she defies history, she defies culture, religion. She refuses, she chooses not to bend her will. She has options: she can leave Ousmane. With a Masters degree in Philosophy, job as a teacher, she can provide for herself. When the big test comes, her inner adversary- her strong will breaks. She becomes hysterical, even mad. Bending is not a weakness. As a philosopher one may have hoped that she would have realised that.

In the play, “In The Continuum” we encounter two remarkable women both tragically infected with the HIV virus by the men they love. Upon discovering their status, both are tempted to hit back, to fix their unfaithful lovers by exposing them to the public, to stigma, to shame. Inside they are seething. Their ultimate responses show that they have battled their adversary within. The natural human reaction is to retaliate, to destroy the very thing, person perceived to be responsible for one’s plight. Having come to terms with their condition, Abigail and Nia respond in a life-giving, life affirming, liberating manner. They release, set free their men, opening the door to the future. They secure a moral victory for they have the courage, the goodwill, the strength to fight and win the battle within.

This sets them from bitterness, resentment. The vanity that had inspired both to reach for, to compete for lover-boys has been overcome in the process of their maturity.

In the play, “King Lear” by Shakespeare, Edmund the illegitimate son of Gloucester, scoffs at the idea that a man’s actions, failings e.g. his own father’s infidelity can be attributed or blamed on the stars or external conditions. He called it “. . . the excellent foppery of the world”

Hamlet, the sweet prince of Denmark appears to have had a revelation of man’s true adversary. He defined it as “the vicious mole of nature”

The environment, the actions, the responses by man are an expression of what he is on the inside, what is inborn, inherent. Whatever is in man is the adversary that the man has to confront.

How man will become is determined by how man would have fought himself. Success, failure, happiness, misery in life depends on how the adversary has been dealt with.

Moral victory means we can face, cope with any challenge, situation we may face when we confront the enemy within.

The rallying call in Literature is echoed in the timeless wisdom

“Know Thyself” or else you are your own worst enemy.

Michael Jackson sings “I am starting with the man in the mirror”

For certainly he is the adversary.

 

The writer, Masimba T. Muusha is an accomplished English Language and English Literature teacher with over 20 years’ experience. He may be contacted on 0777498721.

Teachers or students, YOU CAN SEND YOUR ARTICLES THROUGH E-MAIL, FACEBOOK, WHATSAPP or TEXT Just app Charles Mushinga on 0772936678 or send your articles, pictures, poetry, art . . . to Charles Mushinga at [email protected] or [email protected] or follow Charles Mushinga on Facebook or @charlesmushinga on Twitter. You can also post articles to The Sunday Mail Bridge, PO Box 396, Harare or call 0772936678.

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