Thus Spoke Iokanaan: Wilde’s Doubt on Religion
By: Hendra Nugraha
Introduction
Religious thought is always being interesting topic to discuss because its not only deal with scientific knowledge but also faith and belief which are concerning moral as well. Further, religious thought’s polemics sometimes drag some one or some sect called as heretic, blasphemous and atheistic by others whom claimed have more concise interpretation of religion on holy books such Bible, Koran, Genesis, Old Testament, etc. Off course, there are some other ordinary people’s works which different interpretation on religion and belief such Nietzsche’s Zarathustra and The Genealogy of Moral. Darwin’s scientific work “The Origin of Species” also shocks not only scientist but also society and church (as religion institution indeed) because its interpretation on origin of human race which tend to doubt that Adam and Eve really ‘fall from the sky’. Other controversy also reveals in literary work such in Wilde’s Salome: One Act Tragedy (1894). In Salome, Iokanaan is one of the characters which preaching all the time before Salome demands his head. Other characters also highlight religion topic as well but still Iokanaan is the most dominate one among them. Therefore, it is important to analyze Iokanaan speeches, in this respect to respond other characters or his own (or God) will, in order to elucidate the religious thought in Wilde’s Salome.
Intertextuality approach is deal with correlation one work to others works. It is not to mock a work because for its unoriginality but to compare and observe the relation of those text.
… an identification of an intertext is an act of interpretation. They are no moment of authority and point of origin except those with are retrospectively design as origin and which, therefore, can be shown to derive from the series for which they are constituted as origin.[1]
Intertextuality can be used in exploring extrinsic elements of the plays and also to observe Wilde’s choice to retell Salome legend.
Monotheism in Salome
First issue that can be caught about religious thought in Salome is doubt on polytheism. It is reveal in dialogue between the Nubian, the Cappadocian, and first soldier.
THE NUBIAN: The gods of my country are very fond of blood. Twice in the year we sacrifice to them young men and maidens: fifty young men and a hundred maidens. But I am afraid that we never give them quite enough, for they are very harsh to us.
THE CAPPADOCIAN: In my country there are no gods left. The Romans have driven them out. There are some who say that they have hidden themselves in the mountains, but I do not believe it. Three nights I have been on the mountains seeking them everywhere. I did not find them, and at last I called them by their names, and they did not come. I think they are dead.
FIRST SOLDIER: The Jews worship a God that one cannot see.
THE CAPPADOCIAN: I cannot understand that.
FIRST SOLDIER: In fact, they only believe in things that one cannot see.
THE CAPPADOCIAN: That seems to me altogether ridiculous.
By the quotation above could be seen that there is a statement that lead us about confusion on monotheism by polytheist whom represents by the Cappadocian. The Cappoadocian react on how Jewish believe in one god and can not be seen. This information shocks all polytheist because one God, for worse can not be seen, is not their custom and tradition. Monotheistic belief in Jews, or so called as Judaism, can be found in Exodus when Moses asks God what kind of name that he would be called by their believers which answered by God that He will be called as Yahwe in Hebrew language or “Nameless” [2].
Messianic Views
Not long after their dialogues, Iokanaan state his first speech which consists of messianic view. His speech implicitly informs that messiah will come to the world.
THE VOICE OF IOKANAAN: After me shall come another mightier than I. I am not worthy so much as to unloose the latchet of his shoes…. The sucking child shall put his hand upon the dragon's lair, he shall lead the lions by their manes.
The one whom points by Iokanaan is have the same profession with him, as prophet to preach and lead his followers. There some religion adapting messiah concept especially monotheistic religion, Judaism also has the concept of messiah. Therefore, messiah is a person who was anoited by God, in this case Judaism, by prophet whom will rule Jewish people which in Salome voiced by Iokanaan. Iokanaan adds information about messiah to Salome in their first meeting.
IOKANAAN: Daughter of Sodom, come not near me! But cover thy face with a veil, and scatter ashes upon thine head, and get thee to the desert, and seek out the Son of Man.
And,
IOKANAAN: Daughter of adultery, there is but one who can save thee. It is He of whom I spake. Go seek Him. He is in a boat on the sea of Galilee, and He talketh with His disciples. Kneel down on the shore of the sea, and call unto Him by His name. When He cometh to thee, and to all who call on Him He cometh, bow thyself at His feet and ask of Him the remission of thy sins.
Messiah in this case is Son of Man, means that he born from women womb just like other infant. This issue can be traced in Bible/New Testament which led the person as Jesus Christ although other monotheistic religion such as Islam said that messiah is Muhammad or later known as Mohammedan.
In Christianity there are some clues about the messiah. One of them is noted from Daniel:
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)[3]
Salome itself in Christian mythology was the daughter of Herodias and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee in Palestine. It is her seduction that causing St. John the Baptist's been execute. The saint had cursed the marriage of Herodias and Herod Antipas, as Herodias was the divorced wife of Antipas's half brother, Philip. Ewa Kuryluk outlines the origins, versions, and interpretations of the story of Salome[4]. According to Mark 6:21-29:
And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
Iokanaan, as different person but has the same function in those story, called the marriage between Herod and Herodias as incestuous marriage. It is reveals several time in some occasion including dialogue between Iokanaan and Salome or Herodias, his ultimate enemy.
SALOME : I am Salome, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judæa.
IOKANAAN: Back! daughter of Babylon! Come not near the chosen of the Lord. Thy mother hath filled the earth with the wine of her iniquities, and the cry of her sinning hath come up even to the ears of God.
In the dialogue between Salome and Iokanaan above, we could see that Iokanaan claim himself as the chosen of the lord, or in the other word, he is telling the truth about messiah, about something that Salome’s mother had done, and it is concerning about morality in certain religion and belief although Wilde uses symbolic language ‘filled the earth with the wine of her iniquities’. Later we will discuss on the use of symbolic language to explore the motive of the play. About incestuous marriage between Herod and Herodias, Iokanaan said that vulgarly whence Salome seduces him to kiss his lips.
IOKANAAN: Art thou not afraid, daughter of Herodias? Did I not tell thee that I had heard in the palace the beating of the wings of the angel of death, and hath he not come, the angel of death?
SALOME: Suffer me to kiss thy mouth.
IOKANAAN: Daughter of adultery, there is but one who can save thee. It is He of whom I spake. Go seek Him. He is in a boat on the sea of Galilee, and He talketh with His disciples. Kneel down on the shore of the sea, and call unto Him by His name. When He cometh to thee, and to all who call on Him He cometh, bow thyself at His feet and ask of Him the remission of thy sins.
SALOME: Suffer me to kiss thy mouth.
IOKANAAN: Cursed be thou! daughter of an incestuous mother, be thou accursed!
Further, Iokanaan claims that incestuous marriage is one of adultery. It can be said as incestuous because Herodias married to Herod, her younger brother of her earlier husband. Even though they are not in the same blood line but Iokanaan confines that the marriage is adultery. From the analysis about Iokanaan views on incestuous as a form of adultery. To emphasize his preach, Iokanaan uses a story about Sodom which also consist in Bible as well in the Koran. Sodom and Gommorah has commonly known as the land of homosexual which been punish by God trough disease and cataclysm.
Jewish History and Religion
Iokanaan itself related to Jewish history and religion. Kanaan is the place where Jews come for first time with their leader Abraham or so called Nabi Ibrahim in Islamic belief. Kanaan has been known as Babylon, Palestine, Israel. Kanaan people, later called as Kanaan, are several time been defeated by others nations and tribes. Their religion also changed because of its. Monotheistic thought delivered Abraham is not easy to understand by Jews because they have their ancient belief such God and Goddes, Marduk, Baal, El, Judth, Ester, etc. the condition get worse by the time Kanaan been defeated and ruled by other nation such Yehuda and Asuya. Meanwhile, Iok is the named given by Yahwe believers[5]. Therefore, Iokanaan named is not pick randomly but it token based on Wilde’s knowledge in Jewish history considering he have studied in Trinity college.
Misogyny in Iokanaan
There is also something interesting also in the way Iokanaan avoid the seduction. It is not because he is saint or prophet but in this case Iokanaan has other value that we could observe. Check quotation below:
IOKANAAN: Back! daughter of Babylon! By woman came evil into the world. Speak not to me. I will not listen to thee. I listen but to the voice of the Lord God.
The statement of ‘by women came evil into the world’ could indicate something that brought us to the original sin. In the Bible and Koran states that Adam and Eve exiled from heaven because they are disobey God’s command to not eat fruit of knowledge in Christian view or Khuldi (lust or passion) in Islamic view. Both of the view emphasize on Eve fault (as woman) to seduce Adam to eat the fruit. This view called as misogyny by Arivia (2004: 36)[6]. Misogyny defines as an expression of hatred or harassment to women.
Wilde and Symbolist Movement and Decadent Art
Thuleen (1995) states some information about Salome and Wilde that can be useful to analyze Wilde’s doubt on Jewish religion[7]. Firstly, the legend of Salome is popular within 19th century in Victorian period. There are writers and artists dedicated to write and paint about the legend in various treatments such as Flaubert, Moreau, Huysmans, and Maeterlinck. Therefore, Wilde’s Salome is not a strange choice at that time.
Secondly, Wilde wrote Salome while he in France in 1891. In French at that time there are two dominant discourses which are symbolism movement and Decadent Art. Symons, as noted by Thuleen, state that:
Wilde's affiliation with the Symbolist movement is clear; it should be noted,
though, that he had equally strong ties to another movement, itself closely allied with Symbolism: the Decadent poets of the 1890's. Never an exclusive or well-defined school, the Decadents drew their inspiration from many of the same sources as the Symbolists, such as the poems of Baudelaire and the dramas of Maeterlinck. Their emphasis, though, was on the importance of art for its own sake. Art must be independent of moral and social concerns, they believed, and must concentrate on style above all else. "Style in decadent art asphyxiates its subject," …and indeed, most of Wilde's other works, and most certainly his lifestyle and biography, attest to his agreement.[8]
So that Wilde style in using metaphorical and symbolism can understood as he has affiliation with other symbolist and decadent art is influenced him in creating pastiche work such as Salome. Pastiche works in one of the popular form on literary and art creation in France in 1890. Piliang (1999: 149) named this kind of works as Pastiche. Pastiche is identically known as poor creativity, originality, and authenticity. Hutcheon called Pastiche “shape rendering” because it’s emphasized to “surface” and poor in meaning”.[9] Pastiche uses some pieces of literary works or history or legend in combined in one work just like Wilde’s Salome. Salome consists of legend of Babylon, Sodom, Stoics, Rome, Chaldea, Judea, Galilee, etc without concerns on timing or exact period.
Wilde’s doubt on Religion
There are some backgrounds which support Wilde to write Salome besides analysis above. Wilde is bisexual, homosexual and heterosexual[10]. He was introduced to homosexuality in 1885, a year after his wedding. Salome appeared in 1894, by the time Wilde is still as homosexual. Homosexuality is forbid in monotheistic religion such Christianity. That why he determines himself as antinomian. Wilde states his doubt on morality and religion in ‘the Profundis’:
Morality does not help me. I am a born antinomian. I am one of those who are made for exceptions, not for laws…Religion does not help me. The faith that others give to what is unseen, I give to what one can touch, and look at...When I think about religion at all, I feel as if I would like to found an order for those who CANNOT believe: the Confraternity of the Faithless, one might call it, where on an altar, on which no taper burned, a priest, in whose heart peace had no dwelling, might celebrate with unblessed bread and a chalice empty of wine. Every thing to be true must become a religion. And agnosticism should have its ritual no less than faith. It has sown its martyrs, it should reap its saints, and praise God daily for having hidden Himself from man. But whether it be faith or agnosticism, it must be nothing external to me. Its symbols must be of my own creating[11].
Conclusion
Salome, as general work, is repetition of Salome legend in Bible. Both of St. John the Baptists and Iokanaan are decapitated Herod. Wilde used this plot with emphasis on Salome seduction in ‘Seven Veils’ which delivered Iokanaan head to Salome’s hand. This is the victory of hazardous desire even horrible lust. Wilde uses this story to give opinion about his doubt on religion. As we have seen, many religions and beliefs, Wilde shows that all religion is imaginary thought that everyone can make it their own. His stand as homosexual is support him to argue about religion while symbolism is his weapon to smash wall of morality which entrapped him from his attitudes.
[1] Whorton, Michael, and Judth Still (ed), Intertextuality: Theories and Practices, Manchaster University Press, New York, 1990, pg: 46.
[2] Fromm, Erich, Psychoanalysis and Religion, Vail-Ballou Press, Binghampton, New York, 1978, pg: 116
[3] www.wikipedia.com/messias (accessed on 19th August 2007)
[4] www.victorianweb.com (accessed on 16th August 2007)
[5] Armstrong, Karen, Sejarah Tuhan, Mizan Pustaka, Bandung, 2001, pg: 72-120
[6] Arivia, Gadis, Berfilsafat Perspektif Feminis, Suara Widya, Jakarta, 2004
[7] http://www.nthuleen.com/write.html (accessed on 16th August 2007)
[8] ibid
[9] piliang, Yasraf Amir, Hiperrealitas Kebudayaan, LKIS, Yogyakarta, 1999
[10] www.wikipedia.com/wilde (accessed on 19th August 2007)
[11] Wilde, Oscar, the Profundis, I forget to note its source from internet.
