Saint Augustine and His Abandoned Concubine:
Vita Brevis by Jostein Gaarder
During much of European history men shaped the world of things and thought as they believed right and passed over women in silence, if they didn’t hold them in contempt. Highly revered Fathers of the Christian Church like Saint Augustine of Hippo Regius further institutionalised this contempt of women… and of earthly pleasures altogether as shows his autobiography titled Confessiones. In this theological key text he admits that before his conversion to Christianity in 385 he was a man who tasted life to the full. For over ten years he lived with a concubine (probably law forbade a formal marriage) and had a son with her, but in retrospect he regrets this sinful and immoral relationship because it kept him from true love of God. In Vita Brevis. A Letter to Saint Augustine (also translated into English as The Same Flower) the Norwegian writer, philosopher and theologian Jostein Gaarder gave this abandoned woman a voice.
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How intriguing! Some years ago I read his book for children about philosophy, Sophie's World. I thought the plot was a bit too thin but it was a wonderful overview of the great philosophers. I will try to track down Vita Brevis.
ReplyDeleteI heard of Sophie's World, but since I don't usually read children's books... I preferred to read Vita Brevis and didn't regret it.
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