Forgiveness in six filipino novels via Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutics

• Main Author: Bragado, Erlinda H.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1991
• Subjects: Novels, Filipino; Hermeneutics; Forgiveness; Ricoeur, Paul > Criticism and interpretation; Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/687
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study explores the theological dimension of forgiveness in six contemporary novels, three of which are written in Tagalog and the other three in English. The novels are selected according to the following criteria: post-war novels up to the modern period (1950-1988), a theme or motif of forgiveness, the novel should have achieved recognition/received an award or should have been written by a popular or outstanding novelist. For accessibility, the novel should have been published in book form. Thus, the choices are classified according to the perceived experience of loss and the primary source of conflict in the story. The Tagalog novels dealing with the tenancy system and the slum are categorized under Loss of Space and include Maganda Pa Ang Daigdig and Daluyong by Lazaro Francisco and Canal de la Reina by Liwayway Arceo. The novels, written in English and dealing with psychological problems, are classified under loss of Integrity and include The Hand of the Enemy by Kerima Polotan, The Woman Who Had Two Navels by Nick Joaquin, and Ermita by F. Sionil Jose.The researcher adopted Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutics as the method of analysis, particularly his initial hermeneutical venture on The Symbolism of Evil and his recent publications on Time and Narrative (Vols. 1 and 2). The first serves as basis for the analysis of the symbols and myths on the origin of evil while the second serves as a grid for the literary analysis. All six novels follow the Adamic myth: the Tagalog novels also manifest the Creation myth while the novels written in English delineate the tragic in the Adamic myth with two novels-- The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Ermita --having traces of the Orphic myth. The Tagalog novels have the following symbols of evil: gangrene, rust of the past, captivity, going astray, termite, the dark chamber, leech, and murky water. The novels written in English have the following symbols of evil: hand of the enemy, two navels, broken mirrors, and prostitution. All the novels have negative views of the city.Chapter 3 develops a hermeneutics of 'pagpapatawad' following Clifford geertz's ritual process cited in the second mimesis of Ricoeur's Time and Narrative. The ritual process of haggling in marketplaces is the basis of analysis. The result manifests that the dynamics of haggling in a marketplace correspond with the dynamics of forgiveness and that the analysis of some words used in social discourse leads to insights into Christian values. The Tagalog novels clearly express the need for forgiveness and reconciliation. The novels written in English are open-ended and ambiguous, delineating how the characters struggle with themselves and how the protagonists courageously confront life. By following the way of narrative theology via Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutics, this study affirms the presence of a theological dimension in Philippine literature.