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Michael Arditti: why I write fiction about faith Michael Arditti: why I write fiction about faith
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According to Goethe, "The conflict of faith and scepticism remains the proper, the only, the deepest theme of the history of the world and mankind to which all others are subordinate." He would be surprised by how rarely this theme is explored in contemporary British fiction. With the world increasingly divided along religious lines, even state-of-the-nation novels do little more than offer cursory portraits of fanatical Islamists. Meanwhile, far too many accomplished novelists retreat behind the ramparts of historical fiction, the literary equivalent of TV costume drama.According to Goethe, "The conflict of faith and scepticism remains the proper, the only, the deepest theme of the history of the world and mankind to which all others are subordinate." He would be surprised by how rarely this theme is explored in contemporary British fiction. With the world increasingly divided along religious lines, even state-of-the-nation novels do little more than offer cursory portraits of fanatical Islamists. Meanwhile, far too many accomplished novelists retreat behind the ramparts of historical fiction, the literary equivalent of TV costume drama.
In the past, religion was represented in British fiction through clergymen themselves. From Sterne's Parson Yorick, Fielding's Parson Adams and Goldsmith's Dr Primrose through Eliot's Rectors Casaubon and Cadwallader to Trollope's Reverend Harding and Bishop Proudie, the English novel abounded in portraits of clerical life. When Jane Austen declared that "three or four families in a country village is the very thing to work on", it was inconceivable that she should not have a Mr Elton lurking in the background. Anyone looking for a contemporary equivalent to The Vicar of Wakefield or The Warden must turn not to new fiction but to the BBC's Vicar of Dibley or Rev.In the past, religion was represented in British fiction through clergymen themselves. From Sterne's Parson Yorick, Fielding's Parson Adams and Goldsmith's Dr Primrose through Eliot's Rectors Casaubon and Cadwallader to Trollope's Reverend Harding and Bishop Proudie, the English novel abounded in portraits of clerical life. When Jane Austen declared that "three or four families in a country village is the very thing to work on", it was inconceivable that she should not have a Mr Elton lurking in the background. Anyone looking for a contemporary equivalent to The Vicar of Wakefield or The Warden must turn not to new fiction but to the BBC's Vicar of Dibley or Rev.
There are honourable exceptions. Andrew O'Hagan's Be Near Me, Jonathan Tulloch's Give Us This Day and Patrick Gale's A Perfectly Good Man paint compelling portraits of the spiritual and emotional travails of today's priests. In the US, where the reach of religion is longer, Marilynne Robinson's Gilead and Home brilliantly delineate the lives of midwestern pastors. I myself have written five novels The Celibate, Easter, The Enemy of the Good, Jubilate and now The Breath of Night, concerned in different ways and to differing degrees with issues of faith. But as Clement, the protagonist of The Enemy of the Good, remarks of his own artistic journey, it was easier at the Slade to come out as gay than as a Christian. The same is true of contemporary literary culture.There are honourable exceptions. Andrew O'Hagan's Be Near Me, Jonathan Tulloch's Give Us This Day and Patrick Gale's A Perfectly Good Man paint compelling portraits of the spiritual and emotional travails of today's priests. In the US, where the reach of religion is longer, Marilynne Robinson's Gilead and Home brilliantly delineate the lives of midwestern pastors. I myself have written five novels The Celibate, Easter, The Enemy of the Good, Jubilate and now The Breath of Night, concerned in different ways and to differing degrees with issues of faith. But as Clement, the protagonist of The Enemy of the Good, remarks of his own artistic journey, it was easier at the Slade to come out as gay than as a Christian. The same is true of contemporary literary culture.
There are many reasons that religious issues exert such a strong hold on my imagination and my fiction. Although the church no longer plays the central role in society that it did, it remains a force. In Britain, bishops still sit in the House of Lords and are closely involved with the making of legislation. For good or ill, clergy are regarded as moral arbiters, as is witnessed by the outrage when one of them transgresses the tabloid code. Judeo-Christian tradition has shaped our culture and Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer has done more to frame our language than any other single source, including Shakespeare. Even the most diehard secularist would find himself hard-pressed to expunge religious idioms from his speech.There are many reasons that religious issues exert such a strong hold on my imagination and my fiction. Although the church no longer plays the central role in society that it did, it remains a force. In Britain, bishops still sit in the House of Lords and are closely involved with the making of legislation. For good or ill, clergy are regarded as moral arbiters, as is witnessed by the outrage when one of them transgresses the tabloid code. Judeo-Christian tradition has shaped our culture and Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer has done more to frame our language than any other single source, including Shakespeare. Even the most diehard secularist would find himself hard-pressed to expunge religious idioms from his speech.
While its influence may have declined in western Europe, elsewhere religion dictates peoples' lives. In the Philippines, which, along with Timor‑Leste, is one of only two predominantly Christian countries in Asia, the church wields immense political power along with moral authority. It is only by exploring and analysing its faith that the true nature of the society is revealed. More often than not, this is one of flagrant contradictions. For example, under ecclesiastical pressure, the Philippines is one of only two states in the world to forbid divorce (the other being the Vatican) and yet sexual exploitation is rife, as Julian Tremayne, the missionary priest whose life and afterlife are the subject of The Breath of Night, finds when he searches for a missing parishioner in Angeles City, home in the 1980s to an estimated 80,000 prostitutes, some as young as five or six.While its influence may have declined in western Europe, elsewhere religion dictates peoples' lives. In the Philippines, which, along with Timor‑Leste, is one of only two predominantly Christian countries in Asia, the church wields immense political power along with moral authority. It is only by exploring and analysing its faith that the true nature of the society is revealed. More often than not, this is one of flagrant contradictions. For example, under ecclesiastical pressure, the Philippines is one of only two states in the world to forbid divorce (the other being the Vatican) and yet sexual exploitation is rife, as Julian Tremayne, the missionary priest whose life and afterlife are the subject of The Breath of Night, finds when he searches for a missing parishioner in Angeles City, home in the 1980s to an estimated 80,000 prostitutes, some as young as five or six.
Although journalists and sociologists are able to expose such contradictions, novelists have a unique ability to explore their effect on individuals. Besides, their work lends itself to more complex responses than the instinctive horror that the facts evoke. In The Breath of Night, Philip Seward, the young Englishman sent out to the Philippines to investigate Julian's claim to sainthood, is forced to wrestle with the paradox that, while the teachings and traditions of the church have brought comfort to an oppressed people, those same teachings and traditions have made people docile in the face of oppression.Although journalists and sociologists are able to expose such contradictions, novelists have a unique ability to explore their effect on individuals. Besides, their work lends itself to more complex responses than the instinctive horror that the facts evoke. In The Breath of Night, Philip Seward, the young Englishman sent out to the Philippines to investigate Julian's claim to sainthood, is forced to wrestle with the paradox that, while the teachings and traditions of the church have brought comfort to an oppressed people, those same teachings and traditions have made people docile in the face of oppression.
The familiar literary theme of the gulf between principles and practice is at its most potent in the case of clergy. A dog collar may not be an essential accessory for a spiritual crisis but, as Graham Greene's whisky priests have shown, the stakes are so much higher when faith is the core of one's professional life. Today's clergy are in a particularly fraught position. Anglicans are racked by doctrinal disputes and an increasing sense of futility, and Catholics labour under the yoke of a reactionary papacy and the merciless demands of celibacy. Their struggles to reconcile their vocations with the demands of their congregations and their consciences with the authority of the church are rich material for fiction.The familiar literary theme of the gulf between principles and practice is at its most potent in the case of clergy. A dog collar may not be an essential accessory for a spiritual crisis but, as Graham Greene's whisky priests have shown, the stakes are so much higher when faith is the core of one's professional life. Today's clergy are in a particularly fraught position. Anglicans are racked by doctrinal disputes and an increasing sense of futility, and Catholics labour under the yoke of a reactionary papacy and the merciless demands of celibacy. Their struggles to reconcile their vocations with the demands of their congregations and their consciences with the authority of the church are rich material for fiction.
It is this conflict between the individual conscience and biblical tradition that offers the richest seam for a religious novelist to mine today. Indeed, just as JG Ballard despaired in the 1960s of novelists who were content to write about marriage and adultery, seemingly oblivious to the technological changes taking place all around them, so I lament the lack of novelists willing to tackle the increasingly violent struggle between liberalism and fundamentalism. Besides, it is a struggle that is itself defined by literature – whether the Bible, Torah or Qur'an. Novelists who know how books are written, changed, translated, edited and distorted are in a unique position to counter the literalist argument. Their work can both contribute to and validate the pluralism that is the only defence against fundamentalism's tightening stranglehold.It is this conflict between the individual conscience and biblical tradition that offers the richest seam for a religious novelist to mine today. Indeed, just as JG Ballard despaired in the 1960s of novelists who were content to write about marriage and adultery, seemingly oblivious to the technological changes taking place all around them, so I lament the lack of novelists willing to tackle the increasingly violent struggle between liberalism and fundamentalism. Besides, it is a struggle that is itself defined by literature – whether the Bible, Torah or Qur'an. Novelists who know how books are written, changed, translated, edited and distorted are in a unique position to counter the literalist argument. Their work can both contribute to and validate the pluralism that is the only defence against fundamentalism's tightening stranglehold.
In the Philippines during the Marcos dictatorship, the struggle between individual conscience and both church and state authority took on a very specific form. While the ecclesiastical hierarchy colluded with the government, opposition came in the actions of individual priests, monks and nuns. Although the government remained wary of directly attacking the clergy, it turned a blind eye to the activities of rightwing militias, one of which even adopted the slogan: "Be a patriot and kill a priest!" This is the key to Julian's increasing radicalisation in my novel. As he witnesses the political, economic and sexual oppression of his parishioners, he becomes convinced of the correspondences between Christ's gospel and Marx's theories. How far he acts on this insight lies at the heart of the book.In the Philippines during the Marcos dictatorship, the struggle between individual conscience and both church and state authority took on a very specific form. While the ecclesiastical hierarchy colluded with the government, opposition came in the actions of individual priests, monks and nuns. Although the government remained wary of directly attacking the clergy, it turned a blind eye to the activities of rightwing militias, one of which even adopted the slogan: "Be a patriot and kill a priest!" This is the key to Julian's increasing radicalisation in my novel. As he witnesses the political, economic and sexual oppression of his parishioners, he becomes convinced of the correspondences between Christ's gospel and Marx's theories. How far he acts on this insight lies at the heart of the book.
Far from being of esoteric concern, the church is on the faultline of Philippine culture. Religious issues and their exponents remain as vital a subject of fiction today as in the age of Goldsmith or Trollope.Far from being of esoteric concern, the church is on the faultline of Philippine culture. Religious issues and their exponents remain as vital a subject of fiction today as in the age of Goldsmith or Trollope.
• Michael Arditti's The Breath of Night is published by Arcadia.• Michael Arditti's The Breath of Night is published by Arcadia.
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