Thomas Merton on Art and Religion in William Faulkner

Author: Labrie, Ross

Source: Religion and the Arts, Volume 14, Number 4, 2010 , pp. 401-417(17)

Publisher: BRILL

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Abstract:

For Thomas Merton, artists mirrored many of the functions traditionally performed by religious contemplatives. In particular, the sapiential and holistic approach taken in William Faulkner's fiction gave rise in Merton's view to an embedded higher state of awareness that allowed one to intuitively bridge the gap between the microcosm of one's own mental world and the macrocosm of ultimate reality. This bridge is created when the reader is drawn to plumb the depths of the psyche in order to thereby encounter the face of the creator. For Merton, the truths of the self that had been revealed by depth psychology, comparative religion, and social anthropology had brought forth a sapiential harvest, one that was present in a number of Faulkner's novels and stories. In this way, Merton argued, Faulkner both shaped and enriched theology.

Keywords: THOMAS MERTON; WILLIAM FAULKNER; MYTH AND SYMBOL; DETERMINISM; NATURAL RELIGION; ROMANTICISM; GREEK CLASSICISM

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156852910X511745

Affiliations: 1: University of British Columbia

Publication date: 2010-08-01