How challenging the fulfillment of one’s own role in society and the co-occurring responsibilities, as well as weighting up mental well-being against physical health, during an imminent crisis can become, is something the protagonist of Stewart O’Nan’s novel "A Prayer for the Dying" becomes painfully aware of. Set a few years after the Civil War, Jacob Hansen has just returned from the war and now holds the office of Sheriff, Pastor and Undertaker in the small Wisconsin town Friendship – he is a dutiful man who takes his roles very seriously. When a deadly epidemic, Diphtheria, starts to spread around the townspeople, Jacob struggles between keeping the town safe and maintaining his sanity, troubled by post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the townspeople are not very compliant and a threatening natural catastrophe further strains Jacob’s moral disposition as he has to decide between leaving the sick to die and saving those not struck by disease.
This paper aims to elaborate on how in general diseases may be instrumentalized to fit a certain persons or groups psychological needs, and how especially the question of responsibility, as well as the virological imperative, steers a community’s behavior in the face of an epidemic/pandemic. Further, it will discuss the ethical and inner conflicts concerning the measures taken to overcome the threat of a deadly disease. In concern to this, the self as "evil object" will be explained and, inter alia, measures such as isolative quarantine will be discussed exemplarily. Stewart O’Nan’s A Prayer for the Dying, as well as recent literature regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will function as analytical basis for this paper. Lastly, I will try to formulate an assessment of the situation’s outcome in O’Nan’s novel and will provide a short outlook on a possible positive impact the Coronavirus pandemic may have on our society.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. A faceless evil: Coping strategies for an invisible threat from a psychological point of view
2.1. Diptheria as a form of “test” by God in O’Nan’s novel
2.2. COVID-19 as an instrument for diverse conspiracy theories
3. Community: Of duty, selflessness and lack of compliance in social groups
4. “At all cost”: Ethical and inner conflicts concerning the measures to overcome crisis
4.1. Curfew, quarantine and the mentally ill
4.2. The self as “evil object”
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper explores how infectious diseases, such as the Diphtheria epidemic in Stewart O’Nan’s novel "A Prayer for the Dying" and the modern COVID-19 pandemic, are instrumentalized to satisfy psychological needs, while investigating the ethical conflicts between individual responsibility and the greater good.
- The psychological impact of invisible threats and coping mechanisms.
- The intersection of religious belief, guilt, and the instrumentalization of disease.
- The sociological analysis of conspiracy theories during global crises.
- Collective responsibility and the challenges of social compliance.
- The ethical tension regarding quarantine measures and the "evil object" phenomenon.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
„Man must have light. He must live in the fierce full constant glare of light, where all shadow will be defined and sharp and unique and personal: the shadow of his own singular rectitude or baseness. All human evils have to come out of obscurity and darkness, where there is nothing to dog man constantly with the shape of his own deformity.” – William Faulkner, the Mansion.
In the face of crisis, we face our demons. Or rather, when presented with live-threatening situations, such as disease or natural catastrophes, humans tend to act upon basic, archaic fear. However, primal survival instinct and a prominent social consciousness oftentimes conflict each other and demand the individual to choose between moral contingency, the greater good (society) and its own, specific needs.
This can be well observed in the recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, where our consciousness of societal structures is heightened to an extreme every time we choose between meeting more than one friend and risking not only a potential infection, but also the possibility of becoming a transmitter for the disease, or staying home, slowly loosing mental stability, trying to cope with the loneliness we feel by endlessly scrolling through social media networks and drinking the third glass of wine. Is it selfish to preserve the own mental and physical existence by disobeying what would be the norm, or how philosopher Markus Gabriel calls it in this very pandemic, the virological imperative (virologischer Imperativ)?
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the theoretical framework of the "virological imperative" and sets the analytical stage by comparing the protagonist's struggles in O’Nan’s novel with contemporary societal reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. A faceless evil: Coping strategies for an invisible threat from a psychological point of view: This section explores how humans psychologically process the fear of abstract, invisible diseases through religious interpretation and the creation of conspiracy theories.
2.1. Diptheria as a form of “test” by God in O’Nan’s novel: This chapter analyzes the protagonist’s religious coping mechanisms and his savior complex in the face of a deadly Diphtheria outbreak.
2.2. COVID-19 as an instrument for diverse conspiracy theories: This chapter examines how modern societal movements utilize conspiracy theories to project fear onto palpable enemies, thereby regaining a sense of control.
3. Community: Of duty, selflessness and lack of compliance in social groups: This section discusses the tension between individual autonomy and communal responsibility during a crisis, using both the novel and modern protests as case studies.
4. “At all cost”: Ethical and inner conflicts concerning the measures to overcome crisis: This chapter investigates the moral paradoxes of survival-driven measures, such as quarantine, which potentially violate personal freedom and ethical standards.
4.1. Curfew, quarantine and the mentally ill: This chapter highlights the psychological risks of restrictive measures, particularly for those with existing mental health challenges, and the impact of enforced isolation.
4.2. The self as “evil object”: This chapter explores the phenomenon of viewing oneself and others as potential sources of danger, leading to stigmatization and internalized guilt.
5. Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the findings, arguing that crisis is a collective trauma that offers the potential for future social adaptation and a shift in fundamental beliefs.
Keywords
Christianity, COVID-19, Diphtheria, A Prayer for the Dying, Stewart O’Nan, virological imperative, conspiracy theories, collective trauma, ethics, quarantine, psychological coping, social responsibility, evil object, pandemic, vulnerability.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
The work examines the psychological and ethical reactions to infectious diseases, comparing the fictional epidemic in Stewart O’Nan’s "A Prayer for the Dying" with the real-world COVID-19 pandemic.
What are the central themes discussed?
The central themes include the instrumentalization of disease, the role of religious and conspiratorial coping mechanisms, the conflict between individual freedom and communal duty, and the phenomenon of stigmatization.
What is the primary objective of the research?
The aim is to elaborate on how diseases are instrumentalized to fit psychological needs and how the question of responsibility steers a community's behavior during a crisis.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The work employs a literary analysis of O’Nan’s novel combined with sociological research and psychoanalytical perspectives to interpret human behavior during health crises.
What is covered in the main body?
The main body covers the psychological processing of threats, the use of conspiracy theories to regain control, the role of community compliance, and the ethical dilemmas posed by restrictive state measures.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include the virological imperative, conspiracy theories, collective trauma, social responsibility, the "evil object," and pandemic ethics.
How does the author define the "virological imperative"?
Following Markus Gabriel, the author describes it as the moral obligation to take every possible measure to protect vulnerable members of society and the health system, even at a high economic cost.
What does the "self as evil object" mean in this context?
It refers to the realization that an individual can become an unintentional carrier of a disease, turning them into a potential source of harm to their loved ones, which in turn leads to deep feelings of guilt and social stigmatization.
What role does the protagonist, Jacob, play in the novel?
Jacob serves as a lens through which the author explores the tension between his roles as a sheriff, pastor, and undertaker, and his personal struggle with guilt and trauma during a deadly epidemic.
- Quote paper
- Lucy-Melina Laschewski (Author), 2021, Christianity, Community and Crisis. A study of Stewart O’Nan’s novel "A Prayer for the Dying" and the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/1184773
