Plays · Question
How does Plays develop the theme of The War Between Flesh and Spirit?
Answer
Plays by Roswitha of Gandersheim develops The War Between Flesh and Spirit across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Plays such as Callimachus, Abraham, and Paphnutius explicitly explore the internal conflict between carnal desire and spiritual devotion, with characters struggling against lust and ultimately choosing asceticism or penance to purify the soul.
Central to Callimachus, Abraham, and Paphnutius, exploring the struggle between human desires and spiritual purity, with emphasis on penance and redemption.
Gallicanus's desire for Constance (fleshly ambition) contrasts with his military duty (spiritual/service-oriented calling).
Gallicanus struggles with the temptation of seeing Constance and chooses spiritual discipline over earthly attachment.
Evidence in the book
- The Plays of Roswitha
Central to Callimachus, Abraham, and Paphnutius, exploring the struggle between human desires and spiritual purity, with emphasis on penance and redemption.
- Scene I
Gallicanus's desire for Constance (fleshly ambition) contrasts with his military duty (spiritual/service-oriented calling).
- Scene XIII
Gallicanus struggles with the temptation of seeing Constance and chooses spiritual discipline over earthly attachment.
- Scene III
Gallicanus rejects worldly advice and material concerns, prioritizing eternal life over temporal existence.
- Scene II
Callimachus's carnal desire for Drusiana conflicts with her spiritual commitment to God.
- Scene III
Callimachus's fleshly desire clashes with Drusiana's spiritual resolve, embodying the conflict between carnal passion and spiritual purity.
- Scene VI
Callimachus's carnal desire persists even after Drusiana's death, illustrating the conflict between bodily passion and spiritual purity.
- Scene VII
Callimachus's carnal desire for Drusiana's body is violently opposed by a divine serpent, symbolizing the conflict between lust and spiritual purity.
