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The (Im-)Possibility of Forgiveness and the Theatrical Event of Love in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

  • Journal of Modern English Drama
  • Abbr : JMBARD
  • 2022, 35(2), pp.209-227
  • Publisher : 한국현대영미드라마학회
  • Research Area : Humanities > English Language and Literature > English Literature > Contemporary English Drama
  • Received : July 25, 2022
  • Accepted : August 14, 2022
  • Published : August 31, 2022

Choi Seok Hun 1

1서울시립대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

According to Jacques Derrida, forgiveness is impossible since it forgives the unforgivable. How would the Derridean aporia of forgiveness apply to Judas Iscariot, who is arguably one of the most unforgivable people in the history of western civilization? Drawing on Derrida’s and John D. Caputo’s philosophical discourse of forgiveness, this essay examines how Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (2005) represents the possibility of Judas’ forgiveness. I focus on the contrast between the conditional logic of forgiveness in the court of Purgatory and the unconditional love displayed by Jesus during his private encounter with his fallen apostle towards the end of the play in terms of Caputo’s weak theology. Whereas the logic of calculation and economy leaves forgiveness impossible in the court of law, Jesus’ unconditional love as a weak force strongly suggests the possibility of forgiveness. While drama has received little attention in the discussion of the relationship between forgiveness and literature, Guirgis’ play attests to the possibility of not only imagining but also performing forgiveness.

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