BYU Studies Quarterly BYU Studies Quarterly

Volume 35 Issue 3 Article 21

7-1-1995

Anxiety in Eden: A Kierkegaardian Reading of Paradise Lost by Paradise Lost by

John S. Tanner John S. Tanner

Neal W. Kramer

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Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Kramer, Neal W. (1995) "Anxiety in Eden: A Kierkegaardian Reading of Paradise Lost by John S. Tanner," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 35 : Iss. 3 , Article 21. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol35/iss3/21

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JOHN S TANNER anxiety in eden A Kierkegaardkierkegaardianian reading ofparadise lost new york oxford oxford university press 1992vii viii 209 ppap 3655565536.353635

reviewed by neal W kramer assistant dean of general education and honorsbrigham young university

readers of BYU studies will recognize professor john S tan-ners name and interest in john miltonsmillonsMiltons paradise lost from an ear-lier article he published in these pages in 1984 1 anxiety in edencontinues tanners work on milton this time from the perspectiveof the work of the danish philosopher and theologian sorenkierkegaard the book has already received much praise includ-ing the milton society of americas james holly hanford award formost distinguished book of 1992

there is good reason for readers of the journal to know aboutthis valuable contribution to our understanding of important philo-sophical psychological and doctrinal issues associated with miltons epic poem not only is tanners insight into the works of twogreat christian writers of value but the book also reflects his abil-ity to combine the languages of the academy and the spirit of rea-son and faith

elder neal A maxwell recently stated that you and I1 shouldbe fully qualified and certified in traditional education and itsprocesses for a very good reason bilinguality he went on todescribe this special bilingualism for latter day saints as beingtruly educated and articulate as to secular knowledge but

also educated and articulate in the things of the spirit 7121127722 animportant aspect of this kind of bilingualism especially for schol-ars is the ability to appropriately communicate through theirwritings things of the spirit as well more secular insights fromtheir individual disciplines latter day saint scholars have much tooffer their various specialties if they can learn when and howto use the discourse of the spirit to enlarge or enlighten their dis-ciplinesci tanners book is a fine example of how to write for ascholarly audience without compromising ones faith

anxiety in eden presents an analysis of paradise lost em-ploying ideas from kierkegaards the concept of anxietyofanxiety miltonsmillonsMiltons

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depiction of life in eden before the fall presents the reader with afundamental dilemma were adam and eve free to partake of theforbidden fruit or was their fall predetermined literary criticshave often sought to answer this question in dogmatic termsadam and eve were either entirely free to choose or entirely deter-mined in their choice often this issue of prelapsarian capacity im-plies something innate to adam and eve that defines them not so

much by the fall as by who they were in eden tanners applica-tion of kierkegaardianKierkegaardian psychology provides a more complicatedand yet more satisfying solution following kierkegaard tanner11 charts an elusive via media between rigid necessity on the onehand and random spontaneity on the other 29 this route leadsto the insight that the fall has a dual nature of its own it is at oncea leap forward and a fall downward one that can be made only byfree human beings the motivation for such a leap lies in an anx-iety at the core of being human anxiety about the future and aboutbeing human itself adam and eve are therefore both anxiousabout falling and by implication anxious to fall thus kierkegaardand milton interpret the fall so as to expose and accommodate abaffling paradox implicit in genesis sin erupts as a radically freeact yet as an act somehow conditioned by the temptation whichconfers upon it psychological probability 35 tanner therebypresents adam and eve and their posterity as implicated in a fallenworld but free to make their way back to god his careful analysisof the psychology of anxiety leads to a remarkable interpretation ofthe fall in paradise lost

critics of paradise lost have also been fascinated with miltons portrayal of satan strong readers to use harold bloomsterm of the epic like shelley and blake have even asserted thatsatan is the true hero of the poem tanner devotes two chaptersto an interpretation of satansgatans role in the fall and an analysis ofsatansgatans ontological status the first of these chapters explains theconnection between satan and sin in the epic milton presents sinas born leapingleap ing out of the sinister left side of satansgatans head43 thus sin does not emerge by degrees into existence but is

always full grown and sin has no intention of its own sinful inten-tion arises from the will of satan a wicked being who is in openrebellion against god and who desires to destroy adam and eve

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through sinfulness this connection of sin with satan provides aspace within which adam and eve may be saved for even after thefall they are uniquely individual agents 55 they are not over-determined by original sin it is not embedded in their minds as itonce was in the mind of satan the poem thus presents edenicevil as something humans both inherit and imitate 61 thedifference between satan and humans becomes obvious we donot condemn human sinners as utterly responsible but ratherfind hope for repentance in the fact that human evil is neverwholly contingent upon the individual as satanic evil is entirelycontingent upon himself 62636262656563

in his second chapter on satan tanner stresses an evengreater gulf between satan and humanity the very essence ofsatansgatans being is despair while we humans have good reason evenin the face of the catastrophic fall to hope for a better futureadam and eves sinful leap is also a leap of faith satansgatans is notsatansgatans rhetoric in paradise lost reveals him to be a dogmatic indi-vidualistvidualist he neither subordinates nor submits himself to anyoneespecially not to god tanner following kierkegaard exploreshow this individualism can lead only to isolation absence anddolor satansgatans ontological individualism offers not freedom butmere arbitrariness not security but despair 162

satansgatans bondage manifests itself in numerous ways throughoutthe epic but tanners interpretation stresses satansgatans despair as heconfronts gods creations the natural world and adam and evesatansgatans deepest felt response to natural beauty is his desire to negateor destroy it satan rebelled against god to assert his ontologicalindependence to admire the beauty of gods creation is to admiregod which is to deny satansgatans individualism so satan temporarilyawestruckawestruck by beauty almost immediately must try to destroy itrather than love eve he seeks to drag her into his own sin drenchedseparation eves comeliness is terrible because it is god given herbeauty attests the even more terrible beauty of the lord who fash-ioned her 015959 satan affirms only his power to destroy and there-fore announces his inability to recognize the life granting powers ofgod to whom one must be subordinate in order to obtain a fullnessof joy in gods absence satan suffers the despair of disconnectedindividualism and can only be diminished he is no hero only thevictim of his own foolish desire to be independent

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the contribution of this scholarly interpretation is heightenedby tanners ability to speak the language of faith many scholars I1

believe are originally drawn to milton or kierkegaard because theyfind these writers deep commitment to christian principles spiri-tually sympathetic that has certainly been my own experiencehowever as the demands of scholarship overtake earlier enthusi-asm scholarly writing often requires one to relinquish the faithfulsympathy that originally vitalizedvitalizervitalized such study in one sense thedemand that the scholar avoid being overtly confessional is goodto get bogged down in the polemics of confession and apologyoften results in neglecting the richness of textual analysis and inter-pretationpretation that characterizes excellent literary study in anothersense however to deny for the sake of academic convention thereligious power of individual works or the spiritual motivation ofthe critic can also be intellectually dishonest nevertheless in thesecular world of modernmodem scholarship finding even the slightestspace in which to aver faith is amazingly difficult and in the studyof religious figures it can be especially demanding since ones col-leagues are particularly alert to the nuances of testimony tannerscreation and use of such spaces is noteworthy indeed

one such space is tanners obvious choice clear from thefirst page to allow his subjects to express their own high andholy religious passion unencumbered by immediately secularizingsecularizingor minimizing interpretation 7 if miltonsmillonsMiltons language soars to spir-itual heights or kierkegaards words invite readers to examinemore thoroughly the deepest recesses of conscience tanner un-leashes their spirit he then supports having done so with criticaland spiritual insights milton and kierkegaard learn to sing like

homer and reason like hegel respectively in order to bear witnessto christianitysChristianitys unknown god they baptize epic poetry and dia-lecticallectical philosophy and bring them still dripping wet to the chris-tian god 9 both these introductory passages carry the style andtone of literary critical language tanner is crisp insightful and pas-sionate in his account but he is also respectful of belief his criti-cism expands his subjects expression of faith and the ease withwhich he navigates the difficult shoals of epic and dialectic in rela-tion to their concomitant expressions of testimony reveals tan-ners own religious intellect as well for he could not generate

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such insightful critical images of belief without beliefs of his ownto inform his choices

another instance where tanner makes room for faith is hisdiscussion of the fall of adam and eve the conventional approachto either milton or kierkegaards use of the fall is simply toaccount for it in terms of mythology and while talk of christianmythology is sensible in numerous contexts it often implies a dis-connection between critic and text that is the fall becomes anobject only for scholarly analysis leaving no room for discussion ofhow such scholarship might increase understanding of humanexperience through a study of this subject and relevant texts suchscholarship minimizes any awareness that understanding the fallfanfailfalimight improve our lives

such is not the case with tanners treatment of the fall takefor example the following sentence where tanner addresses thecomplex relation between progression transgression and the fallonly humans however grow in another way only humans

transgress breaking out of a moral sphere by becoming evil 26to some it may appear that tanners use of the special termsgrow and transgress is fairly innocuous however part of what

is at stake I1 would contend in the selection of both terms isknowledge of the gospel vouchsafed by the restoration to see inthe fall potentially progressive as well as regressive consequencesimplied in this text by grow places the analysis in a particulartheological framework one supported by miltonsmillonsMiltons understandingand augmented by spiritual insight gained from the doctrines ofthe latter day restoration see 2 ne 24 27 the same is true of theword transgression to present adam and eve as transgressing as

opposed to sinning is not merely to replace a term with its syn-onym here tanner invites us to consider with intellectual rigor a

careful distinction with real theological and salvific consequencesthe doctrines of the restoration carefully and boldly distinguishbetween transgression and sin 3 tanner invites his readers to dothe same to learn true gospel principles in connection with theirstudy of traditional christian writers and yet this care is not sul-lied by boorish confession designed to intimidate or threaten fel-low scholars instead it presents opportunities for learningaccompanied by a spirit of christian goodwill

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there are other examples of similar choices throughout thetext as tanner grapples with the challenge of engaging great mindsin conversation about salvation important as these choices arehowever tanner must also come to grips with the desire to beartestimony in a book about doctrines so fundamental to our under-standing of the saviors mission how does one announce alle-giance as a scholar to jesus christ much of anxiety in edencarries with it a feeling of despair part of that necessarily arises outof tanners involvement in kierkegaards melancholy philosophybut some is generated by the awful reality of the pain we all feel atbeing separated from god through the fall I1 was curious as tohow tanner would turn us away from the disaster of the loss ofeden to the eternal hope we find in christ this he does in the con-cluding chapter entitled anxiety and salvation in an endnote tothis chapter tanner announces his fellowship with milton andkierkegaard in their mutual hope in a joyous reunion with thesavior 1I am most moved by the consolation the poem offersthrough faith in and for this world but I1 do not intend to dis-

miss or disparage as surrender to literalism the hope offered bythe promise of a second coming or future heavenly bliss ora literal resurrection these are not dead hopes for me or formilton who would surely concur with paul if in this life only wehave hope in christ we are of all men most miserable 1 I1 cor1519 185 86

elder maxwell has frequently spoken of meekness as a cardi-nal virtue of disciples in the context of a scholarly essay tannersfaith as it manifests itself in the language of belief demonstratesmeekness while it also heightens the quality of the interpretationanxiety in eden engages fundamental questions about freedomand necessity original sin works and grace and the nature of eviloffering important insights that only a careful comparison of mil-ton and kierkegaard on these topics could generate its presenta-tion from beginning to end exhibits the highest standards ofliterary criticism and philosophical reflection that said perhapsits most important strength is revealed in a remark by a colleagueas we discussed the book if you read it carefully it is obvious thata believing mormon wrote it I1 took the statement as high praiseand commend anxiety in eden as an ideal example of elder

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maxwellsmaxwelllMaxwells notion of bilingualism using the languages of scholar-ship and faith with true facility and genuine meekness

NOTES

johnvohntohn S tanner making a mormon of milton BYU studies 24 spring19841911984 191igi 206

eaieal A maxwell the inexhaustible gospel ensign 23 april 19931995 72sosephjoseph fielding smith doctrines of salvation comp bruce R mcconkie

4 vols salt lake city bookcraft 1954 1114

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