Saturday, March 12, 2011

Thief analysis - part 12: Representation of Abraham and Sarah

CATEGORY: MOVIES












Jessie (played by Tuesday Weld) acquires a baby.



In part 7 of the analysis we observed that some of the characters in the movie are metaphorically depicted as residing in Limbo, the first circle of Dante's Inferno (Hell). In Canto IV (i.e., chapter 4) of the Inferno, Dante's guide through Hell, Virgil, mentions to him various figures from the bible's Old Testament, including Abraham, and states that they were confined to this circle until the death of Christ.[a]

Frank represents the biblical figure Abraham, and his partner, Jessie, represents Abraham's wife, Sarah, who could not have children due to the fact that she was sterile; this corresponds to Jessie not being able to have children. Frank and Jessie's 'adopted' child, whom they named David, was provided by Leo; this corresponds to God 'providing' a child, Isaac, for Abraham and Sarah (this is not to say that Leo himself represents the Christian God as such).


a. Wikipedia, 'Inferno (Dante)'. Web, n.d. URL = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante).




Posted at 7:50 AM
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