In reading More’s “Patient Joe” I was immediately reminded
of the story of Job. Joe, much like Job, is unyieldingly pious and affords no “luck”
to any circumstance in his life, good or bad. While the notion of determinism
is emphasized more in More’s poem, the message of the story of Job and “Patient
Joe” are undeniably similar. Joe, like Job is rewarded in the end for his
unwavering faith in God and His will, despite the unfortunate circumstances he
admits God has burdened him with at times. The parallels in these two stories
are very strong, which left me wondering why More would choose this allusion.
The Book of Job is a disturbing one, and leaves even the faithful wondering why
God would encourage one of his most righteous followers to be punished or “tested”
by satan. In reading “Patient Joe” the allusion to Job raises the same
questions and sentiments within a reader. In More’s other works that I read
tonight, she denounces the liberal ideals of the French Revolution, which
include equality of man and liberty (which I suppose includes justice). I’m
just not sure alluding to sympathy-arousing and vastly unfair story of Job
carries her condemnation of French revolutionaries so gracefully.
I find the allusion you picked up on very insightful, and I made not of the parallel. However, I feel More's objective was to show how behaving piously should be how English men and women govern their own lives. The connection you make at the end of your blog about the disturbing qualities of Job and "Patient Joe" is not relevant to More's poem. That being said, I am not very acquainted with the book of Job. There might well be something there.
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ReplyDeleteAnother thought on this: in the religious climate of the late eighteenth-century, many of More's readers would have been very familiar with the Book of Job, so her allusion would not be lost on them. Further, there is something disturbing in the end of More's poem. Think about these two lines, taken out of context:
ReplyDelete"The pit has fallen in, and Tim Jenkins is dead."
How sincere was the gratitude Joseph expressed,
If you read a little askance, it is possible to see Joe rejoicing over Tim Jenkin's death, certainly not what one would expect from a devout Christian. What More might have meant when she created this clever conjunction we may never know, but reading it as a veiled threat is one possibility: if you thwart the rules (whether God's or the state's), vengeance will fall upon your head (literally).
I also immediately saw "patient Joe" as a rewritten story of Job because of his unwavering faith despite many trials and tribulations. Strangely however, I felt it to be almost mocking the original story rather than praising it, but I am uncertain if this is what More would have intended considering her religious background. I do think that this story would have been effective at the time because people would have known the book of Job and would have easily been able to relate to it. Because it was such a common trope, this would have made it less inflammatory and made it easier for the reader to digest More's message.
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