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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Reconciling Portrayals of "the Other" as "the Beast"

Even after reading Eifelheim twice, there is a feeling, a response that I quite can't put my finger on. At first, I thought of the feeling as the otherness of the medieval humans. Perhaps this was only enhanced by the contrast being made even more stark by including modern-day human characters such as Tom and Sharon Nagy, whom we, as modern-day readers, are quicker to find affinity with. Then, a quote struck me on the second reading: "Dietrich saw the world suddenly through Krenkish eyes—lost, far from home, neighbors to ominous strangers who could contemplate the killing of their lords, an act incomprehensible, even bestial to them. To Hans, Dietrich was the Beast that Spoke" (139). In that moment, the aliens seem more human in their encounter with humans than the humans do with their encounter with aliens. The Krenkl have their own sense of being-ness, and an ethics in which survival, in being paramount, seems to flow from that as well.

It is fascinating, however, that the author is able to, at least for this reader, stir human feelings for other, sentient beings. Even though the Krenkl are beastly demon-devils in one age, and aliens in another — the embodiment of evil and otherness — certain humans in both ages are able to reconcile these differences. What makes certain human beings, such as Dietrich — and to some extent, Judy — able to reconcile these differences? Dietrich cares for, protects, and nourishes the Krenkl as he would human beings, albeit with more caution, due to the precarious situation that harboring "demons" places him in.

To Dietrich, the "otherness" of these aliens does not supersede their ability to have thoughts, feelings, and emotions — even a sense of humor which is not otherworldly. These are the traits of sentient beings, and the presence of them convinces Dietrich that God's love can expand to all creatures. As such, Dietrich accepts and tolerates the difference of the Krenkl. To him they are others not in that they are inhuman, but merely in that their biological makeup is different from that of humans. That is to say, that they are different life-forms in terms of their biological make-up is not as important to Dietrich as is the similarity that the Krenkl share with humans the capability to think, feel, and experience emotions. It is human, however, only inasmuch as Dietrich and the rest of humankind label these capabilities as being indicative of humane-ness.

Likewise, Judy opposes removing Johann von Sterne, Hans, from his burial site. She has attached a great sense of dignity to the Krenkl, and it is not human dignity. It is a dignity which she has extended to other life-forms, regardless of there relation, or lack thereof, to homo sapiens. What other characters have we encountered who share similar attitudes? Andrew "Ender" Wiggin and Emilio Sandoz.

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