الفهرس 
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Abstract
The concept of redemption is considered the essence of Christianity and is widely mentioned in the Bible which induced the commentators of this holy book to handle it with deep interest,
presenting a great heritage. As a natural result, this prevalent
religious heritage worked as an inspiring source for the distinguished
writers and poets in general. Shaw, Eliot, Miller and Bolt are some of
the gifted and adept dramatists that tackled this concept in their
plays. To substantiate such a point, it was necessary to reveal in the
introduction the extent to which the Christian world is saturated with
this religious concept.
According to the Christian thought, the original sin of Adam’s
and Eve’s disobedience of God’s order by eating of the tree of
knowledge was not forgiven. For no obvious reason, this sin was
destined to move from one generation to another with nothing to stop
it until the crucifixion of Christ. Despite the Christian God’s love of
His children, human beings, He could not forgive them because He is
just. Their repentance, for the sin they inherited, was not enough.
Sacrificing their lives does not satisfy Him since these creatures,
including prophets, are sinners. The only solution was asking a
sinless being to disguise himself as a human through incarnation, and
God’s only Son was the One fated to do this. The sin is too great to
be forgiven by a sacrifice of an angel, a genie, a bird, etc. Seeing His
only Son crucified at the hands of human beings, the sinners, was the
only way to appease this God’s ire that resulted from Adam’s
disobedience. Christ’s human body was the ransom paid to redeem
humanity. By Christ’s death, all human beings are redeemed from
their original sin. Adam’s eating of the tree of good and evil was a sin
and the suffering and death of the masqueraded Son was the price
paid to the Christian God to forgive that sin. Believing in redemption
is humanity’s only way to salvation which illuminates its importance.
This is the concept of redemption reflected in the four plays handled
in this thesis. The ubiquity of this concept participated in forming the
cultural background of the writers, paving the way for handling this
perennial story in their works. The protagonists’ demise is a kind of
redemption similar to that of Jesus Christ.Chapter I deals with Shaw’s Saint Joan. In this chapter, there is
an elucidation of how the concept of redemption is reflected in this
play. Joan is a saint that dies for a goal similar to that of Christ.
Although Christ is sinless by nature and so he was chosen for
salvation, Joan‟s original sin is forgiven by believing in Christ and
following Him. Incinerating this pure-hearted sinless girl is a kind of
redemption for the sinners.
Different comments on Saint Joan, including Shaw‟s, are
referred to, but the main concern is on the play itself. According to
the Christian concepts, the play shows that Joan is a Christian saint
and martyr while her judges are mere demonic villains. These
devilish scoundrels are redeemed by Joan‟s death that leads to their
repentance. Every other opinion or attempt to defame Joan or justify
the actions of the court is refuted by the text itself. Although Shaw
did his best, he partly failed to achieve what he intended to do in
such a field. It is substantiated that Shaw contradicts himself in his
preface and it is reflected in the play too.Chapter II handles Eliot‟s Murder in the cathedral in an attempt
to substantiate its being influenced by the Christian concept of
redemption. Thomas Becket, the protagonist of the play, sacrifices
his life to redeem his generation. It is an imitation of the crucifixion
of Christ who, according to the Christian thought, saved humanity by
dying for them.
The concept of redemption is so conspicuous in Murder in the
Cathedral. Eliot succeeded in conveying this concept through his
portrayal of the character of the historical figure Thomas Becket to
the extent that the play may turn every Christian reader into a person
who only waits and witnesses. Christ agonized without repulsion and
his followers of the saints and martyrs must do the same. The
abettors who espouse certain Christian ideas must suffer not repugn
until they get lynched or dismembered and those who accept this act
of self-murder attain exculpation or forgiveness. This is the case of
Thomas Becket, the protagonist of this play, and the audience
represented by the witnesses or the chorus. Even the knights,
Becket’s murderers, intend to play the role of saviors by claiming
sacrificing all for the sake of their nation. In short, the concept of
redemption is conspicuously reflected in Murder in the Cathedral,
presenting another savior to the world.
Chapter III tackles Miller‟s The Crucible in which John
Proctor, the protagonist of the play, and some other characters follow
the Christ in sacrificing their lives to save others. The Concept of
Redemption is so conspicuous in Proctor‟s multiple sacrifices ended
by his self-immolation to redeem the whole town. Though Christ is
originally virtuous, Proctor‟s offence is forgiven through his act of
believing in Christ and following his instructions. His regret,
suffering and repentance are patent from the very beginning. He
finally sacrifices his life for the sake of his friends and all members
in his community, dying as an honest human being. He stands for
what is right and protects his community. In this respect, Hurrell
states that Miller intends his dramatic works to ”make man more
human.” (46).
In short, the concept of redemption is reflected in The Crucible
not only through the protagonist but also through all those hanged:
…the innocent victims of the tragedy are like Jesus. Christians
believe that Jesus died to save future generations. Those who learn
from the deaths in Salem are also saved. They are saved from
repeating history and suffering another great loss of life. (Online:
“Novel Guide on The Crucible”)
Chapter IV elucidates the extent to which Bolt’s A Man for all
Seasons is a play in which the concept of redemption is so patent. Sir
Thomas More, the man for all seasons, sacrifices his life for the sake
of God exactly the way Christ did. The protagonist of the play is
prepared, from the beginning, to be one of the christs that die to save
others. Whatever Robert Bolt states about his More, the one portrayed
in the play is a christ. Although he does not seek martyrdom, he
dreams of it. In all his demeanor, he prepares himself to be chosen by
God for that mission. His life is based on prayer, he fears his God in
all his actions, knowing that he is watched by his Creator. He does
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not want to do the right thing for the wrong reason but waits for the
right moment to act. He is not a defector but remains loyal to his King
and his country to the last moment as long as this does not contradict
his religious principles. He abstains from following his King in what he
sees as against God. Yet, he, also, advises his King when he has the
chance. Before his meeting with Henry, his action is mostly personal.
But after the meeting, he puts all his family in danger. However, he
does not retract but goes on until his silence has influence on so many
others. He resigns his chancellorship when he thinks it may affect his
attitude. His action turns from the personal to the general. His
resignation is considered a signal for insurgence though, for him, this is
a normal moral action. Christ was doing the right not for the sake of
fame but simply because he thought it was right. More is now followed
by so many and whatever the decision he makes, it will affect them. He
is responsible before God for those people and so his decision must be
the right one. He does not care about incarceration or suffering for he is
following Christ who suffered too much. He is not afraid of death since
he is going the same way Christ passed through. His mortal life is
nothing compared to the people he is to save and to his place in
Heaven. Therefore, he remains steadfast. Christ‟s Crucifixion was for
humanity‟s salvation and More‟s death is for humanity‟s redemption.
To conclude, it is noted that the biblical concept of redemption
came to be the inspirer of the storywriters all over the ages. Yet,
though, at the end of the plays, tackled in this thesis, all the
protagonists, like the Savior, pay their lives as a ransom to redeem
others, the talented dramatists managed to handle this concept in
variant forms that suited their purposes enticing each hero or heroine in a way that suits his/her nature.
The thesis is entitled ”The Concept of Redemption In Saint
Joan, Murder in the Cathedral, The Crucible and A Man For All
Seasons: A Study of Theme and Context”. It is divided into an
introduction, four chapters and a conclusion. The Introduction is
meant to illustrate the meaning and significance of redemption
in Christianity and the Christian world. This Introduction is
followed by a critical analysis of Saint Joan, Murder in the
Cathedral, The Crucible and A Man for all Seasons, in four
chapters.The choice of four playwrights is to corroborate the great
impact of religion on drama and that drama is the mirror of
society. The redeemer or the savior is portrayed in a different
manner, in each play, to accomplish certain purposes that serve
the writer’s community. Although the redemption of Christ is
too eerie to be believed, it has an interesting dramatic side. The
man who sacrificed his life to save others is an example
portrayed by writers to follow. It is mostly used to teach values
of love and philanthropy, to urge people to be positive in their
reactions or to remind them of Christianity.In Saint Joan, Bernard Shaw succeeded in presenting a
character similar to that of Christ. Like Jesus, Joan who is
calling for a direct contact with God is disbelieved and brutally
murdered. Joan is a saint that dies for a goal similar to that of
Christ. Although Christ is sinless by nature and so he was
chosen for salvation, Joan’s original sin is forgiven by believing
in Christ and following Him. Incinerating this pure-hearted
sinless girl is a kind of redemption for the sinners. Like Christ’s
surreptitious resurrection, the appearance of Joan’s soul after her
death assures her righteousness. Joan’s murderers, like those of
Jesus, are forgiven for their ignorance.
Murder in the Cathedral is further substantiation for the
dramatists’ obsession with the concept of redemption. The
recurrence of the events of such a story in their writings affirms
such a point. In Murder in the Cathedral, Eliot sheds light upon
the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He, also, refers to
the temptations Christ passed through before His death. Christ
agonized without repulsion and his followers of the saints and
martyrs must do the same. The abettors who espouse certain Christian ideas must suffer not repugn until they get lynched or
dismembered and those who accept this act of self-murder attain
exculpation or forgiveness. This is the case of Thomas Becket,
the protagonist of this play, and the audience represented by the
witnesses or the chorus. Even the knights, Becket’s murderers,
intend to play the role of saviors by claiming sacrificing all for
the sake of their nation. In short, the concept of redemption is
conspicuously reflected in Murder in the Cathedral, presenting
another savior to the world. The import of the message Eliot
intended to convey to his audience is that believing in Christ and
His redemption is the only way to avoid Hades, advising them to
blindly follow Christ without using their minds because His
ways are different from theirs.
Chapter III tackles Miller’s The Crucible in which John
Proctor, the protagonist of the play, and some other characters
follow Christ in sacrificing their lives to save others. The
Concept of Redemption is so striking in Proctor’s multiple
sacrifices ended by his self-immolation to redeem the whole
town. Though Christ is originally virtuous, Proctor’s offence is
forgiven through his act of believing in Christ and following his
instructions. He pays his life as a simple price to redeem others.
In Chapter IV, Sir Thomas More, the man for all seasons, sacrifices his life for the sake of God exactly the way Christ did.Bolt’s distinguishedness looms in handling the concept of
redemption through a character of another Thomas in a different
manner. In A Man for all Seasons, Thomas More is a man who
cares for his family and afraid to lose his life as normal human
beings do. Yet, this does not prevent him from preferring his God to everyone and everything else. He sacrifices his life for the sake of God, and his martyrdom was a lesson for people to
act and say “No” in front of injustice whatever the cost may be.
A comparison between the four plays, in the Conclusion, reveals the dramatists’ genius and prodigy. They were able to
present the concept of redemption in variant shapes. Possessing
the capability of presenting a hero or a heroine who represents
Jesus Christ, in different forms, sets each of them as adistinguished dramatist. Although the protagonists reflect Jesus’behavior, it is obvious that neither the heroes nor their acts are the same or a copy of each other. Moreover, enticing each hero
or heroine in a way that suits his/her nature substantiates the
playwrights’ talent. They could emanate from the biblical concept of redemption new flexible moulds.