The Genesis of Secrecy: On the Interpretation of Narrative

Kermode makes no bones about the fact that his interest in the Gospel of Mark is literary--not doctrinal, historical, or theological. These lectures from the late 1970s are still fresh and insightful. And they are as much an exploration of what it means to interpret a literary work as they are an examination of the Evangelist's text and methods. To do so he takes side-trips into Shakespeare, Joyce, Kafka, as well as into a little-known novel by Henry Green ("Party Going"). These are not idle excursions; Kermode's lectures are eloquent and tightly reasoned. In the end, his position is philosophical rather than aesthetic for he asserts that to live is to interpret. "We glimpse the secrecy through the meshes of the text; this is divination, but what is divined is what is visible from our angle.... When we come to relate [the] part to the whole, the divined glimmer to the fire we suppose to be its source, we see why Hermes is the patron of so many other trades besides interpretation. There has to be trickery. And we interpret always as transients--of whom he is also patron--both in the book and in the world which resembles the book. For the world is our beloved codex." And like all good philosphical writing, Kermode's lectures are worth studying closely and reading over and over again.

This is a brilliant work on the narrative complexity of the Gospels--brilliant in both its hermeneutics and semiotics. What is especially valuable is the level of comprehension. Kermode does not resort to lofty diatribes to further enshroud the delicate polemics of biblical narrative, but instead relies on varied and astute scholarship which he communicates clearly to almost any reader. A wonderful resource for narrative theory in general to understand how meaning is related and hidden.

Kermode's book has the rare trait of combining academic insight with easy accessibility. Unlike much modern criticism, it asks why we interpret texts rather than merely describing how we (should) do it. The examples are clear and appropriate. The secular view of scripture may put off some, but Kermode's insight into the narrative structure of the Bible will prove useful even to those who don't share his views. The chapter comparing Mark's gospel to James Joyce's Ulysses is a classic, and is especially useful for use in beginning literature classes