Thursday, September 9, 2010
What was Wieland thinking?
The main events in Wieland are supposedly incited by some sort of God-like interferences, which lead to speculation about the death of Clara and Theodore’s father. We are never explicitly told what happened, only Clara’s reflections on it. This ambiguity makes it difficult to fully trust the characters, but what bothers me the most about this novel is the inconsistency of the characters’ decisions. Clara makes it clear that her brother is a sincere and completely rational man. A man that is dedicated to God and basically wouldn’t hurt a fly. We are supposed to be able to count on the fact that he is rational, mild-mannered, and kind. Yet we discover that he is the murderer of his own wife and children. In his court case, he insists that “God” or something along those lines forced him to do these horrible deeds. Knowing what we know about Theodore, does that unquestioning and blind faith make sense at all? No. Considering that his father was killed/punished because of these voices, why would Wieland ever listen to them? Especially when he is being directed to do something so evil? Alas, you probably understand my frustration at this point, so can anyone tell me what was going through Wieland’s head? Was he influenced by the voices or completely controlled by them? The description of the murders gives me the impression that he was conscious of his actions and believed them to be morally correct.
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Ignited from the question of whether he was "conscious of his actions" or "completely controlled," the discussion we held in class covered a lot of the questions you are asking Sarah. Though we debated back and forth throughout class, what we thought was going on in Wieland's head, I do not think that there is one clear answer. Personally, I think that he was motivated by a mixture of sources. I think you can say that he was "controlled" in the sense that he felt that without this religious control he would not be able to feel secure in his faith. But I would definitely agree that he was morally conscious of every action that he committed. Wieland was a fanatic in his faith. It seems like he believed that whatever his deity told him to do, he must do it to be faithful; however, looking at the story we are not so sure who these voices, and who this deity really is.
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