Last week my neighbour invited me to watch a film, called “The Widow of St. Pierre”. Since we are both partial to Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil it promised to be a good afternoon. The story is (no worries, I would not spoil the plot for you) about a sailor who gets washed onto an island where, after having had a few too many drinks, stabs and kills a man. He is subsequently condemned to death but, since St. Pierre is under French government and the year is 1849, can only be executed by guillotine. Since St. Pierre has neither executioner nor the appropriate tool, Neel the sailor needs to wait in military custody until Paris remedies that situation. During Neel’s stay of execution, the wife of his guardian takes an interest in him and begins to show him kindness, convinced that his crime was “a mistake”, but that he is basically a good man. While first viewed with suspicion, her actions eventually convince the whole island that this man does not deserve death, especially when he saves the life of one of the inhabitants. So when the guillotine (called “widow” in French slang) finally arrives in St.Pierre and an executioner is found, the whole island, but in particular Neel’s guardian and his wife are put in front of an interesting dilemma.
Apart from the obvious message criticizing the death penalty, “La Veuve the Saint Pierre” raises the question whether man is basically good or bad. This might be why my neighbour John had picked that film, since this very question is one we discuss often and vehemently. There is of course evidence for both sides of the argument. We have all known selfless and virtuous people which seems to prove that mankind, or at least a subset thereof, is good. But we can also cite examples for the opposite: whether it be people who treated us badly or, closer to home, the tendency we discover inside ourselves to kick the neighbours cat (not John’s, I hasten to add), to wish screaming children were on a different flight or to mumble some racist comment when yet another beggar approaches us for money.
In that sense Neel seems to be an ordinary, or close to ordinary guy, who has a number of good traits, but is also capable of evil, especially when he has too much to drink. So does he deserve to die? Was it not a real crime he committed? But did he not prove his goodness by saving the owner of the local pub? The Christian feast about to be celebrated this Sunday sheds some light on this seemingly intractable dilemma. Christians firmly believe that man is good and deserving of respect. Yet they also believe that he has a tendency for evil, which they call sin. Not all of us have knifed a sailor, but all have “fallen short of the glory of God”- the whole human race has acted wickedly, and in that sense deserves punishment. Not only those who have killed, but also those of us who have lied, cheated, envied or lusted merit a sentence, at least in the eyes of God.
In the film Madame La, the captain’s and Neel’s guardian’s wife, wants to let the prisoner go, so he can escape death. But she and her husband realize that Neel’s escape would mean the certain death of the ca
ptain, since he is responsible for the prisoner’s safety. This is why Neel refuses. The Easter story is the version how God himself solved this dilemma. Neel, or more precisely the whole human race, deserved to be punished for their disobedience: that is justice. But Neel, and we all with him, should be pardoned, since God is merciful. So how to combine the two? By the captain, in this case the Son of God himself, taking Neel’s place and dying instead of the condemned. That is what Christ’s death on the cross is all about. So next time you see a cross, remember that Neel, you and I should be hanging there. And next time you want to kick that cat, or cheat on your wife, resist! Do not prove wrong the one who has pardoned you.
# posted by tino @ Wednesday, April 04, 2007
ptain, since he is responsible for the prisoner’s safety. This is why Neel refuses. The Easter story is the version how God himself solved this dilemma. Neel, or more precisely the whole human race, deserved to be punished for their disobedience: that is justice. But Neel, and we all with him, should be pardoned, since God is merciful. So how to combine the two? By the captain, in this case the Son of God himself, taking Neel’s place and dying instead of the condemned. That is what Christ’s death on the cross is all about. So next time you see a cross, remember that Neel, you and I should be hanging there. And next time you want to kick that cat, or cheat on your wife, resist! Do not prove wrong the one who has pardoned you.
