Mythology, Lesson Ten: Dante’s View of Societal Engagement and Disengagement by Danielle Sainte-Marie Our lives can be schematically diagrammed as being from: 1. 0-25 Years, Societal Engagement, being programmed for life in this society. 2. 25-35 Years, Full Societal Engagement, carrying out one’s duty (Dhárma). 3. 35-70 Years, Societal Disengagement, finding one’s special, unique path. 4. 70-? Years, Elderliness, Advanced Societal Disengagement, reflecting back on one’s life with gratitude. This model comes, partially, from the great Italian poet, Durante degli Alighieri. We will be using it as a reference only, something suggestive, not to be seen as a definitive work. The reason for this is that, in Dante’s time, 35 years of age was middle-aged, as most people would die before 70. With advancements in medicine, however, our current life expectancies have increased. In fact, Dante’s “35” might well now be our 45. What’s important to understand is that this model is applicable today, even if we have to make a few minor adjustments. However, I will leave the model mostly as he made it so that we may also better understand who Dante was. His name comes up in future lessons as well. Dante was born in 1265, and so he was 35 years old in the year 1300. Now, 1300 was thought to be the middle of time by many, and it was a part of “The High Middle Ages.” Dante did a lot of very productive work during this period, believing he was living in the middle of time, history and himself. His protagonist in The Divine Comedy leaves in the year 1300, on Good Friday, March 25. The hero then goes through a series of transformations. Now, Dante himself was going through these same transformations, so it was natural for him to write about them. At 35, he had begun to feel a disengagement from society. In fact, at 36 years of age, he would be exiled for life as an absconder to a war that was being fought by the Black Guelphs and the White Guelphs. You see, he had reached a point where he could not justify fighting anymore. Indeed, he had served in the military when he was but a mere 24 years old, but, at around 35 years of age, he had started to disengage himself from what society was telling him was right. After being levied a huge fine upon his exile, he refused to pay it. Even a threatening of a burning at the stake did nothing to shake his resolve. This isn’t just a little history lesson about Dante. This is a lesson about us and the stages of life we must pass through. Now, the first 25 years are what we shall call adolescence, infancy, dependency, obedience and shame. Now, shame in this context is a noble virtue, and is not to be misconstrued with guilt. Shame happens the moment you do not fulfill your promise as well as you might have liked. Or, maybe you see someone working harder than you and you feel shame because you know you can do better. The shameful feeling comes from feeling that you can improve yourself, even though you have done nothing deliberate to slack off in your life. Guilt, however, comes when you knowingly and willingly slack off in your work or promises. So, these are two radically different concepts. The first 25 years are also concerned with comeliness of appearance and proper conduct. When we are young, we are rarely dressed terribly by our parents. Although many times parents are out of date, they do generally know how to put you in a shirt and skirt or pants that at least somewhat match. They comb our hair and pull down our dress and make sure when we leave for school that we look presentable. They also tell us to “sit right,” “stand up straight,” say “thank you,” and “you’re welcome.” So, by the age of 25, we are usually fully indoctrinated into our society. We find out that good manners take us far, and dressing correctly for our job interview makes all the difference. During our 25-45th years, we mature. At 35, in Dante’s model, the virtues are temperament, love, loyalty and courtesy. We find mates; we seek out this grand idea of loving someone. But, we also come face to face with people who challenge our sense of what is right or wrong. And, we must learn forbearance, the way of enduring these challenging people by never giving into violence or hate-filled speech. This is harder to do at 20, but should be easier by the age of 40. As for courtesy, we do not just say “thank you,” anymore; rather, we actually feel grateful for whatever niceties someone has freely given us. Loyalty is also a great maturity sign, for when someone does something to prove they are our friend, we wish to give back in kind by honoring their gift for the rest of our lives. A 5 year old receives a Popsicle from another child, but two weeks later may forget about this act of kindness. A mature 40 year old whose car is broken down, but finds a friend that is willing to take off work to come fix their car for free, never forgets it. The symbol of the filled-in circle in the diagram (below) means that a person is completely integrated into society. The symbol of the sun-flower means that a person begins to unfold at a certain age. Their needs and desires come forth and they blossom into beautiful, flower-like beings. Remember the bird and the sundoor in lesson seven? These are the same ideas, just differently rendered symbols. Let’s learn more about this latter idea—the sundoor, or flower, now. In the sacred years of 45-70, you leave society for the forest. Now, in our American culture, this is usually a metaphorical forest. In some lands, like India, for example, many of the aged ones really do leave to live and meditate in the forest. These years are concerned with wisdom, cheerfulness, generosity, justice, and advanced, personalized academia. Dante termed this stage, funnily enough, as decrepitude. However, we will just call it elderliness. Yes, that has a softer ring to it, I think. During these advanced years, we begin looking at the way society has helped us and harmed us. We see the programming, the controls, the hypocrisy, and yet the good of it all. We feel we have paid our dues. We have worked hard, given much, and now it is time for some “me time.” So, we actively begin pursuing things that we might never have done years earlier. We find a great happiness and satisfaction in helping others that cross our paths. It’s as though we say to the younger ones, just with our smiles, “Don’t worry, you will get through it just as I did.” Our disengagement from society sometimes finds us taking up a new religion, or a new hobby. We change our way of dress, our “uniform.” Instead of the three-piece suit, the man might be in sandals and shorts now—his way of saying, “I am taking things easy these days.” The woman’s business suit is maybe replaced by a free-flowing kimono and a few amulets of spirituality. But, the most important part of this disengagement time is to “look back over your life with thankfulness.” We think of all the changes we have been through, all the challenges; the highs and lows of relationships and raising children, the different skills we have acquired and the varied friends we have had. We have starred in a dramedy that had action, terror, joy and hearty belly laughs. We have witnessed deep drama and things that have moved us inside tremendously. That dramedy is called life, and the auditorium is always filled with people, wondering where it’s all going. Some have had a front row seat, and others have sat in the balcony; but you must admit, whatever your seat was in that theatre, life has been a terrific show. The character that is you on-screen must die, but it is no longer sad; now, you see death as a return home. So, at the end we must find a way to be thankful for all that we have seen and experienced. Those that don’t do this become embittered, and they hate everyone. Lots of movies have been made about this kind of person. Just watch Scent of a Woman to see one such depiction. Well, we have crossed from Societal Engagement to maturity and onto Societal Disengagement. This has been a long, but amazing, journey! In the next lesson, we will explore the American Indian, and how they actually lived out their mythologies. But, the question arises: what is it like to live a myth? What does it mean?
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 15:32:28 +0000