This thesis takes a fresh approach to the pursuit of wisdom in Proverbs 1–9 in its final form by treating it as a reading drama and analysing the dynamics of that drama in selected texts. This approach creates a new conceptual metaphor, which explains the abstract concept of pursing wisdom in the concrete image of a journey and reveals the sequence of events which construct that drama. It then proposes an analysis of motions and emotions as indicators delineating the transformations in the dyadic relationships. Those transformations are the dynamics of the drama. The analysis involves the study of: (1) imperatival expressions, denoting anticipated movements of the audience, (2) declarative clauses, indicating physical movement, (3) words of emotion, denoting psychological movements in the dyad and (4) pathos, referring to the emotion generated or anticipated in the audience. The study observes a chronological sequence and a plot and shows a gradation in intimacy and distance, indicated respectively by love and hate, between Woman Wisdom and the Young Man who is the recipient of the teachings and stands in the place of the actual reader. It looks too at physical movement and gradation in the Strange Woman's advances toward him. The application of Martin Buber's theory of “I and Thou” to the dyad of the Young Man and wisdom/Woman Wisdom illuminates the complementary and indispensable “I-It” and “I-Thou” attitudes which indicate respectively an intellectual learning of wisdom and a loving commitment to Woman Wisdom. The Young Man's partaking of Woman Wisdom's banquet is the high point of the “I-Thou” encounter and the climax of the progressive relationship between them. That successful conclusion to the pursuit is the fulfilment of a commitment to the “eternal Thou.” The fear of Yahweh has been the beginning and the end of the pursuit of wisdom.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:698858 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Yuan, Kai-Wen Karen |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=230976 |
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