From Actual Evil to Possible Forgiveness: Three Positions on the Axes of Self and Other

Abstract

This article focuses on three positions, from malignant to benign, located on the respective axes of object and subject in the context of forgiveness. A helpful graph is provided. The most malignant position on the axis of the object is the position of evil or indifference toward evil, paralleled, on the axis of the subject, by a position of vengefulness. The second position on the axis of the object is the position of guilt/atonement, which is paralleled, on the axis of the subject, by the position of amnesty. The third position on the axis of the object is the position of regret, which has its parallel on the subject axis in the position of forgiveness. Though presented as three clearly demarcated positions, they are present, with fluctuating dominance, in any encounter, whether concrete or imagined, between subject and object. These three positions are illustrated by means of a close reading of three memoirs.