Phenomenology of speech in the mystical discourse of Mechthild of Magdeburg
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21847/1728-9343.2014.1(127).23150Keywords:
phenomenology, narrative, mysticism, subject, subjectivity, liturgy, structureAbstract
Mechthild wrote her text using paradox, metaphor, and image language, which are affective and do not rely on rational explanation, which is akin to theological language. Image language is concerned with exploiting the mind's ability to make affective connections between disparate elements rather than its capacity for rational logic. It is akin to the traditional storytellers' art of transmitting wisdom through narrative or parable. As such, her writings would have been intelligible to ordinary people. This manner of writing would also have given a certain degree of freedom to her audience to interpret the meaning of what she wrote.
In her writings, Mechthild was influenced by the myths of the middle ages. The myth of courtly love exerted its influence on popular literature, which in turn also influenced Mechthild's manner of writing. However, she also changed something in the myth of courtly love. Like other B?guine mystics, she inverted the myth of courtly love. In the myth of courtly love, the good woman does not do anything and is merely wooed by her lover. This is not so in Mechthild's writings. The narrator is a lover who actively participates in this love relationship. With regard to visions contained in her writings most of Mechthild's visions fall into the traditional category of what Augustine would call spiritual, or symbolic visions; but like many other late medieval mystics, she often does not clearly distinguish between spiritual visions and purely intellectual ones. I point out that this is an essential characteristic of her style: she fuses symbolization and conceptualization, personal mystical experience and the objective events of salvation history into a seamless whole. Despite the important role of visions in The Streaming Light, this literary work cannot be considered just a collection of visions. It would be best to consider The Streaming Light as a theological reflection upon or reactualization of the meaning of Mechthild's life and mystical experiences as a guide for all Christians. The Streaming Light could also be read as a narrative of Mechthild's interior journey, a book that describes vividly her ceaseless hunger for heaven's heights.
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