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One character who struck me instantly in Let The Great World Spin is Corrigan, the monk. I think his struggle makes him one of the most fascinating characters in the book.
Corrigan is very devout, but his interpretation of the Bible and God remain very unique, and sometimes hypocritical. He interprets suffering in the world as something he and he alone can take on, and his relationship to God is simultaneously very personal (as shown by his reverent, unstructured, prayers) and very distant (Corrigan neither asks nor expects God to help him, or anyone else, to any degree.) Ultimately, God, to Corrigan, remains savior and torturer, responsible for the evil in the world, yet responsible for the ordinary beauty to which Corrigan is so attuned.
Going back to hypocrisy in Corrigan’s unique faith, however, is the fact that despite being so aware of the beauty in the world, Corrigan is still punishing himself for the evil in it. He is almost masochistic in his willingness to take on other’s suffering, from drinking with alcoholics in his hometown, to being routinely beat up by pimps in order to provide small kindness to prostitutes. Although it is never stated, I was aware of a feeling that Corrigan expects himself to suffer: he cannot imagine another way of life, in which his faith is less self-destructive in nature.
And self-destructive it is. Although Corrigan risked frequent beatings- which could be fatal for a man with his blood disorder- it isn’t a pimp who ends killing Corrigan. Instead, it is a completely coincidental twist of his own kindness. Corrigan is killed in a car wreck, driving a neighbor and prostitute home from jail. Were Corrigan even a tiny bit more selfish- if he let Jazzlyn come home by herself (like he made his newly-arrived brother do)- he would be alive. What makes Corrigan’s story so endlessly painful to read, however, is the way that Corrigan, were he to see his own death, would probably not do anything to avoid it. Although he would undoubtably try to save Jazzlyn, I truly believe there is no end Corrigan would prefer more than dying on his way to help others.
Corrigan is truly a complex character, one which I desperately want to pity for his ongoing suffering, while also being, (in a bizarre way) almost happy for, that Corrigan finally found the eternal peace to which he devoted his life.I felt the same way about Corrigan, that he seems to be punishing himself for all the wrong in the world. By society’s standards, he “lowered” himself down the social strata and chose to live in the projects, extremely minimally. Corrigan reminded me in Claire in that sense. Both are born white and well-off, and both have some kind of shame in their class and wealth. Claire tries to hide her lifestyle and penthouse from her support group, and Corrigan gives away all his money and chooses to live poor. I also agree that if Corrigan had the chance to go back in time, he probably would still go and pick up Jazzlyn from court.
Heavy bump. I think you’re bringing up a ton of really good points about Corrigan. My knowledge of Christianity is surface-level, and I don’t really understand too many biblical references, but I think Corrigan assumes the role of “Jesus”. Ciaran describes Corrigan as “a mad, impossible angel” to the homeless and alcoholics of Ireland. In the same way that Jesus dies for the sins of humanity, Corrigan bears the weight of peoples’ sins and eventually dies because of it. In this sense, I relate Corrigan’s masochism to religious fervor, much like how you describe Corrigan’s faith as unique.
While reading your hypothetical scenario in which Corrigan lives, you helped me realize that Corrigan forsakes a portion of humanity in pursuit of God. Although Corrigan gives his entire life for the benefit of humanity, he detaches himself from his family. At the end of the novel, Corrigan has never come to terms with his father and cuts Ciaran out of most of his life. Corrigan rejects the most personal aspect of humanity (familial relations) while trying to learn how to empathize with others. In doing so, he becomes unable to sympathize with his family, simultaneously becoming a character who is non-judgemental of everyone, yet judgemental of the people who he should know best.
@Jane Ekhtman, I think you have a very interesting point by comparing Corrigan and Claire. They do have a lot of similarities, but I wanted to disagree about the idea that they’re both born “well-off.” Assuming my mental math for the time is accurate, Corrigan is born Catholic in late 20th century Ireland, which is absolutely not a position of privilege. With the tightrope walker providing a concrete date- 1974- we know that Corrigan’s homeland is currently consumed in The Troubles, an extremely violent conflict in Ireland between religions and nationalities (Which rose from English Protestant “unionists” oppressing Irish Catholic “nationalists”). Since Corrigan is Catholic, the “rebellious” side of the conflict, which was targeted both by the Protestant class and the UK government, he can be considered an oppressed minority in his home country. Additionally, since we see his mother surviving off a once-a-week check from their father with no further assistance or money, it’s safe to say they’re not economically well off, either. I think this highlights the way that it’s easy to fall into an American-centric view, since Corrigan is white, he must be privileged. This isn’t to say he isn’t racially privileged in his new home, America, but it’s definitely not accurate to say he’s privileged in his home country, or grew up with privilege. Looking back on it, this may be exactly why he relates to personally to the prostitutes- although he doesn’t understand African-American suffering, he does understand being an oppressed minority in some form.
@Chris Wow, I completely glossed over the symbolism for Christ in the book, thanks for bringing that up. I don’t entirely believe Corrigan literally sees himself as Jesus, since that would be blasphemy, but I think he is going to great lengths to try to personify him. To add another layer to that symbolism for Christ, for all of my Christians in the class, the Bible goes to a lot of depth to say that Jesus was fully human, but also fully divine, perhaps making him another perfect metaphor for Corrigan’s simultaneous near-divine patience and generosity, but fully human flaws. He is extremely giving to all the prostitutes, risking beatings and even death to offer them smallest kindness like coffee, or his bathroom. But, as his brother and the book also point out at many points, Corrigan is also very flawed as a person. He doesn’t let himself get close to his brother, and locks the people closest to him out of his life. He is a very two-sided person, which, exactly like you said, leads to his hypocrisy with being judgmental and non-judgmental at the same time.
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