The Self Exposed

  I’ve gone through different phases listening to Dr. Redick’s stories—many of which require him to shed some (or many of his clothes) for one reason or another. The late teenager in me finds these tales hilarious. The scholar of storytelling, however, noticed a theme. In many of the stories Dr. Redick recounts, there’s a recurrent refrain about the reason for this discarding of clothes. For whatever reason, be it to honor a holy site by only allowing the essence of man in, or to get a better grip with one’s feet, or to prevent hypothermia by making sure there are clothes good for insulating after going underwater, there is a recognition of the versatility and efficacy of the human body. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to take this a step further and say that it symbolically represents a trust in the design of life—a leap of faith. What has been given will be enough to do what is needed.

I see this as one of the destinations of a hero’s personal development. Situations may full well be out of the hero’s control, but there is still a surety that they have the tools needed to influence the outcome for good. I think of longer-form epics as fantastic analogues, especially the Aeneid. In the Aeneid, Aeneas goes from uncertainty and hesitant first steps to confident flagbearer for a new state. He is (as many others are around him) keenly aware of and concerned by the overpowering control of the gods. By the end, he doesn’t worry about this, instead understanding with such confidence that his goal is destined to be accomplished.