Mohammad Sadegh Najjarzadeha
Girard’s Doubt:
Rethinking the Role of Scapegoat Mechanism
in the Selected Canonical Appalachian Fiction
ISBN 978-3-68911-018-5
 
211 Seiten, broschiert
The prevailing scholarship on René Girard’s theories—such as “mimetic desire,” “internal and external mediation,” and “acquisitive rivalry”—largely interprets his concept of the “scapegoat mechanism” as a kind of redemptive or sanctified violence capable of curbing the perpetuation of conflict. While these interpretations are not entirely misplaced, given that Girard originally presented and tested these ideas within the framework of Western literature in his seminal work Deceit, Desire, and the Novel, they tend to overlook a crucial revision in Girard’s thought. I propose that what I call Girard’s “afterthought” subtly revises his earlier theory by casting doubt on the “constructive function” of any form of sacrifice—be it coerced or voluntary—following the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This nuance is further reinforced by Swiss theologian Raymund Schwager, who accentuates this “tinge of incredulity” regarding the efficacy of the scapegoat mechanism in Must There Be Scapegoats? Thus, I venture to label this skepticism as “Girard’s Doubt,” and aim to explore its presence in selected Appalachian literature from the 1920s to the 1970s. This study scrutinizes the effectiveness of the scapegoat mechanism in six novels by three prominent Southern American authors: William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Cormac McCarthy. It opens with an overview of the American South’s geography, history, and literary tradition, followed by a detailed exposition of Girard’s ideological framework and methodology. In the first chapter, I examine the role of the scapegoat mechanism, particularly in the form of sacrificial lynching, and its relationship to African Americans in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury and Sanctuary. The second chapter delves into O’Connor’s Wise Blood and The Violent Bear It Away to determine whether the notion of violent grace or sacrificial salvation invariably leads to spiritual fulfillment. The final chapter focuses on McCarthy’s Outer Dark and Child of God, exploring the civic penal scapegoat mechanism employed by society as a means of controlling violence.
 
 
Sadegh Najjarzadeha completed his doctoral dissertation in English Literature, with a specialized focus on American Studies, at Göttingen University, Germany. His scholarly work applies René Girard’s philosophical framework to the analysis of 20th-century Southern U.S. literature, culminating in the coining of the term “Girard’s Doubt”—a profound examination of the limitations of sacrifice in breaking the cycle of violence. His master’s thesis, titled The New Idol of Postmodern America, critically engages with the rise of consumerism, drawing on Zygmunt Bauman’s theories to interrogate postmodern American novels.