The influences behind Against the Grain (À rebours)

Following one thread, 4 works from Against the Grain (À rebours) to Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). Back to all 30 works

1. 

   c. 10th–5th century BCE (compiled)

   Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)

   Anonymous

   Iron Age to Persian period. Ancient Israel and Judah. Written in Hebrew.

   The scriptures of ancient Israel: law, history, prophecy, psalms and wisdom books including Job.

   What it handed down

   To The Temptation of Saint Anthony (La Tentation de saint Antoine) (1874)

   Direct source, well documented.

   Flaubert draws on scripture for many visions, including the Queen of Sheba, Nebuchadnezzar and the gods of Israel's neighbours. Anthony's meditations quote and turn over biblical texts throughout.

   To Faust, Part One (1808)

   Structural model, well documented.

   The 'Prologue in Heaven,' where the Lord allows Mephistopheles to tempt Faust, is modelled on the opening of the Book of Job. Goethe acknowledged the borrowing.

   To Gospel of Matthew

   Direct source, well documented.

   Matthew repeatedly quotes the prophets with the formula 'that it might be fulfilled,' presenting Jesus as completing Israel's scriptures. Its genealogy, Moses typology and temptation narrative are built from Hebrew Bible material.

   Where it came from

   This is one of the oldest surviving works in its tradition; the line ends here.

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