Part II: Religious Allegory

“IT depicts the rape and torment of Mother Earth … I represent Mother Earth; Javier, whose character is a poet, represents a form of God, a creator; Michelle Pfeiffer is an Eve to Ed Harris’s Adam, there’s Cain and Abel and the setting sometimes resembles the Garden of Eden”
– Jennifer Lawrence

THE Bible has always been a source of inspiration for artists, writers, directors, screenwriters and other creators for as long as the book has existed. Darren Aronofsky has previously tackled subject matter from the Bible with his film, Noah (2014). However, he has used a biblical allegory rather than explicitly filming segments from the text itself, the allusions to the Bible and its symbols.

Of course, with this, Aronofsky is following a long literary tradition of using the holy text as an inspirational source of creativity, but also using the text itself to inform the contents of what is created. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Chronicles of Narnia books are two good examples which highlight the use of religious allegory. Aronofsky’s use of religion to comment on religion is broad-ranging and while he does seem inspired by the Bible itself, he also does quite a lot to give the audience what appears to be a scathing critique of religion by the film’s end.

In the beginning (see what I did there?) of the film, everything seems idyllic – obviously representing, as pointed out by the film’s star, Jennifer Lawrence, the Garden of Eden – and perfect. Lawrence’s character, Mother, and her husband, Him, (Javier Bardem) are at peace and perfectly happy until the duo representing Adam and Eve, Man and Woman (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer) arrive. Ed Harris as the figure of Adam plays well against the domineering, scintillating Pfeiffer. Here, and, perhaps, somewhat controversially (given the revisionist approach that has been given to the character of Eve in recent years) Aronofsky chooses to present Eve in the traditionalist sense of being the catalyst for destruction and the end of all things good.

Together, Man and Woman, ignore warnings from Him and touch the crystal they have been repeatedly been warned from touching. The crystal falls and shatters and they are asked to leave the house. If you do not know see the parallels between this chain of events and the Bible (Adam and Eve, the Forbidden Fruit, etc.) you might want to revisit you’re the holy book sometime soon. However, more interesting than just being able to see the allegory at work is trying to establish why Aronofsky is choosing to present the religious themes the way he does. What is he trying to say?

Of course, as a writer, or creative person, this should be the question that you always ask yourself. What are you trying to say? This becomes especially important when creating allegories or other literary techniques that call for the blending of your own art with another created work. It is always important to establish the difference and similarities between what you want to say and what was said in the work that you are drawing parallels to, in order to emphasise or de-emphasise these similarities.

Aronofsky uses the religious allegory to comment on the natural world and its destruction. The crystal and its allure to Man and Woman might symbolise greed and lust for the earth’s natural resources. It is no accident that the destruction of the crystal, the Forbidden Fruit, is what leads to the destruction of everything else. Further, it seems as if Aronofsky, in the role of the artist as someone who tries to fix things, offers the audience a chance to see what is causing the destruction of the earth: human beings.

Man and Woman’s appearance in the film heralds the end of all things good, and Aronofsky might be using this approach to remind members of the audience that, like Adam and Eve, we stand a good chance of being “cast out” and destroyed by the world we live in if we do not abide by its rules, and also if we attack or actively contribute to its destruction. “Mother!” is a religious allegory, but it is also a warning for all of humanity.

The film also warns of the role of religion in bringing about ruin and devastation. This is evident in the latter scenes in the film when Mother’s house becomes overrun with fanatics who are obsessed with the work of her poet-husband, Him. Their adoration quickly becomes religion and their religion sharply turns into a cult.

This, in turn, transforms itself into havoc, with murder, violence and mayhem leading to the obliteration of everyone, but, most importantly, Mother herself and all she represents. It is interesting that even while using religious themes and symbols, Aronofsky is able to distance himself enough to still criticise religion and what it can become. He uses religion to show that we must preserve the earth, while also using religion to comment on how it is intrinsically wound up in the literal end of the world.

Religion’s stories, without commenting on whether they are factual or fictional, are rich in images, symbols and metaphors that can be used in a variety of ways in the new stories that we write. This becomes especially useful and important, particularly for writers here in Guyana, where there are multiple religions – meaning that writers have available to them, multiple stories with a myriad of themes, symbols and images to choose from.