![]() | This article possibly contains original research .(September 2010) |
A Christ figure, also known as a Christ-Image, is a literary technique that the author uses to draw allusions between their characters and the biblical Jesus. More loosely, the Christ figure is a spiritual or prophetic character who parallels Jesus, or other spiritual or prophetic figures.
In general, a character should display more than one correspondence with the story of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible. For instance, the character might display one or more of the following traits: performance of miracles, manifestation of divine qualities, healing others, displaying kindness and forgiveness, fighting for justice, being guided by the spirit of the father character, and the character's own death and resurrection. Christ figures are often martyrs, sacrificing themselves for larger causes.
In postmodern literature, the resurrection theme is often abandoned, leaving us with the image of a martyr sacrificing himself for a greater good. It is common to see Christ figures displayed in a manner suggestive of crucifixion as well.
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(help)[¶35] Although most viewers of the films would likely not notice all this symbolism, Gandalf's death and resurrection scenes are clearly messianic metaphors that add an additional spiritual dimension to the mythology of The Lord of the Rings.... [¶36] After publication, Tolkien thought his book's description of the return of Gandalf was a "defect." He explained that Gandalf "must return at that point, and such explanations of his survival as are explicitly set out must be given there—but the narrative is urgent, and must not be held up for elaborate discussions involving the whole 'mythological' setting...." The visual nature of film can often compress information into a scene equivalent to many scattered pages of text, and Jackson "encoded" more Christ figure imagery into his scenes than Tolkien's "severely cut" account. Since Jackson's films visually amplified Tolkien's Christological association in Gandalf's death and resurrection scenes, Jackson's cinematic presentations of Gandalf as a Christ figure may have communicated more fully the vision of what Tolkien had intended all along.
Abstract: This article attempts to answer the preeminent question Babette's Feast invites viewers to consider: Why does Babette choose to expend everything she has to make her feast? Of the critical studies made of the film, few have considered analytically crucial the catastrophic backstory of Babette, the violence of which is implied and offscreen. Appreciation of the singularity of Babette's own personhood and the darker aspects of her experience, and not only how she might act as a figure of Christ, are key to understanding the motivating force behind her meal and its transformative effect: That through the feast Babette lays to rest the horrors of her past and takes refuge in God's goodness.
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