However, with "Jaka's Story" I find I must return to the original theme, at least briefly, because here we find, not just a redemption story, but a truly Christian redemption story, rare in literature and especially rare in the kind of action/adventure literature that Cerebus must eventually be placed within, no matter how it struggles to free itself of the shackles of the genre. By this I mean that we have a redemption that is totally unearned, a gift of grace that saves the soul of an undeserving nasty man, redeeming him into a sympathetic character.
I'm talking, of course, about Pud Withers.
Our first sight of Pud is standing at the window, imagining the conversation he will soon be having with Jaka as she comes in to buy the day's groceries. He is interrupted by Cerebus, who is on his way down the mountain after the conclusion of "Church & State" and sees the sign and comes in for an ale.
When Jaka comes in, her reunion with Cerebus derails the expected conversation, and Pud is seen standing alone, holding a prized apple, an ineffectual, pathetic figure.
Ineffectual, pathetic, slightly sympathetic -- you almost can't help feeling sorry for the guy. That's Pud Withers as we first encounter him. Even when his imagined conversations begin to turn toward more intimate connections -- he talks about his wife having passed away, and how lonely he is -- we are at first only amused and saddened by his unrequited passion.
But passion is a dangerous thing, and before long the imagined conversations take on a darker tone. In the sequence on pp. 193-195, Pud imagines himself starting with the supposed death of his wife (he slips and says "mother" once and we realize Pud never had a wife) and leading up to telling Jaka, "There will have to be some . . . changes made." The sequence ends with the ominous reflection of Pud's face in a puddle of water on the floor that he is mopping, looking not at all harmless and ineffectual but dangerous and threatening, as he thinks, "Don't move, Miss Jaka. Please. I'm not going to hurt you."
At that moment Pud changes from comic relief to villain. It is clear that he plans to rape Jaka, if not literally and physically, then psychologically, by using her dependence on him to coerce her into sex.
The next night, it almost happens, but instead Jaka gets drunk and throws up on him, then runs home in disgrace. The next morning, shamed, she goes to his grocery store, but he makes light of the situation, tells her they're both going to forget the night before, and they have a bright conversation much like the one he imagined back at the beginning of the book, and everything seems to be as it was.
But when she leaves, he has the "Don't move" dialogue running through his head again. Pud is still set on a dangerous course. The reader is not at all sympathetic to him anymore. He is a Bad Guy, a threat to Jaka.
He begins to make his move on page 265. The conversation goes almost exactly as he has imagined it, word for word, right up to Jaka's reaction to his "There'll have to be some changes made."
"Changes, Pud?" she says. "What sort of . . . ?"
And then they are interrupted by the door opening and an old man, an old soldier it turns out, walks in, having been attracted by the Guffin (painted by Oscar) on the road. The old man orders an ale, Jaka dances, and much later, the old man leaves, promising to come back the next night. Jaka is exultant, sure that this is just the beginning and soon the places will be full of customers. She leaves. Pud is dejected. He goes and sits by himself and muses, having yet another imaginary conversation with Jaka on p. 279
Miss Jaka, I'm not a rich man. When . . . when Mama died she left me all the money she had made from her . . . her career. It was a lot of money, Miss Jaka. To me, anyway. Of course, I never got to use money until I was almost twenty-five and then it was only a few copper bits at the most and even then, it was only just to save her a few steps. She'd remember something she forgot to get and she'd give me a few coins and point me at the stall and say "Get me some eggs, would you, Pudley" of "See if Mr. Stephanie has that new spice I asked for, Pudley."
When Mama died.
When Mama died a man came to the door and told me how much money she left me. He wanted me to sign papers, Miss Jaka, and give power of something I forget the word but it was power of. I know, because I didn't like the sound of it, Miss Jaka, not one little bit. So I told him if the money was mine, I wanted him to bring it to me and I would have the power of it. That's exactly what I said to him, exactly. The power of it. So he'd know that I knew what he was talking about.
What I'm trying to say, Miss Jaka, is that that money's almost gone now. Between getting your costumes repaired and buying new costumes and beads and feathers and belts and . . . and the nuts and the apples and the tinned meats and . . .
All the money.
The money it took my mother a lifetime to save. In less than a year.
Tonight, Miss Jaka, tonight that little old man was here all night and he had exactly one ale. One ale, Miss Jaka. One half a copper bit. For the whole night.
I saw him give you two crowns, Miss Jaka. Two crowns for your dancing.
When the rest of Mama's money is gone. In a few weeks. Maybe a month. You and your husband will leave, won't you, Miss Jaka? Leave me. To die all alone. Without a copper bit. With mountain properties no one will buy since the Big Mountain Quake. You'll leave me just to starve to death. Just sitting here like I am now. Starve to death. Starve to death.
Or maybe I'll walk across the roadway, Miss Jaka. Maybe that's what I'll do. Just close my eyes and walk straight ahead across the roadway until . . .
At that point Jaka comes back in, on p. 280
JAKA: Pud! I almost forgot to give you these.
PUD: ut . . . Miss Jaka . . . that's your money. We agreed . . .
JAKA: Oh PUD! Don't be silly. I know our food costs you more than three bits. A lot more.
JAKA (cont.): Don't you worry. We're going to pay you back EVERY COPPER BIT! You'll keep all of my tips for the next few months. And Rick will find a JOB soon . . . and THEN. . .
JAKA (cont.): THEN, Mr. Pud Withers, I'M going to make this the busiest little tavern in IEST . . . and YOU . . . YOU I'm going to make into the WEALTHIEST tavern owner in ESTARCION. Just you SEE if I don't.
Pud's reaction to this is to fall on his knees in prayer.
Bless me, Tarim, for I have sinned
I have looked on a married woman with lust and I almost . . .
I almost
almost
Please, Tarim, have mercy on me and I promise, I swear to you I'll never do a bad thing again.
Ever
Please Tarim.
Oh, please
I'm sorry, Mama
I'm sorry
Pud is redeemed by Jaka's action. Fully and completely. When he is killed by the Cirinists less than a hundred pages later, it is a shock and a tragedy. He has become a sympathetic figure again, and we are saddened by his death rather than feeling, "Good. He got what was coming to him." He is no longer a Bad Guy. Through no action of his own, except sincere repentance and acceptance of the Grace that has been visited upon him, he has been redeemed.
This is an overtly and unmistakably Christian redemption story, and it's all the more remarkable to see it in a book written by someone who has never been a Christian or particularly sympathetic to the Christian point of view. We've already pointed out the lampooning of Christianity in "Church & State" especially, and even after Dave Sim became a monotheist, he still seems to have little use for the Christian concept of unearned redemption, as his answer to a Christian in the Blog & Mail of February 24, 2007 shows. And yet, here it is, perfectly displayed (as long as you allow Jaka to be an Angel, and not a Viper or a Scorpion, as it were -- little joke from WAAAAY up ahead, for those who haven't read the whole series yet).
The whole redemption question by Larry that began this series of essays was "What would have constituted Cerebus (the character) redeeming humanity." This is the answer. If somehow because of Cerebus, each and every individual on earth, or at least some substantial portion of them (Christians, after all, speak of Christ redeeming humanity when in fact most of them believe he redeemed only those who have accepted him as their Savior), were changed for the better the way Pud was changed for the better by Jaka, that would be redemption.
Of course, Mrs. Thatcher would be quick to point out that the evil Jaka redeemed Pud from was brought on by herself in the first place. If she hadn't danced in front of him in those flimsy costumes, if she hadn't aroused his lust in the first place, he wouldn't have needed redemption. I disagree with that position, but it's one that shouldn't just be ignored. I'm not going to do much more than acknowledge it here, however, because I haven't time to mount a serious refutation and it takes me too far away from the general subjects I'm working with here. Still, I thought it would be less than honest to close without at least acknowledging it.
But whether or not she was responsible for Pud's fall in the first place, Jaka is certainly responsible for his redemption. He is not. He is ready to rape her, or at best coerce her into sex, and after the interruption is so dejected at not having been able to carry out his designs that he is contemplating suicide. And after she comes back in, a simple act of generosity, of human goodness, turns him around, changes him into a better person.
May we all be aware at all times that our behavior can have affects both good and bad on other individuals, and strive to be like Jaka here in setting an example that will touch the hearts of those around us and inspire them to be better people, and may we all be better people in aiming for such an aspiration.
5 comments:
I like your analysis but question whether Pud has truly redeemed himself: at the end, as you quote, he thanks Tarim but then returns to his mother (his mother means more to him than Tarim). In contemplating Jaka's rape, Pud strayed from his mother's conception of him as her little boy (think of Cirin later on in Mothers & Daughters, pursuing Swoon with the accusation "You filthy little boy!") - no mother would approve of her son as raping another woman; if he had gone through with the rape, Pud would've psychologically severed himself from his mother once and for all (and probably would've entered into some kind of psychosis as a result). He pulls back from this abyss (which literally exists just a few yards across from his tavern - and he contemplates throwing himself over the edge of that real abyss as a metaphor for the choice that confronts him) and returns to his mother (he acts as she would've approved). So, I think, that Pud in fact remains trapped as his mama's little boy, unable to escape from her influence, a less optimistic outcome than that of redemption from his Sins. I agree with you that Pud views it as redemption but I think it represents in fact a retreat back to his original position of dependency on his mother rather than a spiritual liberation through the grace of God.
Dave Sim had gone through a period of reading Dostoevsky's novels prior to writing Jaka's Story and I think Pud bears some comparison to Raskolnikov, the protagonist of Crime & Punishment, who murders an old woman (his landlady to whom he owes rent) and then achieves redemption through the love of his girlfriend (!) and God. Pud only contemplates a vile crime whereas Raskolnikov commits one and this might explain why no real redemption takes place as Pud didn't undergo the requisite suffering. Remember, Dave Sim has the Judge tell Cerebus:
"It is necessary...according to Dostoevsky's advice...to accept suffering and be redeemed by it.
How?"
This suggests that Dave couldn't see (at that point) how simply experiencing suffering and accepting it as something you deserved would bring about redemption (assuming, of course, that he shared the Judge's sentiment).
thanks for your comments ray. I think Pud is redeemed because he goes back to being a sympathetic character. We are not creeped out when Jaka kisses him on the cheek that last night and we are shocked and horrified when he dies. At least I was. Whether or not his actual soul would have been redeemed had he been an actual person is far too metaphysical for me to get involved in.
On the last bit -- I'm sure Dave was influenced to some extent by reading Dostoevsky. I'm not sure he shared the judge's sentiment.
I just read your earlier posting concerning Jaka and the abortion and it struck me that perhaps Jaka herself bears more comparison to Raskolnikov, in that she, in fact, did, in a sense, commit a murder and her subsequent incarceration by the Cirinists and the collapse of her marriage to Rick constitute a process of suffering that might lead to redemption (though of course, in her case, it doesn't appear to given that she never seems to accept that she deserves the suffering that follows it).
As for the Redemption of Pud Withers (the Last Temptation of Pud Withers?), it brought to mind the comment by Rick to Cerebus in Rick's Story (p 145 of the TB) when Cerebus says:
"Cerebus did not mean to imply that Tarim forgives fornication."
and Rick replies:
"You didn't."
"What you said was: Tarim forgives those who are found worthy of forgiveness
In. HIS. Eyes."
Which implies (or do I infer?) that only God knows whether ones contrition or acts have redeemed one in His Eyes. We can never know that (until the Day of Judgement of course). This seems relevant to Dave's recent comments on his blog about salvation by deed or by grace that you alluded to. Strangely, Dave in the comic seems to agree with Salvation by Grace Alone but in real life (!) advocates Salvation by Deed.
My point being that we can't know whether Pud Withers truly did get redeemed by the events shortly before his untimely death.
Your point that we can't know goes along with what I was saying about the question of the redemption of Pud's fictional soul being too metaphysical for me. I think he's redeemed as a *character* -- he switches from Bad Guy to Good Guy (having previously gone from Comic Relief Background to Bad Guy). The fact that he dies as a Good Guy is about as much redemption as you can expect a fictional character to ever have. He isn't *really* going to get into Heaven, after all, assuming that there really is one.
Whether *Dave* thinks Pud found redemption in Jaka's simple act of decency I have no idea. And it's probably impossible to determine, because if you asked him his memory would be skewed by his current theological and philosophical positions, as has been clearly shown by some of his answers to the monthly questions we used to do on Yahoo. His later view of her is so inimical and one-sided that he is probably incapable of seeing her in the shades of moral ambiguity with which he painted her in "Jaka's Story."
Didn't Dave say of himself, that despite all of his prayer, recitals of the Bible and good works he has no idea whether this will constitute enough in the eyes of God to save him from damnation and that he'll only know on the Day of Judgement? So if he can't tell in his own case, I don't think he could tell about one of his characters. It would represent a stepping into God's shoes that the Sim of today would view as blasphemous.
What happens to Cerebus at the end of the whole story following his death seems to suggest that he didn't even redeem himself, never mind anyone else. But then, I don't think that Cerebus ever accepted that he deserved the suffering that came into his life: Cerebus nearly always blamed those around him for his troubles and almost never accepted responsibility for them (consider the metaphor Dave gave him of the baker and the bread and how Cerebus has difficulty comprehending its meaning, blaming Dave as the baker in the first instance for creating bad bread in the form of Cerebus). Dave even has to confront Cerebus at the end of Mothers & Daughters and tell him straight that he's an insufferable little grey bastard who hurts everyone around him without a qualm in an attempt I suppose to make his creation see sense. I suppose following that chastisement Cerebus does exhibit a little more concern about the effects of his actions (such as the moment in Rick's Story I quoted where his conscience demands that he make sure he didn't mislead Rick about God forgiving his fornication.) But he quickly slips back into his bad old ways, trying to buy off God and his own conscience with clever arguments.
Something else that struck me when I flicked through my copy of Rick's Story a while ago concerned the similarity of Cerebus' situation as tavern keeper in that volume with that of Pud Withers in Jaka's Story. Cerebus ends up in a passive tavern keeping role much like Pud's and he finds himself confronting a similar dilema (the whole 'should we sleep with ugly women' fornication debate he conducts within himself). At another point in the story, I think Charles X. Claremont tells Cerebus at the beginning of Church & State Vol. 1 p. 105 (while staying with Michele) that he has a 'a need for a mother-substitute upon which I could float His Holiness' trading fleet...' which echoes Pud's dependency on his own, dead mother (we eventually discover that Cerebus' mother has also died during his absence). Obviously, Cerebus desires Jaka and so does Pud (at least, up to the point of his 'redemption') so they resemble each other in that sense also except that Pud in the end gives up his desire for Jaka whereas Cerebus never gives up his desire for Jaka, even after her death he finds a Jaka-substitute in the form of Joanne. So does this prevent Cerebus from ever achieving redemption?
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