Augustine’s Confessions and Shakespeare’s King Lear

Kim Paffenroth is Professor of Religious Studies at Iona University, USA.

• Acknowledgments Introduction Origins and Ends 1. Augustine and Power 2. Lear and Power 3. Augustine and Women in Confessions 4. Women in King Lear 5. Conclusion: Powerfully Present Epilogue Bibliography Index

Paffenroth has done a remarkable job highlighting the continued relevance of two unlikely figures in the western canon: Augustine and Shakespeare. Should the world fear two “toxic males” in a world skeptical of power imbalances? No, Paffenroth suggests. In fact, what makes Augustine and Shakespeare’s Lear stand out is their awareness of their problematic privilege and power despite their obvious shortcomings in fully addressing these problems they identify. Paffenroth reminds us that with the hermeneutic of scrutiny we can still find beauty in literary texts regarded as classics. Caring scrutiny is what we need to discover the real reason these men and their stories have endured: the discovery of empathy even amid failure. And if the powerful can discover empathy despite their own failures and shortcomings, there is hope for the future.