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A review by kothesakis
The Night in Gethsemane: On Solitude and Betrayal by Massimo Recalcati
3.0
A really fascinating psychoanalysis of Jesus in Gethsemane that is sadly bogged down by jargon. Recalcati’s analyses of Jesus, his emotions, and the underlying psychological phenomena behind those emotions are extremely revealing and shed new light on a familiar story. Never before have I really pondered the isolation and betrayal felt by Jesus in that moment, or so deeply embodied and empathized with the emotions held by the man who is God.
Where this book sort of falls flat is it’s jargon. If i were better read in Jung or Freud on the psychoanalytic side or Bonhoeffer on the theological side, the terms and phrases used by Recalcati might have made more sense. But as it stands there were certain arguments being made that conveyed little meaning beyond their ample jargon. For example, in the penultimate chapter Recalcati writes,
“Jesus frees himself from waiting for a response from the Other, and from belief in the existence of the Other of the Other as the other who responds.”
I still don’t really know what this is supposed to mean. Maybe it makes more sense in the original Italian, but in the English version I read there are many phrases and sentences like this that prevent full engagement with an otherwise expository and heartfelt analysis of Jesus’ psychological state in his most harrowing hour.
Where this book sort of falls flat is it’s jargon. If i were better read in Jung or Freud on the psychoanalytic side or Bonhoeffer on the theological side, the terms and phrases used by Recalcati might have made more sense. But as it stands there were certain arguments being made that conveyed little meaning beyond their ample jargon. For example, in the penultimate chapter Recalcati writes,
“Jesus frees himself from waiting for a response from the Other, and from belief in the existence of the Other of the Other as the other who responds.”
I still don’t really know what this is supposed to mean. Maybe it makes more sense in the original Italian, but in the English version I read there are many phrases and sentences like this that prevent full engagement with an otherwise expository and heartfelt analysis of Jesus’ psychological state in his most harrowing hour.