The Parable of the Prodigal Son: An Economic Reading

The Parable of the Prodigal Son, told by Jesus in the book of Luke, has inspired much art, but interpretations of it have been conventionally pious. Recent biblical scholarship and narratological analysis suggest that the elder brother is at least as important to the underlying narrative as the prod...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Style (University Park, PA) PA), 1992-10, Vol.26 (3), p.419-436
Main Author: Marling, William
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bible
Brothers
Criticism and interpretation
Domestic workers
Elders
Famine
Fathers
Hebrew literature
Literary criticism
Literary form
Literary forms
Narratives
Parables
Social aspects
Sons
Spending
Swine
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Summary:The Parable of the Prodigal Son, told by Jesus in the book of Luke, has inspired much art, but interpretations of it have been conventionally pious. Recent biblical scholarship and narratological analysis suggest that the elder brother is at least as important to the underlying narrative as the prodigal son. Through him may be uncovered an older fabula, whose ideological operations present a different dynamic about psychological maturity, social reciprocity, genetic descent, and economic power. This older pattern organizes giving, spending, and saving in a dynamic cycle, termed by Northrop Frye "a do ut des bargain: I give that you may give." This basic patriarchal paradigm, once glimpsed, may also be seen in such texts as King Lear and Paradise Lost.
ISSN:0039-4238
2374-6629