The Last Temptation of Christ: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Last Temptation of Christ" presents a unique exploration of its major characters, focusing on their complex relationships and struggles. Central to the narrative is Jesus, depicted as a conflicted carpenter who grapples with his identity and a profound sense of duty towards humanity. He endures temptations that challenge his path, ultimately leading him to embrace his sacrificial role. Judas Iscariot, portrayed as a committed zealot, faces a moral dilemma between his violent beliefs and the possibility that Jesus is the prophesied savior. Mary, Jesus' mother, represents the emotional turmoil of a parent wishing for normalcy for her son, while Joseph, a paralyzed figure, embodies the struggles of faith and impotence. Other characters, like Mary Magdalene and Peter, contribute their own journeys of love, rebellion, and discovery, highlighting themes of redemption and understanding. The narrative also introduces figures like Simeon, a rabbi, and Matthew, a customs officer, who reflect on the significance of Jesus' mission and the complexities of divine truth. Together, these characters create a rich tapestry that invites reflection on faith, sacrifice, and the human condition.
The Last Temptation of Christ: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Nikos Kazantzakis
First published: Ho teleutaios peirasmos, 1955 (English translation, 1960)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Israel
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: 30–33 c.e.
Jesus, a carpenter and cross-maker, the son of Mary and the carpenter Joseph. A troubled youth, full of fear and rebelliousness, and tormented by “vulture claws” seemingly sent from God, he is also possessed by a strong pity for humanity. Continually tempted to be something other than who he really is, he grows as he journeys from home to the monastery, where he loses much of his guilt, and turns to preaching love to the people. Later, his trials and visions in the desert convince him that the rotten tree of the world must be felled by ax and fire. Eventually, he becomes obsessed by death, knowing that his own is necessary. When he awakes from his final nightmare of a compromised life and finds himself on the cross, he is filled with a hero's joy.
Judas Iscariot, a blacksmith. Committed to the cause of Israel and a member of the fierce Zealots, he can kill and, in fact, is commissioned to kill Jesus. He hesitates because he suspects that Jesus may be the One. A man of action who challenges and finally comes to love the man of contemplation, Jesus, he is the only disciple with the necessary endurance to assist the Messiah in his sacrificial death.
Mary, the wife of Joseph of Nazareth and the mother of Jesus. Past her youth, she continually grieves because of the agitation her paralytic husband and possessed son cause her. Preoccupied with her own pain, she prays that her son live a normal life and be a family man, not a saint.
Joseph, a carpenter. Paralyzed since his wedding day, he has spent each day since in convulsive, sputtering efforts to pronounce the syllables of God's name: A-do-na-i. His strangled impotence, a powerfully drawn symbol of Israel, torments the youthful Jesus.
Zebedee, a fisherman, the father of John and Jacob. He is called “old stuff-pockets” by his “adopted sons” and neighbors. He fears the poor and despises the young cross-maker. A landowner and town elder, he subscribes to a simplistic pragmatism. He is obedient to the law but impatient with ideas of sharing wealth. His house becomes the staging area for Jesus and his disciples as they plan their campaigns. Gradually, his heart is softened and his mind “lightly intoxicated” by Jesus' teachings.
Mary Magdalene, Jesus' childhood playmate and adolescent sweetheart. Her fall into harlotry, Jesus believes, is his fault. Like Jesus, she begins in rebellion but comes to understand something of his mission, and they are reconciled.
Simeon, a rabbi. He is another struggler, seeking to understand the seven levels of scriptural meaning. Promised by God that he will see the Son of Man in his lifetime, he watches over Jesus from infancy, knowing that his is a life of “nothing but miracles” but baffled as to its direction.
Peter, the son of Old Jonah and brother of Andrew. He responds to Jesus' call, despite his uncertainties, finding his ordinary life as a fisherman suffocating. Frustrated by his own indecisiveness, he nevertheless makes it possible for Jesus to elucidate the mystery of their mission precisely because, in his confusion, he asks many questions. It is Peter who sees visions and understands that the New Law is salvation for all the world, not for Israel alone.
Matthew, a customs officer and publican. Brought into the group of disciples by Jesus, he feels the heavy responsibility of recording for future generations the words and miracles of his holy man, and he hears the rustle of an angel's wings at his right hand, guiding his words. Both Matthew and Jesus himself resist the angel's version until Jesus pauses to reflect that humankind's truth could be what God calls lies.
The guardian angel, a figure who appears to Jesus as he hangs on the cross. Later, taking the form of a small black person, this figure guides Jesus into a life of domestic contentment.
Tiny old men, shrunken disciples who return, at the culmination of the final dream sequence, wounded and dispirited, to denounce Jesus for betraying them and to remind him of what he had taught them: That life was made for wings.