SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET FINDS A FATHER IN PROVIDENCE (not RI)

After a sea-voyage and capture by pirates, Hamlet's life is spared, a gift of mercy. He sees in this the hand of Providence, like a father to whom he owes more than he does to the ghost of his earthly father.

The sentinel Francisco has a namesake, Francis of Assisi, who underwent a similar conversion from an abusive, earthly father, to a heavenly father, a scene often depicted in art.

This work by Giotto, often called "St. Francis Renouncing Worldly Goods," is in the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. It might be called "Renouncing the Earthly Father" (see Luke 14:26).

Francis was a soldier who became a prisoner of war and was held for ransom for about a year while his father refused or delayed payment. Once returned, he suffered depression and probably PTSD. He gave away some of his father's money and material goods to care for the sick and poor, so his father tied him up, a prisoner in his home.

In this painting, the abusive father is restrained by another man, while Francis, who has removed his clothes to give back all earthly possessions to his father, is wrapped in a garment for modesty's sake by the bishop. Children at the right and left margins are shown straining against the grasp of parents.



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May 16, 2019
If we accept that Francis was emotionally abused by his father who imprisoned him at home, can we also accept that the ghost is abusive to Hamlet, the son? David Scott Kastan, author of A Will to Believe: Shakespeare and Religion, notes that the ghost is emotionally manipulative ("If thou didst ever thy dear father love..."). (131) Other critics have noted the lack of father-son affection voiced by the father and the callousness of the ghost regarding the risk of his son being eternally damned for an act of revenge. When Hamlet speaks of his father in 1.2, he compares him to Greek gods; it is not a stretch to claim that Hamlet idolizes his father in ways that are unrealistic and unhealthy.

But after the sea-voyage, Hamlet no longer speaks of the ghost (only commenting to Horatio that Claudius is "He that hath kill'd my king and whored my mother"— referring to him not as father, but as "my king"). The ghost no longer appears.

So it would seem that Hamlet's Jonah-like sea-voyage has resulted in a Francis-like discovery of a more important heavenly father that displaces the earthly one.

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See also The Saint and the Sultan by Paul Moses (2009).]

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INDEX OF POSTS on Francisco & Bernardo:

PAZZI CONSPIRACY - possible allusion noted by C. Elliot Browne in 1876 in the names of Francisco & Bernardo
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/05/c-elliot-browne-wrote-in-1876-that.html
1 May, 2017

SCOURGE AND MINISTER: BERNARD AND FRANCIS https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/03/scourge-minister-bernard-francis.html
- March 26, 2018

MIGHT ART LOST IN DISSOLVED MONASTERIES HAVE HELPED CONNECT HAMLET'S FRANCISCO & BERNARDO TO THE SAINTS?
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/04/might-lost-art-in-dissolved-monasteries.html
- April 03, 2017

FATHER ISSUES FOR HAMLET & FRANCISCO
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/01/shakespeares-hamlet-has-father-issues.html
- April 10, 2017

TOP SIX REASONS Shakespeare probably named sentinel Francisco after Francis of Assisi
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/04/top-six-reasons-shakespeare-probably.html
- April 17, 2017

Four Approaches to Francisco & Bernardo in Hamlet
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/04/four-approaches-to-names-of-sentinels.html
- April 24, 2017

MELANCHOLY: LOST DELIGHT IN HAMLET & FRANCIS OF ASSISI
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/07/melancholy-lost-delight-hamlet-francis.html
- July 17, 2017

How Geographical Memory May Have Encouraged the Naming of Two Characters in Hamlet
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/07/how-geographical-memory-may-have.html
- July 24, 2017

SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET FINDS A FATHER IN PROVIDENCE (not RI)
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/11/shakespeares-hamlet-finds-father-in.html
- November 20, 2017

WHAT DO FRANCISCO & BERNARDO HAVE TO DO WITH SHAKESPEARE & THE BIBLE?
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/12/what-do-francisco-bernardo-have-to-do.html
- December 03, 2017

BERNARDO TALES: LAERTES & HAMLET RECONCILE, as do BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX & PETER ABELARD
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2017/12/bernardo-abelard-hamlet-laertes-reconcile.html
- December 04, 2017

CORRUPTED REFORMERS: WHY SOMEONE NAMED AFTER BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX MIGHT BE FIRST TO SPEAK IN SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/01/corrupted-reformers-why-someone-named.html
- January 01, 2018

SCOURGE AND MINISTER: BERNARD AND FRANCIS
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/03/scourge-minister-bernard-francis.html
- March 26, 2018
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Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
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Thanks for reading!
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My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.

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https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html

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