| [1] And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. | Function 8a (a), A lack or misfortune, a magical agent is needed = a |
| [2] And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. | Function 4, Villain makes an attempt at Reconnaissance = ε |
| [3] And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. | Function 10, The Seeker hero decides upon counteraction, = C |
| [4] And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. | Function 4, "An inverted form of reconnaissance is evidenced when the intended victim questions the villain = ε2 |
| [5] And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: | Function 16, Hero and villain engage in a Sruggle, = H |
| and his hand was restored whole as the other. | Function 18, Villain is defeated by the hero = I;
Function 19, Initial lack liquidated = K |
| [6] And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. | "Villain orders a murder to be committed" = A13 |
| [7] But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: | Implied Function 21, Hero is pursued = Pr. After reading of a plot to kill Jesus we would expect Jesus' move to be narrated as a flight but it isn't. Mark does certainly appear to be following the script of Exodus here where the Israelites at a similar point were in flight, but Mark leaves such an interpretation most implicit at best. Jesus' move can be read as simply another step in his travels despite the plot against him. Mark is not writing a realistic narrative as I've noted many times and I think now it was a mistake to try to apply Propp to this Gospel. |
and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
[8] And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. | I'm still struggling to know how or if this type of action can be interpreted within Propp's morphology. If the reason the crowds are flocking to Jesus is to be healed or to see their friends healed or exorcized -- and this does appear to be strongly implied within the immediate context -- then we have Functions a and B, the misfortune/lack/insufficiency (a) followed by the mediation of these lacks to the hero (B). |
[9] And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
[10] For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
[11] And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
[12] And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known. | The Functions introduced at the beginning of the narrative are repeated yet again: The need/lack, the communication of the need/lack, the recognition, the interdiction . . . |
[13] And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
[14] And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
[15] And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
[16] And Simon he surnamed Peter;
[17] And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
[18] And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
[19] And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: | This returns us to the disciples as the narrative's heroes. I need to start colour coding functions that apply to the disciples as heroes to clearly separate them from the functions applying to Jesus. Jesus is the "prophetic hero" and as such he is imbued with the magical powers and is able to act as a Doner. We have already seen Function 2 (Interdiction addressed to the hero) and Function 3 (A fulfilled order that will bring result in a call to death just as a violation would result in death, as mediated through the ambiguous fisherman metaphor), and Function 11 (The hero leaves home) in relation to the disciples.
Here we may have Function 12, the "testing" of the hero. Sometimes a greeting can substitute as a test and the hero will be rewarded if he responds positively. There is no apparent test here, however. The disciples do respond positively to follow Jesus up the mountain. I don't know if this would qualify for Function 12.
Function 13, "the hero reacts to the actions of the future donor", Designation E. Reaction is generally either positive or negative. Here the disciples respond positively.
Function 14, "the hero acquires the use of a magical agent", Designation F. The disciples are given power to preach, heal sicknesses and cast out demons.
There is a later function, 29, T, Transfiguration, in which the hero changes appearance in some way. The disciples are given new names but it would be stretching it too far to equate this with a new appearance. |
| and they went into an house. |
| [20] And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. | Function 8, a, there is a lack or need. |
| [21] And when his friends heard of it, | This looks like the lack or need is made known, Function 9, B. However, in Propp's morphology it is the hero who learns of the need. Here it is the opponents of the hero who learn of the need or misfortune. So if Propp's morphology applies at all it would more likely be Function 5, "Villain receives information about his victim", ζ, that is relevant. |
they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
[22] And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. | Function 6, The villain attempts to coerce the hero (usually but not always with deception) "in order to take possession of him", η.
Alternatively, Function 26, H, struggle between hero and villain. I have discussed narrative details like this earlier in more depth but such efforts might be an indication that the morphology does not really apply at all.
Ambiguity. Either I need special coaching in Propp's morphology to understand it better or the exercise raises doubts about the relevance of Propp at least to the entirety of the gospel. |
[23] And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
[24] And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
[25] And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
[26] And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
[27] No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
[28] Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
[29] But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
[30] Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
[31] There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
[32] And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
[33] And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
[34] And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
[35] For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. | Function 27, I, victory over the villain. Ditto regarding note above. |
