Homo Homini Deus Est Analysis

The Role of Christianity Throughout Ragnarök
Is there something that you have always been taught, but do not fully believe in? In A.S. Byatt’s, Ragnarök, the thin child, who is the narrator of the novel, feels this way about Christianity. Throughout the chapter Homo Homini Deus Est, it is obvious that the thin child spends much of her time in the church, memorizing scriptures and prayers. Although she is frequently surrounded by religion it is evident that the thin child does not sympathize with any characters in the bible, except for the snake. She enjoys reading about Norse myths in a book called Asgard and the Gods, and often compares the myths to the stories Christian bible.. In the chapter titled Homo Homini Deus Est, Byatt criticizes Christianity as she illustrates the dullness and uselessness of it.
It is apparent that the thin child enjoys the literal words of the bible rather than the content as she describes her thoughts about the church. “What was alive in the clean stony place that smelled of brass polish, wood polish, was the English language” (32). One can relate the place she is describing to the church, which can represent the Bible. The fact that the language in general is even more “alive” then the context of the story, illustrates the dullness Byatt is conveying in this chapter. The reason the thin child enjoys the myths more then her religion is because they are not as black and white and allow more room for interpretation. The thin child is able to interpret Asgard and the Gods in her own way, unlike the dullness and the uniformity of the Bible stories. She also describes the stories as being “told” to her, whereas she enjoys reading the Norse myths on her