Religious Connections in "The Foundations of the Earth"

I am enthralled by all of the religious imagery and connections to the scripture in “The Foundations of the Earth,” partially because I recently took a ‘Bible as Literature’ course with Dr. Nixon last semester, so my mind is still on the Bible. I am not surprised by all the biblical references, because I can tell that this is a society of religious people. Beginning with the title of the piece, “Foundations of the Earth” is a passage that is mentioned in various places in the Bible. However, the most relevant to Kenan’s story is in the book of Job (of course): “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements?”(38.4-6).In this quotation, an angry God is challenging Job and demonstrating his power. 

            Of course, another connection to the Bible is Maggie’s dream. In the text, the narrator states: “She dreamed she was Job sitting on his dung heap, dressed in sackcloth and ashes, her body covered with boils, scratching with a stick, sending away Eliphaz and Bildad and Zophar and Elihu, who came to counsel her, and above her the sky boiled and churned and the air roared, and she matched it, railing against God, against her life…”(Kenan 58). To fully understand Maggie’s fiery dream, the reader has to understand the book of Job. The book of Job is the first poetic book in the (Christian) Old Testament and is included in the Writings section of the Bible. The book of Job is a story about “the suffering of the righteous.” To connect back to Kenan’s story, why did Edward have to die at such a young age? Why did Maggie (a religious woman) have to lose her son? 

            I could not close out this discussion without mentioning Gabriel. In the Bible, Gabriel is the angel who foretells the birth of Jesus and his cousin, John the Baptist. Gabriel is a wise and all-knowing kind of angel. In Kenan’s text the narrator states: “…Edward floated before her in the rushing air and quickly turned around into the comforting arms of Gabriel, winged, who clutched her grandboy to his bosom and soared away, out of the storm” (Kenan 58). Gabriel may not predict the birth of Edward, but this quotation depicts his protective and caring nature. I believe this is probably a link to the biblical Gabriel. Thoughts? 

            As a closing nugget of thought, I am still debating on the bigger idea of religion in this piece. Does Maggie seem to go from a very religious woman to a confused individual about her religious ideals? What about the other characters?