Renæssanceforum 12 • 2017
Jørgen Magnus Sejersted
Den Stundesløse som forsynsallegori: Holberg i lys av Giorgio Agambens maktanalyse
Den Stundesløse as an Allegory of Providence
Den Stundesløse som forsynsallegori: Holberg i lys av Giorgio Agambens maktanalyse
Den Stundesløse as an Allegory of Providence
The article discusses Ludvig Holberg's comedy Den Stundesløse as a providential allegory. With reference to Giorgio Agamben's discussion of the theological concept of "oikonomia" in The Kingdom and the Glory (2011), the article argues that Holberg's depiction of the busy master of the crumbling household, "Vielgeschrei", mirrors some of the theological structures addressing the inevitable break between God's omnipotence and the incompleteness of the world, or between abstract theory and practice. Read in this way, the play is yet another example of Holberg's interest in the relationship between rationality and religion, and shows his lifelong struggle with the basic problems of providence.