Abstract

This dissertation explores the phenomena of fate, suffering and transformation. The work is motivated by the following observations. When life goes well, we feel good, powerful, trusting in what the universe is about. For the most part, as a culture, we attribute success to our own hard work, cleverness, intelligence, good timing, luck, and if we have a spiritual orientation, to Divine Providence as well. When we experience reversals, failures, loss, or tragedy we wonder why, questioning ourselves or our God, wondering at the unseen forces affecting our lives. We are likely to ask: Why me? What have I done to deserve this? Is this a punishment from God? In the tension between self-blame and the search for an other on whom to place responsibility, the awareness grows of a third, an unseen mover of sorts, which I have come to recognize as fate. ;Utilizing a hermeneutic methodology informed by a heuristic sensibility, this dissertation investigates the phenomena of fate, suffering, and transformation, looking at fate, in relationship to suffering and transformation, through a metaphorical prism. It weaves together lived experience with the exploration of etymology, history, depth psychology, in particular the work of C. G. Jung, and the stories of Joseph and Job, the former through both Thomas Mann's Joseph and his brothers and the Hebrew Bible, and the latter through the biblical Book of Job and Jung's Answer to Job . ;My research has led to the following original contributions: a rigorous etymological analysis of the words "fate," "destiny," "necessity," "providence," and "karma" which reveals subtle differences between and among these words as well as their inter-relatedness; for the first time bringing together Jung's ideas and thoughts about fate for reflection, interpretation, and critical analysis in relationship to the work of Freud and some of the neo-Freudians; the interpretation of the biblical stories of Joseph and Job from the perspective of fate, suffering, and transformation. This work reveals a major paradox in the relationship between God and fate, and challenges the dominant Jewish and Christian paradigms