Archetypes of the Accused 3

The Beloved Wrong-Doer

I hold the dreadful figure of Cain dear among archetypes of the accused, because he is so unambiguously guilty. We need somebody to empathise with when we really did in fact do the thing it is said we have done. As the lore tells, Cain murdered his brother out of jealousy. God asks him, "where is brother?" like the artful parent who knows it is better for a person to tell their own dark tale than to have it wrenched out of them.

God tells Cain that, for this deed, he will spend the rest of his days as a wandering exile. I'm fascinated by how God calls the outcome. Does God simply weigh up Their feelings for the wronged against feelings for the wrongdoer and come up with something that feels right? There's certainly no eye-for-an-eye law of justice here.

And then Cain does the remarkable thing - and it is this that is key to the archetype of the beloved wrongdoer - Cain talks back as though he still matters, even though he's guilty. He says he can't bear the outcome because everyone will be out to get him. And so God agrees to put a mark on him, warning sevenfold vengeance against anyone who lays a finger on him.

I find this fascinating again. Where do these pronouncements and verdicts come from? Are they just? Cain certainly didn't receive sevenfold vengeance for killing Abel. Can one just haggle one's way through such matters? God in this story does not seem beholden to any formal law code, or any abstract ideal of justice as we might imagine the term. God appears to decide things based on the dignity and belovedness and the creature stood accused.

I know many people who've not killed or ever really bothered anyone, who have the greatest difficulty talking as though they matter. I've met people who are quite capable of talking as though they matter a little more than everybody else. Furthermore, I think there is something to be said for the blessed smallness and the creaturely liberty that comes from not, in fact, mattering too terribly much. All that said, I do believe there is some gift in the archetype of Cain; the accused who believe they matter even if their hands are dirty and their memories regrettable. It is the archetype that tells us that whatever has ensued, a relational connection to the world is still imaginable, fitting and possible. It is this archetype that looms large in about half the songs Johnny Cash ever sang.