At the urging of Good Deeds and Knowledge, Everyman attempts to purify himself of his sins, first by confessing them to a priest and later by using a “scourge” or whip to punish himself physically in imitation of the sufferings of Christ during his crucifixion. This practice of “mortification of the flesh” was commonly practiced throughout Europe in the medieval and early modern periods as a mode of penance. Reflecting upon his own mixed feelings, Everyman uses a paradox that imagines pain as a positive sensation:
Thanked be God for his gracious work!
For now I will my penance begin;
This hath rejoiced and lighted my heart,
Though the knots be painful and hard within.
Everyman is happy to begin working toward his own spiritual rehabilitation, thanking God for his assistance. He has “rejoiced” in the opportunity to purify his soul, which has “lighted his heart” despite the “knots” that are “painful and hard.” Here, he references the “knots” of the body, but he also alludes to the hard knots braided into the whip used for self-mortification. In imagining the pain of whipping as a positive feeling, Everyman uses a paradox that was common in literature of the Tudor period, in which the play was produced. The pain, he implies, becomes pleasurable to Everyman despite his discomfort because he believes that it is purifying his soul.
