Johannes de Silentio (Kierkegaard) selects Agamemnon as the ideal example of a tragic hero. Like Abraham, Agamemnon had to sacrifice a beloved child—his daughter, Iphigenia. However, Agamemnon doesn’t have to do this as a sign of faith, but to appease an angry goddess. It’s also for the greater good because other people will benefit from the sacrifice and will praise Agamemnon for being strong enough to make it. This is also what differentiates a tragic hero from a knight of faith: the tragic hero is universally understood and praised, but a knight of faith is nearly always misunderstood, and their actions seem questionable.
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Agamemnon Character Timeline in Fear and Trembling
The timeline below shows where the character Agamemnon appears in Fear and Trembling. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Problema 1: Is There a Teleological Suspension of the Ethical?
...to make a sacrifice similar to Abraham’s under different circumstances—to appease an angry deity (like Agamemnon sacrificing Iphigenia to appease a vengeful goddess) or because the law demands it—then people admire...
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...least, makes a definite sacrifice for a definite result, and so anyone can weep for Agamemnon’s sacrifice. Abraham made a sacrifice to try to grab something above the universal, and so...
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Problema 2: Is There an Absolute Duty to God?
...something similar, but they can resort to the universal whereas a knight of faith cannot. Agamemnon prepared to sacrifice Iphigenia, took comfort in the universal, and then sacrificed her. However, Abraham...
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Problema 3: Was it Ethically Defensible of Abraham to Conceal his Purpose from Sarah, from Eleazar, from Isaac?
...ethics punishes concealment because it demands disclosure. Sometimes aesthetics calls for disclosure, though. For instance, Agamemnon had to keep his grief over having to sacrifice Iphigenia quiet because he’s the hero,...
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...can’t understand, in part because they’ve given counterarguments the chance to be heard (such as Agamemnon letting Iphigenia and others talk to him about the sacrifice he must make). Abraham can’t...
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...over whether a tragic hero should make any final statement before their sacrifice (Johannes believes Agamemnon might have cheapened his sacrifice if he insisted on saying something at the last second),...
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