ABSTRACT
The sequence begins with an offense, a violation. A boundary crossed, a provocation. A life taken, a body wounded, a mind assaulted—an enemy has appeared. Two figures now emerge—I and You, Us and Them. It is in the relation between these two figures that, along with questions of retaliation, revenge, and punishment, the question of forgiveness emerges. We have no doubt whatsoever about the meanings and manifest intentions of retaliation, revenge, and punishment. Each aims to restore and buttress the status quo ante so as to prevent the recurrence of another violation. As for forgiveness, though, we are filled with questions. We do not know exactly what the word means, do not even know whether it is possible. We do not know whether forgiveness must involve both figures or can occur privately. We do not know its motives, nor even whether it is motivated. We do not know what is required for it, what demands it makes on both the forgiver and the forgiven. Most fundamentally, we do not know whether forgiveness expresses a capacity or a failure.
