On 10 and 11 May, the University of Aveiro organised an international conference on the figure of the biblical character Job, which is a continuation of conferences held in recent years in the area the Languages, Literature and Culture Project. Mythographies: Themes and Variations. In her speech “The figure of Job as a literary motif. The desire for meaning in the face of suffering,” the assistant professor of the Faculty of Humanities, Teresa Vallès, made a comparative analysis of the biblical character Job with the protagonists of three literary works inspired by this same character. These are works by Voltaire, Joseph Roth and Carlos Pujol, who rewrite the story of Job and wonder about the meaning of suffering.

Vallès explains how the biblical character of Job has inspired thinkers and artists from many time periods, so that in Western history, his figure has been the theme of multiple paintings, sculptures and musical compositions, as well as novels and poems. By exploring the formal and thematic coincidences and divergences presented by some literary recreations of Job’s story, one can identify the literary motif being played by this character.

In her speech, the Humanities professor argues that Job has shaped a “verbal representation of a typical situation that repeats itself, a situation stereotyped like that of other literary motifs identified by comparative literature as ‘impossible love’ (represented, for example, in Romeo and Juliet) or ‘The unjust exile’ (embodied, among others, by El Cid). To characterise Job’s literary motif, Vallès analysed which elements of biblical history remain in the works inspired thereby, and what transformation it has undergone as it adapted to different time periods and worldviews. The anthropological foundation of Job’s literary motif is the desire for a rational explanation of suffering.

Other topics around the figure of Job were also addressed at the conference, such as Hybris and punishment, hope and life, fidelity and integrity and the frailties of the human condition. This international conference is part of the Project Mythologies: Themes and Variations CLLC of the University of Aveiro.