Presenter Information

Janet Brennan Croft

Loading...

Media is loading
 

Document Type

Paper

Event Website

http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm

Start Date

31-7-2021 12:00 PM

End Date

31-7-2021 12:45 PM

Description

Names are, in one sense, the outward indication of a power negotiation. The namer, the one who bestows a new name or uses an already-given name, reveals, through the choice of name they give or use, their relationship to that which they name. The act may indicate a more or less equal relationship; it may be an attempt to exert power over someone or something by imposing a name on it or by using a name that will influence those who hear it; or it may be a signal of submission and subordination, using a name to flatter or placate someone or something more powerful. In Genesis 2, naming is the first officially delegated sub-creational task, for God does not name the animals, but brings them before Adam to see what he will call them. All humans have the power to name, to rename, to take a new name, to give a nickname, to deny a name, to deadname . . . and Good Omens, book and show alike, is rife with significant acts of naming by both humans and other powers, from Crawley renaming himself Crowley to the constantly changing self-claimed sobriquets of the Four Other Horsemen. Adam Young, though, has this power in spades. Reality bends to his will, and his acts of naming *stick* and change what he names. While other name stories will be examined in this paper, the naming acts I will concentrate on will be the naming of Adam himself, Adam’s naming of the hell-hound as he comes into his power, and his climactic act (in the show) of naming Satan to be not his father, and thereby making it so.

Tech Mod: Alicia Fox-Lenz.

Comments

Recorded Session

Share

COinS
 
Jul 31st, 12:00 PM Jul 31st, 12:45 PM

Adam’s Task: Naming and Subcreation in Good Omens

Names are, in one sense, the outward indication of a power negotiation. The namer, the one who bestows a new name or uses an already-given name, reveals, through the choice of name they give or use, their relationship to that which they name. The act may indicate a more or less equal relationship; it may be an attempt to exert power over someone or something by imposing a name on it or by using a name that will influence those who hear it; or it may be a signal of submission and subordination, using a name to flatter or placate someone or something more powerful. In Genesis 2, naming is the first officially delegated sub-creational task, for God does not name the animals, but brings them before Adam to see what he will call them. All humans have the power to name, to rename, to take a new name, to give a nickname, to deny a name, to deadname . . . and Good Omens, book and show alike, is rife with significant acts of naming by both humans and other powers, from Crawley renaming himself Crowley to the constantly changing self-claimed sobriquets of the Four Other Horsemen. Adam Young, though, has this power in spades. Reality bends to his will, and his acts of naming *stick* and change what he names. While other name stories will be examined in this paper, the naming acts I will concentrate on will be the naming of Adam himself, Adam’s naming of the hell-hound as he comes into his power, and his climactic act (in the show) of naming Satan to be not his father, and thereby making it so.

Tech Mod: Alicia Fox-Lenz.

https://dc.swosu.edu/mythcon/mc51/schedule/9

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.