carly

Pesti writes, "ritual cannibalism or anthropophagy is seen as a metaphor for cultural exchange: they were fugitives from a civilization we are eating, because we are strong and vindictive".9 It should be noted that anthropophagy is not always aggressive

The

soul

goes

on

to

offer

her

spirit

to

God

in

death,

descend

into

hell,

be

raised

from

the

dead,

offer

consolation

to

her

disci-

ples,

and

ascend

into

heaven.

In

all

these

ways,

the

loving

union

of

the

soul

with

God

is

depicted

in

the

language

of

Christ's

own

experience

in

the

New

Testament

Passion

narratives.

she

bursts

into

flames,

not

out

of

pain,

but

out

of

passion

for

the

Bridegroom.

Mechthild

understands

that

fallen

humanity

is

brought

into

intimate

union

with

God

through

the

mediating

work

of

physical

•

23

pain

What

is

particularly

striking

about

this

poetic

description

of

the

soul's

union

with

God

is

that

the

"deeper"

the

soul

dwells

in

the

Godhead,

the

"deeper

her

wounds

become."

This

entails

a

direct

connection

between

union

with

God

and

wounding.

And,

as

the

soul's

wounds

become

deeper,

the

"more

violently

she

struggles"

-

presumably

against

God,

her

intimate

partner.

Even

so,

the

soul

even-

tually

surrenders

to

the

"... See more

In

the

midst

of

this

erotic

exchange,

God

acknowledges

the

reality

of

pain

in

their

intimate

union:

No

matter

how

softly

I

caress

you,

I

inflict

immense

pain

on

your

poor

body.

If

I

were

to

surrender

myself

to

you

continuously,

as

you

desire,

I

would

lose

my

delightful

dwelling

place

on

earth

within

you,

For

a

thousand

bodies

cannot

fully

satisfy

the

longings

of

a

soul

in

love

(FL

11.25).