Why do we read the devil rather than God into the landscape? Some literary explorations.

What is it about?

The “new cultural geography” examines how landscape is socially constructed through literature, art, and politics. Note that 105 canyons in the U.S. are named “The Devil’s Canyon.” Why this tendency to read the devil, rather than the divine, into extreme landscapes? This article considers the devil in the landscape of three texts. On the Russian steppes, the devil tempts a man to his death by manipulating his greedy desire for more land. In Ontario, the setting of the Devil’s Punch Bowl prompts a poetic meditation on the impossibility of protecting the innocent from human fallenness. And in North Dakota, “a devilish little man,” inhabits the Badlands where he allures three young people through their specific physical and psychological weaknesses. In each case, the devil is mapped onto the landscape.

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Why is it important?

The notion of landscape as a social construction leads to fascinating insights into the psyche and concerns of literary authors across the western world. In particular this article is concerned with the effects of a Christian worldview on how landscape is understood, by Tolstoy in Russia, Terpstra in Canada, and Enger in the States.

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