Sarah Character Analysis in Fear and Trembling

Abraham’s wife and Isaac’s mother. God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son even though Sarah was seemingly too old to have any kids. However, after a lot of waiting, Sarah did in fact have a son. Like Abraham, Sarah was able to keep her faith in God’s promise, although Kierkegaard believes that if Abraham ever wavered in his faith, then Sarah would have lost hers, as well. When Abraham received God’s command to sacrifice Isaac, he didn’t tell Sarah about it. This seems unethical, but Kierkegaard later proves that it was for the best because Abraham wasn’t able to speak about what he was supposed to do in a way that anyone else could understand, thus highlighting the fact that sometimes faith is unintelligible.

Sarah Character Timeline in Fear and Trembling

The timeline below shows where the character Sarah appears in Fear and Trembling. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

In another version, Abraham and Isaac leave Sarah early in the morning. The two ride their donkeys to Mount Moriah in silence. Abraham... (full context)

...a third version, Abraham wakes up early to go to Mount Moriah, but he sees Sarah kiss Isaac before he goes. Abraham thinks about Hagar and the son he drove away... (full context)

...the patience to wait for decades for the son God promised him he’d have with Sarah. Johannes notes that if Abraham ever wavered in his faith, he would have given up... (full context)

...Isaac his bloodline would spread throughout the world and be great, and despite Abraham and Sarah’s immense love for Isaac. However, Abraham had faith that no matter what God asked of... (full context)

...ready to answer his call. Abraham woke up early and, without saying a word to Sarah or Eleazar, took Isaac to Mount Moriah and prepared to sacrifice him on an altar.... (full context)

...the universal) can ethically justify concealment, then Abraham can be rightly condemned for not telling Sarah, Eleazar, and Isaac about God’s demand. Johannes proposes to look at the question in an... (full context)

Johannes turns his attention back to Abraham, who didn’t tell Sarah, Eleazar, or Isaac about God’s command to sacrifice Isaac. Aesthetics says that it’s okay to... (full context)