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Definition of Paradox
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar Wilde's famous declaration that "Life is... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel... read full definition
Act 1, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Jeptha's Daughter:
In the second scene of Act 1, Hellena tells Willmore that whoever wants to be with her will have to storm a convent, as she is due to become a nun after Carnival. Willmore responds with delight, alluding to the Book of Judges and creating a paradox in his assertion that this makes him even more convinced that they will have sex:
A nun! Oh how I love thee for’t! There’s no sinner like a young saint – nay now there’s no denying me, the old law had no curse (to a woman) like dying a maid; witness Jephtha’s daughter.
Willmore's statement that there's "no sinner like a young saint" is a paradox. Although it may seem contradictory to claim that young saints are the ultimate sinners, he is arguing that no one is more familiar with the temptation of sin than those who have vowed to forego earthly pleasures early in their life. Willmore's line of reasoning goes as follows: If Hellena is entering a convent and a life of privation, then she will more easily be seduced. This is because nuns have to swear vows of chastity and Willmore claims that, for women, there is no greater curse than dying a virgin.
To back this up, Willmore uses a story from the Book of Judges. As a result of a vow Jephtha made—that he would sacrifice the first thing that comes out of his door—the judge is forced to sacrifice his daughter. Before the sacrifice takes place, she asks for a two-month grace period so she can go into the mountains to weep for her virginity. Reinforcing the idea that women do not and should not want to leave the world as virgins, Willmore uses the story of Jephtha's daughter to convince Hellena to sleep with him. Hellena does not plan to die, but, in Willmore's eyes, entering a convent is more or less the equivalent of death.
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