Disobediently Biblical: The Construction of Characters in José Saramago’s Novel <i>Cain</i>

Abstract The biblical figure of Cain has inspired a long and complex history of reception. While his negative portrayal has been perpetuated and intensified over the centuries, a modern trend has emerged that celebrates Cain – the first murderer in biblical history – as a superior and heroic figure. This portrayal frames his rebellion against God as emblematic of the modern struggle with tradition and religion. In his novel Cain (2009), Portuguese writer and Nobel laureate José Saramago extends this literary tendency by reshaping Cain as a formidable adversary of the biblical deity. This article examines the strategies Saramago employs to subversively reshape the biblical stories and craft an alternative, dissenting account while remaining faithful to the letter of the text. A comparison with Jewish Midrash reveals that, like the rabbis, the author sought out exegetical pegs on which to hang his creative supplementation of the canonical text. Often overlooked, this characteristic of the novel shows that at the heart of Saramago’s well-known heterodoxy lies a form of hermeneutical orthopraxis, which lends particular strength to his deconstruction of the biblical narrative and its characters.