The Eighth Day: Liturgical Elements in The Man Who Was Thursday

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This essay applies liturgical theory and elements to G. K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday (1908). Using Chesterton's own thoughts on the Mass, along with those of notable liturgical theologians, I argue that The Man Who Was Thursday takes on a liturgical form in which, as in liturgy, characters seek to be properly formed, culminating in the pageant at the end of Gabriel Syme's dream. This search for identity involves the nature of Sunday, who is throughout an elusive and enigmatic character. While Sunday may represent many things, especially Chesterton's own understanding of him as a symbol of nature, the importance of his name (along with the other characters') cannot be ignored, and Sunday may represent nothing more than his name, or what liturgical theologians call the eighth day: a day outside of time, both the first and the last day of the week. This becomes clearer when readers document the nature of time itself in the novel. Though supposedly taking an entire week, the events in Syme's dream span only four days, complicating when exactly the second Sunday breakfast occurs and suggesting that Sunday is not bound by time. The liturgical elements become even more apparent after Syme wakes up, as the novel itself returns to its original setting—functioning as both an ending and beginning. Syme's eventual marriage with Rosamond is the culminating liturgical moment that is nevertheless veiled in mystery and hidden from readers.