The Devil Inside Us

THE DEVIL INSIDE US

Throughout history, the devil has mostly been portrayed in the form of a monster, with horns, in red or black colors, and in an appearance far from any kind of refinement or nobility. However, the depiction of the devil in Alexandre Cabanel’s Fallen Angel painting, which attracts attention with its closeness to human appearance, stands out with its magnificence and beauty.Because it has humanoid features, it gives people the opportunity to empathize with the devil.
So the reason why it is so popular is that people see a piece of it within themselves when they look at this picture.

When we look at the picture, the first thing that catches our attention, created from light, known as Lucifer, with his bright image and magnificent wings is devil himself. The words  “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.You were in Eden, the garden of God;every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.” (Ezekiel 28:11-19) in Old Testament makes us realize that Lucifer is naked unlike the other angels who appear relatively faint in the background and are watching Lucifer from a distance with a feeling mixed with pity and condemnation.

The reason why devil in this situation is that the disobey God’s command that he did. Devil doesn’t want to bow down to Adam. Because Adam was created from soil while he was created light.He sees himself superior.Against this disobedience God expels him from his heaven.

Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven. – John Milton, Paradise Lost, 1667

When we examine his body, we can see that his muscles are contracted and immensely tense.However the actual point worth to look at, Lucifer’s facial expression.

All the anger, hate, disappointment, resentment, desire of vengeance and feeling of being despised that Lucifer feels, spills out with a tear from his red eye.Satan, who showed that he felt weak and defenseless by shielding his face with one arm, was expelled from heaven and lost his former glory and magnificence.Yet his tears are not tears of sadness.His harsh look under his flowning eyebrows is the sign that he will hold a grudge against God and humanity through all his life. I know we all have experienced these feelings at least once in our lives.This is what makes the work empathetic.We can even say that we agree with him at some point when we put ourselves in his shoes.

“The Devil said to Dante; If you really knew God, you would betray him too.” – Divina Commedia, Dante Alighieri

Does every story have just one guilty? Isn’t it a sign of God’s own arrogance that he compares his creations with each other?

TUĞBA YÜRÜYEN