A Narratological Analysis of the Life of Aaron

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the narratological structure of the Life of Aaron, a hagiographical text from Late Antique Egypt. Such an analysis has not yet been performed on this text, and the method is still rarely applied to hagiographical literature. In the short term, I intend for this thesis to expose the complex yet consistent structure of this fascinating text. In the long term, I see this thesis as part of a broader movement to incorporate Coptology into the mainstream study of Late Antique literature. My general introduction discusses the Life of Aaron, its manuscript and archaeological evidence, and the state of scholarship on it. Following this, my first chapter compares the text to five significant Late Antique hagiographical works from Egypt: the Life of Antony, the Life of Pachomius, the Historia Monachorum in Aegypto, the Life of Onnophrius, and the Life of Shenoute. My second chapter surveys the ancient (Aristotelian) and modern (structuralist) narratological methods employed in this thesis. Finally, my third chapter contrasts the Life of Aaron’s literal structure with its underlying chronology - what narratologists call the fabula - and exposes the story’s narrator hierarchy. An epilogue then proposes avenues for future research, and the thesis closes with two short appendix graphs which summarize my analysis.