The Killing of Abel employs humor and blasphemy as well as social satire to present its message. Written by an author known as the Wakefield Master, The Killing…comes largely from Cain’s point of view before, during, and after he murders his brother, Abel. The Wakefield Master employs social satire to portray Cain as a character with whom the audience of the play could identify and probably shared many of his views. In doing so, the audience by play’s end recognize that they themselves hold blasphemous views and the urgent need for their repentance if they hope to avoid Cain’s fate.
Cain first deals with the issue of tithing and the disjointed relations between the laity and the papacy. In regards to tithing, Cain highly questions the purpose of doing so when, in his eyes, the papacy often keeps the tithes for itself. In response to Abel’s urging that he tithe soon, Cain responds that, “my farthyng is in the preest hand – syn last tyme I offyrd.” Further, since it is not to God that men tithe but to the pockets of clerics, Cain questions why poor men, such as himself, should impoverish themselves for the sake of contributing to priests’ wealth; “For hath I giffen away my goode, then myght I go with a ryffen hood, and it is better that hold that I have, then go from doore to doore and crave.” The audience likely identified with this sentiment and shared frustration that the Church required them to continue to impoverish themselves for the sake of contributing to the already wealthy Church. Cain dwells upon this disunion between the masses and the papacy when he likens Abel’s encouragement to a sermon. Cain recalls a popular medieval image of a fox convincing geese that it is to their own betterment that they allow the fox to eat them. He mockingly calls on his associates to “let furth youre geyse,” for, “the fox will preche.”
Cain does not just find issue with organized religion and tithing but views God as the source of all his misfortune and troubled life.
Shuld I leife my plough and all thing – and go with the to make offering?
Nay, thou fyndys me not so mad! Go to the dwill, and say I bad! What
gifys God the, to rose hym so? Me gifys he not bot soro and wo.
God is a bully in Cain’s eyes, and he arbitrarily blesses some people and curses other. Therefore, he is not worthy of devotion or sacrifice. While much of the audience would have shared Cain’s sentiments that God is often responsible for misfortune, the Wakefield Master has Cain take this view a step further to show the audience where such feelings can lead. Later Cain reveals that he views God as his enemy and that he and God are polar opposites, remarking:
For he has ever yit beyn my fo, for had he my frynd beyn, other-gatys it had
beyn seyn.
Cain believes that since God does not bless his crops, then God must hate him and therefore is his enemy. Again, the belief that misfortune was a result of either God’s action or inaction would have been common and drawn the audience into sympathy with Cain. However, through Cain’s words the Wakefield Master states what such views really mean. Though he never clearly states whether or not it is wrong to believe that God blesses some and curses others, the Master’s portrayal of Cain as the bad, unsuccessful plowman, and antithetical archetype of the good, hard-working Christian, as well as God’s curse for Cain at the end of the play, would have sent the message to the audience to be careful how they view God for it could lead to a cursed and damned existence.
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