Seven Deadly Sins
For someone skeptical of religious belief, House sure seems well-versed in its details. One final look at "Damned if You Do" brings up the infamous Seven Deadly Sins. House accuses Sister Eucharist of committing the slew of them, but with a closer look, the characters in House are just as guilty of the sins as well.
The Seven Deadly Sins were first recorded in Moralia of Job, by Pope Gregory the Great, who died in 604 AD. In its original Latin, they are:
Superbia – Pride
Invidia – Envy
Ira – Anger
Avaritia – Avarice (jealousy)
Tristia – Sadness
Gula – Gluttony
Luxuria – Lust
(In later years, Accidia--or Sloth--replaced Sadness.)
How does this relate to specific characters of the show? Let us ponder the intricacies...
Pride.
Obviously, House is most guilty of this one. His steadfast determination to diagnosis patients is often a double-edged sword: He's convinced in the correctness of his reasoning so much that he'll shun histories, lab results, and people's opinions in order to justify his own position. He does this in "Damned if You Do" when he's accused of giving Sister Augustine a wrong dosage; in “All In,” he insists the young patient has Erdheim-Chester’s disease, hanging his suspicions merely on the death of a woman 12 years ago. The list is endless. He gets away with it though—most often times, he’s miraculously right. This is either medical genius or brilliant screenplay writing. I say, chalk up the points for both House and David Shore.
Envy.
House again. Three words: Mark and Stacy. I think that says it all.
Anger.
Everyone has their outbursts from time to time. Being perpetually angry, or miserable, though, is more likely to constitute as a sin. When House goes off Vicodin in "Detox," the confrontational scene with Wilson at the end of the episode was both defensive and boiling over with pent-up frustration.
Avarice (jealousy).
Jealousy is slightly more hostile than envy is, and usually involves action rather than just a mere observance of wanting something someone else has. House in Baltimore with Stacy could be viewed as a reaction to his jealousy.
Sloth.
This may be the one that doesn't fit. House is too busy thinking all the time to slack off, and he makes sure the ducklings keep working, too.
Gluttony.
There's really no emphasis on this that pertains to one character or another. The only parallel I can draw is slightly funny: Wilson labels his food and House still eats it. I could, of course, pick on Ed ("the name is Edward") Vogler, but I've learned to hate him less now that he's not tormented anyone in the second season. So we'll let him and his $100 million dollars go...for now.
Lust.
Again, this is applicable to House--but maybe more so towards Wilson. In "Fideltity, there's this classic exchange:
House to Wilson: You loved all your wives. Probably still do. In fact, you probably love all the women you loved who weren’t your wife .
But of course, the oncologist means it, which--as House points out, is "part of your charm."
The Seven Deadly Sins were first recorded in Moralia of Job, by Pope Gregory the Great, who died in 604 AD. In its original Latin, they are:
Superbia – Pride
Invidia – Envy
Ira – Anger
Avaritia – Avarice (jealousy)
Tristia – Sadness
Gula – Gluttony
Luxuria – Lust
(In later years, Accidia--or Sloth--replaced Sadness.)
How does this relate to specific characters of the show? Let us ponder the intricacies...
Pride.
Obviously, House is most guilty of this one. His steadfast determination to diagnosis patients is often a double-edged sword: He's convinced in the correctness of his reasoning so much that he'll shun histories, lab results, and people's opinions in order to justify his own position. He does this in "Damned if You Do" when he's accused of giving Sister Augustine a wrong dosage; in “All In,” he insists the young patient has Erdheim-Chester’s disease, hanging his suspicions merely on the death of a woman 12 years ago. The list is endless. He gets away with it though—most often times, he’s miraculously right. This is either medical genius or brilliant screenplay writing. I say, chalk up the points for both House and David Shore.
Envy.
House again. Three words: Mark and Stacy. I think that says it all.
Anger.
Everyone has their outbursts from time to time. Being perpetually angry, or miserable, though, is more likely to constitute as a sin. When House goes off Vicodin in "Detox," the confrontational scene with Wilson at the end of the episode was both defensive and boiling over with pent-up frustration.
Avarice (jealousy).
Jealousy is slightly more hostile than envy is, and usually involves action rather than just a mere observance of wanting something someone else has. House in Baltimore with Stacy could be viewed as a reaction to his jealousy.
Sloth.
This may be the one that doesn't fit. House is too busy thinking all the time to slack off, and he makes sure the ducklings keep working, too.
Gluttony.
There's really no emphasis on this that pertains to one character or another. The only parallel I can draw is slightly funny: Wilson labels his food and House still eats it. I could, of course, pick on Ed ("the name is Edward") Vogler, but I've learned to hate him less now that he's not tormented anyone in the second season. So we'll let him and his $100 million dollars go...for now.
Lust.
Again, this is applicable to House--but maybe more so towards Wilson. In "Fideltity, there's this classic exchange:
House to Wilson: You loved all your wives. Probably still do. In fact, you probably love all the women you loved who weren’t your wife .
But of course, the oncologist means it, which--as House points out, is "part of your charm."
posted by Nakanna at 7:30 AM
4 Comments:
hi, just had to say that sloth fits house perfectly. In "three Stories", Stacey says; "You avoid work like the plague - unless it actually is the plague."
Avarice is greed notjealousy. jealousy is a synonym for evny. They are one in the same.
yup yup, avarice is greed.
Just wanted to say that I think this blog is interesting. I´ve read all the post so far and they were quite fun to read, you´ve done a great job explaining the things in a pretty simple way.
Just a though.. it is very weird that sadness was a deadly sin before.
Keep posting.
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