A very interesting post on a difficult subject. You totally succeed in showing the richness of the soul metaphor, how it can differ from one character to another and lead to different stories and interpretations, without forgetting to signal the possible contradictions between the metaphors. May I rec you an excellent article in Slayage n°18 by Scott Mac Laren :The evolution of Joss Whedon's Vampires Mythology and of the Ontologie of the Soul. He explains how two concepts of the soul coexists in Joss Whedon's universe and analyses the dynamics between them. Here's the link : http://slayageonline.com/essays/slayage18/McLaren.htm
I'm sure it will interest you.
Now about a very minor point in your post Simply, Giles was wrong. The counsel of watchers, the books they had, they all lied. It's not necessarily that the Watcher Council lied or was even totally wrong but rather that their knowledge was incomplete. In Innocence the scene with the Judge
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I finally found time to comment on your essay (sorry it took me so much time).
First of all, your essay offers fantastic insights and great food for thought.
I see the issue of soul in Jossverse a bit differently - as a plot trick that became bigger than the plot. In season 1 the issues iof the sould didn't exist at all: vampires have demon souls, humans have human souls. In season 2 the Angelus arс forced Joss to change the rules - and he did it without thinking about consequences. The black\white attitude worked great for a while. But in season 4 BtVS/Season 1 AtS the rules changed again because Joss integrated two demons (Spike and Anya) into BtVS main cast and has started AtS with good demon Doyle as Angel's right-hand man.
So, I think it's impossible to build a consistent soul theory regarding all Jossverse at once. There are three different soul theories. The first - for season 1, the second - for seasons 2-3 and the third - for BtVS s4-7 and AtS s 1-5.
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I'm sure it will interest you.
Now about a very minor point in your post Simply, Giles was wrong. The counsel of watchers, the books they had, they all lied. It's not necessarily that the Watcher Council lied or was even totally wrong but rather that their knowledge was incomplete. In Innocence the scene with the Judge ( ... )
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First of all, your essay offers fantastic insights and great food for thought.
I see the issue of soul in Jossverse a bit differently - as a plot trick that became bigger than the plot. In season 1 the issues iof the sould didn't exist at all: vampires have demon souls, humans have human souls. In season 2 the Angelus arс forced Joss to change the rules - and he did it without thinking about consequences. The black\white attitude worked great for a while. But in season 4 BtVS/Season 1 AtS the rules changed again because Joss integrated two demons (Spike and Anya) into BtVS main cast and has started AtS with good demon Doyle as Angel's right-hand man.
So, I think it's impossible to build a consistent soul theory regarding all Jossverse at once. There are three different soul theories. The first - for season 1, the second - for seasons 2-3 and the third - for BtVS s4-7 and AtS s 1-5.
And - thank you again for great essay.
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