The Rejected Offering

Of everything Jacob did over the years, what cut the thread to reality was not a blow — it was disgust. Simon held out everything — “his entire self, on open palms” — and received a revolted slur. Psychologists know: the shame of a rejected gift runs deeper than the shame of punishment. You are beaten for what you did; you are found disgusting for what you are.

For a psyche that hung on one person, his revulsion is not refusal but annihilation: the only thing Simon had to give has been declared worthless. From there the psyche has two roads — accept the verdict (chapter six: “not to be”) or appeal it by force. Chapter six ended with the first. This one ends with the second.