The Theater of Renunciation: Emotion and the Self in Medieval Jainism

Drawing on previously unexplored and understudied texts, The Theater of Renunciation examines the tension within the Jain tradition between prescriptive ideals of emotional abnegation and self-restraint and the relational and affective regimes through which ethical transformation is cultivated. Aleksandra Restifo argues that across philosophy, conduct manuals, poetry, and dramatic literature, emotions shape practice, public life, and ideals of virtuous personhood. Jain traditions, she contends, did more than theorize emotion: They actively sought to cultivate emotional states through embodied disciplines and collective forms of practice central to self-perfection. Restifo emphasizes the significance of theater as a tool for both understanding and experiencing the transformative power of emotion in ethical choices and religious practice. Offering new insights into Jain tradition and ethics, The Theater of Renunciation sheds light on the intertwining of aesthetics, emotion, and religious life more broadly.