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Clip description
In constant pain, Dan (Graham Rouse) suspects that he is dying. As he prepares to meet his maker he asks his wife Aggie (Dawn Lake) what she thinks about God, confiding in her his own doubts.
Curator’s notes
Kenna admitted to being bored by the talk of the older folk in his family only to find, as he grew more experienced in life, that there was much to be learned from their stories, arguments and reflections. A Hard God’s most enduring legacy is the sense of real truth in the dialogue. In this clip, the conversation between Aggie and Dan resonates today with anyone who has considered the relationship between God and people, or if any such relationship exists.
Aggie declares that survival got in the way of her having any greater philosophical considerations, and then confides to Dan that he was her religion. This declaration is representative of the normative expectations placed on women at this time (and beyond) and of the limitations borne out as a consequence. The conversation that follows here about the Catholic Church and religion more broadly is both philosophical and heartfelt – perhaps the first discussion of its type throughout their years of marriage.
