That makes me wonder if the definition has been changed recently. Because the meaning i always knew when I was growing up was a punishment imposed upon someone by someone else. But perhaps that was simply based on how I observed it being used.
First definition is a noun, just as casimir described it. Second definition (labelled as ‘archaic’) is a verb, specifically as the act of imposing/instructing the penance a priest, minister, etc wants the congregation member to perform after confessing a sin or such.
I went to Catholic school, and it seemed the word was used interchangeably as a noun or verb, e.g. your penance will be to say the rosary and tell your parents you broke the supermarket window. I also noticed it used ‘secularly’ in books and TV and such as an adult.
It hasn’t changed. In Catholicism and some other Christian denominations, penance involves confession to a priest, who pronounces the punishment – but it’s all done voluntarily. The term is also used loosely for any act of contrition.
Ever read Dostoyevski’s “Crime and Punishment?” (Well, I haven’t, either, but I know the gist of it.) A man commits a crime and gets away with it, but can’t escape his own conscience, and gradually makes himself suffer for it. No marshmallows in one’s Lucky Charms might be a shallow start, but maybe there’s more to come.
…is Reynard the very-late-arriving Artie of the team? Adorable superintelligent fluffball forced to face up to how his actions have bought about catastrophe, an’ all.
That is how my sis used to always eat Lucky Charms as a kid, as penance for picking out and devouring every marshmallow in the box the day Mom bought them. Mom said that if Sis wanted the Lucky Charms, she had to eat the cereal as well as the marshmallows to avoid waste. Sis never learned to space out the fun part to keep the rest from misery.
On the other hand, Sis eventually learned that if you leave a bag of mini-marshmallows open long enough, the marshmallows stale into Lucky-Charms-ish stuff, so she was able to give up the cereal entirely.
See, I did it a bit different. I picked all the marshmallows out of my bowl (before putting the milk in, so they wouldn’t get all gooey), then I ate all the cereal like normal, and then I threw all the marshmallows in the bowl of milk that was left, and ate them last.
This is where I talk about my deprived childhood growing up in the UK in the eighties, where the idea that a breakfast cereal would have actual sweets in it was utterly alien.I think Lucky Charms were introduced to the UK market in the mid-nineties or something.
Good Lord! The eighties in the U.S. was ALL about sugary cereals. Every other commercial (advert) before, during and after cartoons was for one. An entire aisle of the supermarket was designated specifically for cereals because there ware just SO many. The only reason you wanted to suffer the boredom of going to the store with your mom was so that you could pick out the one you wanted. I’ve seen kids burst into tear and throw tantrums in that aisle because they were not getting the cereal they wanted. Cereal was serious business for both the companies that made the crack-like substance and the kids they sold them to. Good times…
Growing up I was never allowed to have marshmallow cereal. I tried Lucky Charms for the first time in college and was unimpressed. Honeycomb is still my favorite.
It just occurred to me that the entity may actually be coming for them… to save them. And the dream-nightmare with the words is there to gauge reactions on who should be saved and who shouldn’t be or who to throw into the “maybe” column. They are gauging relationship with the creator and so forth. Little guy above has a conscious.
They’re not after his Lucky Charms.
That’s a very serious penance indeed! T_T
It doesn’t really seem like penance when he did it to himself. It’s more like masochism.
Penance is “voluntary self-punishment” according to google.
That makes me wonder if the definition has been changed recently. Because the meaning i always knew when I was growing up was a punishment imposed upon someone by someone else. But perhaps that was simply based on how I observed it being used.
First definition is a noun, just as casimir described it. Second definition (labelled as ‘archaic’) is a verb, specifically as the act of imposing/instructing the penance a priest, minister, etc wants the congregation member to perform after confessing a sin or such.
I went to Catholic school, and it seemed the word was used interchangeably as a noun or verb, e.g. your penance will be to say the rosary and tell your parents you broke the supermarket window. I also noticed it used ‘secularly’ in books and TV and such as an adult.
It hasn’t changed. In Catholicism and some other Christian denominations, penance involves confession to a priest, who pronounces the punishment – but it’s all done voluntarily. The term is also used loosely for any act of contrition.
I think what you experienced was penance whose form was directed by someone else. The penitent person still had to do it voluntarily.
Sounds about right.
Ever read Dostoyevski’s “Crime and Punishment?” (Well, I haven’t, either, but I know the gist of it.) A man commits a crime and gets away with it, but can’t escape his own conscience, and gradually makes himself suffer for it. No marshmallows in one’s Lucky Charms might be a shallow start, but maybe there’s more to come.
There’s a little bit of despair there, under the cereal. Or maybe more than a little.
I would read it as being self-aware, and contrite about his previous actions. You don’t undergo penance without hope of redemption.
…gone is the magical deliciousness.
What is left?
“Slightly frosted grain extrusion” lacks a certain something as an advertising catchphrase
The penitent man kneels before God, but Reynard is short enough to avoid the blade…
Unfortunately, his legs might be too short to follow the footsteps of God.
Well, it is a leap of faith
He’s also pretty short to look most people in the eye.
That’s just the first blade. He still has to roll across the second one.
Yes. It’s not so snappy when the full solution reads “the penitent man kneels, *rolls and sprints*, before God…”
…is Reynard the very-late-arriving Artie of the team? Adorable superintelligent fluffball forced to face up to how his actions have bought about catastrophe, an’ all.
That is how my sis used to always eat Lucky Charms as a kid, as penance for picking out and devouring every marshmallow in the box the day Mom bought them. Mom said that if Sis wanted the Lucky Charms, she had to eat the cereal as well as the marshmallows to avoid waste. Sis never learned to space out the fun part to keep the rest from misery.
On the other hand, Sis eventually learned that if you leave a bag of mini-marshmallows open long enough, the marshmallows stale into Lucky-Charms-ish stuff, so she was able to give up the cereal entirely.
See, I did it a bit different. I picked all the marshmallows out of my bowl (before putting the milk in, so they wouldn’t get all gooey), then I ate all the cereal like normal, and then I threw all the marshmallows in the bowl of milk that was left, and ate them last.
Classic delayed gratification.
This is where I talk about my deprived childhood growing up in the UK in the eighties, where the idea that a breakfast cereal would have actual sweets in it was utterly alien.I think Lucky Charms were introduced to the UK market in the mid-nineties or something.
That is why we had Frosties. And Ricicles. However, also Sugar Puffs *shudders*
Good Lord! The eighties in the U.S. was ALL about sugary cereals. Every other commercial (advert) before, during and after cartoons was for one. An entire aisle of the supermarket was designated specifically for cereals because there ware just SO many. The only reason you wanted to suffer the boredom of going to the store with your mom was so that you could pick out the one you wanted. I’ve seen kids burst into tear and throw tantrums in that aisle because they were not getting the cereal they wanted. Cereal was serious business for both the companies that made the crack-like substance and the kids they sold them to. Good times…
Growing up I was never allowed to have marshmallow cereal. I tried Lucky Charms for the first time in college and was unimpressed. Honeycomb is still my favorite.
It just occurred to me that the entity may actually be coming for them… to save them. And the dream-nightmare with the words is there to gauge reactions on who should be saved and who shouldn’t be or who to throw into the “maybe” column. They are gauging relationship with the creator and so forth. Little guy above has a conscious.
From the relative levels in the cereal dispensers, it would seem no one around likes Shredded Wheat…
Maybe the shredded wheat “bales” are just too big to go through the dispenser.
Oh, those are dispensers? I thought they were just tupperwares with a “forbidden red x” on them
…hmmm, must not be the “frosted”.
My sister once bought a whole bag of Lucky charms Marshmellows online, just a whole huge bag. Probably was a pound of marshmellows.
Ew.
Real penance would be taking a bowl of raisin bran.