The Symbolic World25 Sep 2025

413 - Heidi White - The Divided Soul: Duty and Desire in Literature and Life

In this conversation, I sit down with author and educator Heidi White to discuss her new book, The Divided Soul. We explore the story of the prodigal son, the tension between duty and desire, and how these themes echo through literature, culture, and our own lives. Heidi shares insights from the Bible, classical works, and pop culture, showing that many stories reflect this deep human struggle.

YouTube version: https://youtu.be/1LjDeZpSviw

Buy Heidi’s book: https://www.goldberrypress.com/products/the-divided-soul-duty-and-desire-in-literature-and-life
Heidi’s Substack and podcast: https://closereads.substack.com/
Instagram: @heidiwhitereads

📖 Let's take our stories back. Check out our latest book in the Tales for Now and Ever series, Rapunzel and the Evil Witch: https://rapunzelbook.com/

Fr. Stephen De Young's Jubilees and the Nephilim course is now finished and available for purchase: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/jubilees-and-the-nephilim

Timestamps
00:00 - Coming up
01:40 - Intro music
02:04 - Introduction
02:48 - The prodigal son
05:32 - Duty and desire
07:17 - Paradise as unity
13:02 - Why the duality?
17:36 - Sins of the right hand and the left hand
20:49 - Ordering desire
27:30 - Examples
33:28 - Repentance and sacrifice
38:04 - Christ's version of this pattern
44:24 - Heidi's vision

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My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/

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