Religious Motives in the Works of Harriet Beecher Stowe - Book Report/Review Example

A re-assessment and questioning regarding the dogmas of religion are apparent in the life and works of Harriet Beecher Stowe. The Minister’s Wooing delved on many aspects that the author is inquisitive of. It is an amplification nevertheless of the role of women and the different perspective that they bring to the religion. In her books, Stowe subtlety introduces the conflicts that she hasn’t reconciled herself with. Love, which sets the tone of most of her writings, is given a broader and more substantial analysis. The women played an integral part in the progression from the religious proclivity of focusing on all that is philosophical in the faith towards the human being and a more comprehensive reactive response. Women played a part in bringing the focal point to the person, from the conceptual to the individual, whereas, others remain on the philosophical aspect (Stowe, Harriet 15). This oftentimes posts a dilemma among followers, specifically women, as they are conflicted with different dilemmas and wherein prayer is sometimes the only outlet that keeps them connected to the faith. In her book, ‘The Minister’s Wooing’ the author introduced various diverse characters and their connections. First, it was premised on the complex relationship between Katy and George, who eventually got married. George as an ordinary man and Katy as a girl of beauty that everyone persuaded her. Then with Mary and James, bounded by love but separated by their individual circumstance, and subsequently the Doc. It puts into question many beliefs under the Calvinist tradition such as pre-destination. In which God’s effectiveness alongside man’s ability and capability to direct towards his destiny that has been laid out before him is concerted upon. Stowe’s character James points out its confusion yet acknowledges the part Mary holds for his apparent salvation (82). These complexities relate to the relationships concerning man and woman, alongside the evident sway of religion and its own intricacies. The youngest daughter of a well-known and much loved Calvinist preacher, Stowe recalls the death of her mother as the first lingering memory she has. She was just four years old at the time, yet the sorrow of being orphaned by maternal rites continued to be one of her most poignant memories. The relationship between her father and her mother, though recalled through friends and family members is as evident in her writings. In her letters, she described their relationship as one that is parallel in intensity. A type of intimacy that her father trusts her mother above all and that their connection is of the utmost convergence in all matters that took place between their lives (Stowe, Charles 10). These events have early on in her life affected and oftentimes influenced her in her beliefs as eminent in her work. Stowe’s book American Woman’s Home: Or, Principles of Domestic Science, that appeared to be co-written with her departed sister, Catherine Beecher, gives various testaments to the important roles that women partake beyond the comforts of her home’s kitchen. The domestic imageries in her writings also contribute to her cause of bringing front and center the image of the woman in the facet of the faith. The earnestness which portrays through the character of Mary and her innate impulse towards the religion is diverged as to her varying relationships with the men in her life. Mary’s mother sees her as a re-embodiment of her father George in her views. James, a young sailor and all that is perceptible with his trade and character was considered by Mary to be the love of her life. While James, himself professing his love, sees that he is unworthy of her piousness and confesses to being a sinful man. A man who is the son of her mother’s cousin, someone who she has considered to be a person she adores ever since she was a little girl. Willing to let go of Mary, their bond was put into consideration as an illustration of the sometimes irreconcilability between religion and the different human feelings (Stowe, Harriet 83). Her own mother recognizes the adverse incompatibility between them. She indicates that they are not for each other. That they are polar opposites and that it could never be. Mary then argues that she sees it that their love will bridge their gap as God makes certain of it. Mary also exemplified how her mother herself was led to think seriously after marrying her father. Their union would lead to good as she will help him find his way (Stowe, Harriet 97). Then there was Doctor Hopkins, the reverend that Mary looks up to with much admiration. Simultaneously, Doc has further intent of being more than a mentor to her. A man who is the direct opposite of James. The reverend concedes that his sermons on the metaphysical are out of the grasp of young people. In spite of that, he knows that Mary is different and considers her with respect. He recognizes in her the same thing James knew he was unworthy of. He served as a teacher and introduced her to many different theories of virtue. She was quick to comprehend all these abstract ideas. She amazed him in so many ways he fell in love with her aptitude despite and due to her age (Stowe, Harriet 108). The contradiction between the two can be attributed to the differing feelings Stowe holds between the abstractions of religion and the discernible realities of the time. James represents a person who according to Calvin teachings does not belong to the pre-requisites in the five points of its teachings. While Doctor Hopkins represents all that is ennobled in the teachings. The purists will look upon James as one who is bound not to be saved by God’s grace due to the life he led. There is on one side the young man whom she is willing to give her heart to, even her salvation (Stowe, Harriet 183). Unmindful of the life they could be facing with each other. And on the other, there is the minister, who had taught her so much and whom she reveres. The sailor tells her of the vast sufferings he had seen in his voyages. Of the abuses women had received all around the globe and of the sinful acts of men. While the minister tells her of the different philosophies and the wisdom the doctrines hold. Stowe’s characters correspond to the discrepancies in feelings that she has between the religion and the certainty of the human sufferings. Of men who write so freely and with so much sophistication that they have the qualities to be instructive. Those with experiences and with whom religion is of the utmost import and considered with emotional receptivity uncommon to everyone (James, 7). And the people who look at the world and see its sufferings while asking themselves if such has a place in the saving grace of God. Stowe was undeniably questioning that there should be such a belief for the unworthiness of the divine grace for such people. The supreme control of the mind toward the abstractions is a reality in our humanity. Dividing and uniting as this pensiveness is people direct and hold these ideals as edict and to be followed. They change and condition us in a sense that they seem like beings that inhabit and transform our senses (James, 15). Harriet Beecher Stowe’s mother, a horticulturist, as she is often reminded takes a significant role in her life as gardening and the ostensible part of flowers in her writings appear. She writes that flowers should be included in a household (Stowe, 60). This may also be attributed to the woman and her roles in keeping the aesthetics and her integral part at home and at church. ‘The American Woman’s Home’ is another testament to her purpose of bringing women I the forefront. Losing their mother at an early age, Catherine stood as Harriet’s surrogate mother. Being the oldest daughter of the Reverend, she became the protector of the house and looked upon her siblings and their welfare. The focus of the book, not merely regarding the woman and her role in keeping up the appearance of her home also delved on her roles as a fundamental part of the church and the belief. It included things as mundane as gardening to home decoration to the final chapters containing helping the needy and participating in the Christian neighborhood. Her many influences to the role of women in the religion cannot be dismissed. Her anti-slavery stance, as exemplified in her letter addressed to the Anti-slavery Society of Glasgow. And as epitomized in her novel ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ has rekindled compassion for the slaves. It has seemed an irony that her cause has gained faster interest abroad than it did in her own country. It was nonetheless something she truly believed in. She exerted efforts to continue with the call for the abolition of American slavery. She feared that interest will eventually diminish and that her work will become futile. Stowe continued correspondence with people, more especially women groups, located in England, Scotland and Russia (Stowe, Charles 143). Stowe also expressed her disappointment with the protracted reaction of the Christian church regarding the matter. It was seen that the church was reacting to the general view of the people rather than acting to move its people. She acknowledged that regardless of the oppression, the black people are advancing as any of the other races. The good of man will prevail over all that God guides in defending those who resist his glory (Stowe, Charles145). The emancipation and Christianity in the American nation is one of sequential and ceaseless interest to everyone. Early on the recognition of the proliferation of these beliefs is an adamant cause Stowe is fighting for. It is a matter that concerns not only the country but all over the world. The injustice that slavery is about is not even a political issue, it is a moral and Christian question wherein the answer does not even need to be uttered (Stowe, Charles 147). The ultimate empathy she conveys is that of a mother and as a woman. It is inhumane as she exacted that any mother be dealt with the idea that her child who she had conceived and brought to the world be committed to slavery the rest of his/her life. In the same way that anyone should deem it fair to happen to anyone’s child. It is to say unchristian that anyone could conceive this to be the fate of a little child. One should empathize and consider these scenarios. What if a woman’s husband is sold to slavery removed of his rights and of his rightful earnings. Or that a wife is regarded property of another man, whom she is not wed to. She also concerns with the issue of education, wherein children are depraved of it as the law dictates it wrongfully (Stowe, Charles 146). She vehemently deplores such acts. Harriet Beecher Stowe called upon the women to act against slave trade. She called upon them to remember the desire of women’s compassion. That they can do something and that they must not remain passive at the predicament that they stand in. Their desire towards the conquest of freedom should be heard. She was imploring them to act as women from other parts of the world did, in support of a common cause, and that is the liberty of human beings (Stowe, Charles 147). More than anything, the magnitude Stowe gives to the role of the women in the propagation of the common good is what is most captivating about her. Early on, in her works such as ‘The Minister’s Wooing’ she zeroed in on the questions that evade answers as she sees it. It was astonishing in such a way that she was raised in such a family that is absolute in their beliefs. To stand-up and ask such questions, in her time and despite her gender proves a woman that is unparalleled in spirit. Her longing and ardent poetry in her writing is what endeared her to the readers. The every so often brutal honesty distinct in her writing, religious as they may be is what attains interest about her. Her creativity paved the way for many of the ideas she was steadfast in recapitulating. She never remained in the shadows of the great men around her. She developed her own interests and her own causes that she held very strong convictions for. A woman within the graces of men but kept her own grace. She was the embodiment of how a woman responds while others idle in their thoughts. More than just a writer, teaching her fellow women to be good housewives, she was encouraging their empowerment. When she believes in something she fights for it, at the same time that if she has doubts she is not afraid to ask it out loud. Stowe was an awe-inspiring writer and religious figure in a time that was bound by so many conflictions. As what was said in ‘The Minister’s Wooing,’ “never say there isn’t time for a thing that ought to be done” (Stowe, Harriet 94). Stowe proves that in life you cannot just sit around and wait for divine providence. In life, when it is necessary one will find ample time to achieve it. Anything else is just an excuse. That is a doctrine that one should follow. That is the principle everyone should live by. Works Cited James, William. “The Varieties Of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature,” Harvard University, (1902). McKay, Ryan. “Hallucinating God? The Cognitive Neuropsychiatry of Religious Belief and Experience,” (2004). Stowe, Charles Edward. ed. “The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe,” Project Gutenberg Consortia Center, < http://www.WorldLibrary.net>. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. The Minister’s Wooing. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1866. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. “The American Woman’s Home,” Project Gutenberg Consortia Center, < http://www.WorldLibrary.net>. Read More