Set in a time just before the Civil War, Frederic’s story about
a pastor leads one into the tangled web of absurdities found in American Protestantism
of the time, and in general.
I was raised in a family that attended a United Methodist
Church (which developed from a Methodist-Episcopal Church) and strangely enough
I found the instances with the church both foreign (in its extreme passages)
and familiar. The book of Discipline
(basic teachings of United Methodist) and the bishop with the church conference
are familiar to me.
The Damnation of
Theron Ware seems to deal heavily with the problems that arise when
ministry becomes a profession, and church politics mingle with money and ambition.
This is not a new problem and not one that can only be attributed to the
protestant church (although it is enmeshed in its history too). In fact, the church
as a whole has struggled with these kinds of problems throughout the history of
the church. If this is no new problem, why does Theron’s situation seem so
painful to the reader?
Frederic makes the reverend and his wife very simple and
likeable characters. The reader might easily begin to sympathize and relate to
them. As the first meeting with the trustees unfolds one can almost feel the
awkwardness in the room, and can feel the pressure that Theron undergoes with
each word he speaks.
The pressures of making enough money to sustain himself and
his wife, the pressures of pleasing the congregation, along with pleasing his
own conscience seem to be at tension. Can
all three correlate and mesh together under one accord? Can a pastor juggle all
the pressures?
It seems the only glimmers of hope in Theron’s rough
situation are the odd people who show up and lend grace in the oddest ways. There are also moments in which Theron finds
grace in nature. Early in the book, Theron and his wife are relinquished of their
debt in their third year at Tyre. A man offered to give them a fresh start and
he asked nothing back in return. It was only because of this grace that they
were able to survive the following year. There was also a strange sense of
grace in little acts from Mr. Gorringe.
While no one understood the man, he was the one who made the transition to
Octavius bearable. His grave face and a wink at the end of the trustee meeting eased
Theron’s anxiety. Theron had been right when he sensed a tone of “anti-Pierce”
in the man’s intonations.
It interesting to note how Frederic includes little
glimmerings of hope and grace in The Damnation
of Theron Ware. While he made his characters realistic and relatable he
also included these little moments of grace which made the story seem so real.
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