Religion in American Literature: Puritanism to Dickinson
Religion’s Role in American Literary Tradition
Religion is a central topic in many different literary works in the American tradition, but different authors approach it from distinct perspectives.
Puritan Literature Perspectives
Religion is essential to Puritan literature. A central tenet of their belief system is predestination: everything is determined by the will of God. They can also be considered fundamentalists, believing that social life should be organized according to religious principles. Consequently, someone who does not live by those principles will be stigmatized in Puritan society.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Critique
Nathaniel Hawthorne offered a critique of a society structured upon religious principles (Puritan), arguing that people who do not conform to their strict standards are stigmatized and marginalized. In Hawthorne, therefore, we see a negative view of religion’s societal application.
Emily Dickinson’s Personal Faith
Emily Dickinson’s view of religion is more positive than Hawthorne’s but also more personal than the Puritans’.
Literary Examples
Puritan Examples
In Anne Bradstreet’s Verses upon the Burning of Our House, her house burns down, and she loses all her possessions. This is devastating for her, but, as we can read in the poem, she tries to comfort herself by seeing everything that happened as part of God’s plan. The burning of the house and the author’s attitude towards it thus illustrate the idea of predestination in Puritan poetry. Despite our tendency to suffer because of negative events, they are part of God’s plan, and so it is pointless for us to cry or lament.
Predestination can also be seen in Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Rowlandson by Mary Rowlandson. Lancaster, where they live, is attacked and destroyed by a group of Native Americans, and she and her baby are captured. Many inhabitants of Lancaster died, while others, like the narrator and her child, survived but were captured. The story reflects on how the destinies of individuals (life or death) are determined by God. His almighty power preserved only some of them from death, while others did not survive.
In A Model of Christian Charity (often referred to by the phrase “City upon a Hill”), a sermon by Puritan John Winthrop, he argues that Puritans must be a model for other people. A colony is founded to create a new, Puritan society that serves as a model for others. Being “upon a hill,” the city will be seen by everyone, and so the behavior of its citizens must be exemplary, strictly guided by the religious principles of Puritanism.
Hawthorne Example
The negative side of the Puritan exemplary conception of society is that if someone does not live according to the strict principles of Puritan religion, then he or she will be excluded from that city, marginalized, or stigmatized. This is precisely the aspect of religion that Hawthorne criticizes in The Scarlet Letter. The protagonist, Hester Prynne, is an adulterer, for which reason she must wear a scarlet letter ‘A’ on her chest. She is stigmatized and rejected by her society. Hawthorne shows how cruel a society guided by rigid religious principles can be. Hawthorne’s representation of religion is therefore very different from that of Puritan authors: instead of a positive example for others, for Hawthorne, a society built on Puritan religion can be inherently harsh, causing suffering for those who do not strictly follow religious norms.
Dickinson Example
Often preoccupied with death, religion was also central to Emily Dickinson’s poetry. In religion, she found relief for her anxiety. This can be seen in her poem Because I could not stop for Death: at the end of the poem, she shows her hope in the afterlife. Thus, one important point in common between the Puritans and Dickinson is the belief in a religious afterlife. Dickinson, however, does not share the idea that everybody should live according to religious principles in an exemplary society. In fact, she isolated herself from society. This indicates she had a less social and more individualistic or personal view of religion.
Summary of Religious Views
Religion holds significant importance in the American literary tradition, viewed differently by key figures:
- Puritans: Held a very positive view of religion; emphasized predestination; advocated for an exemplary society organized according to religious principles.
- Hawthorne: Presented a more negative view of religion’s societal impact; criticized Puritan beliefs, emphasizing the problems (suffering, rejection of non-conformists) that a society organized according to strict religion can create.
- Dickinson: Maintained a more personal view of religion. She saw it as a way to achieve personal salvation but, unlike the Puritans, did not seem interested in its social application, favoring individualism.