Donaldson, Scott. “The Seduction of Theron Ware.”
Nineteenth-Century Fiction 29 (1975): 441-52.
Dooley, Patrick K. “Fakes and Good Frauds: Pragmatic Religion
in The Damnation of Theron Ware.” American
Literary Realism 15.1 (1982): 74-85.
Heddendorf, David. “Pragmatists and Plots: Pierre
and The Damnation of Theron Ware.” Studies
in the Novel 22.3 (1990): 271-81.
Donaldson, Scott. “The Seduction of Theron Ware.”
Nineteenth-Century Fiction 29 (1975): 441-52.
Donaldson’s article is a psychological analysis of the
causes of Theron Ware’s downfall. While Donaldson acknowledges
that most critics point to the trio of Father Forbes, Dr. Ledsmar,
and Celia Madden as the force behind Ware’s destruction,
he asserts “the true villain of the piece” is Sister
Soulsby, “who plays Mephistopheles” to Ware’s
“Faust” (441-42). Donaldson points to characteristics
of Sister Soulsby—her “deceptive appearance, commanding
manner, and duplicitous methods of operation”—to
support his judgment (442). Sister Soulsby is a master confidence
artist
who employs performance, flattery, and scripture quoted out-of-context
to further her scheming manipulation of both Theron Ware and
his
congregation. After Sister Soulsby absolves Ware of any guilt
for his participation in her scheme to cheat Levi Gorringe
at
the trustees’ meeting, he embraces her philosophy of pragmatism
and vows to emulate her example; however, Donaldson concludes,
“Theron Ware simply is not cut out for the role of deceiver”
(451).
Dooley, Patrick K. “Fakes and Good Frauds: Pragmatic Religion
in The Damnation of Theron Ware.” American
Literary Realism 15.1 (1982): 74-85.
Dooley approaches his analysis of Frederic’s novel from
a cultural and philosophical perspective. In this article, he
defines pragmatism
as “a technical and sophisticated epistemological position
designed to settle the perennial questions of the nature and
meaning
of Truth” (74). For William James, the “truth of
religion and religious belief is its beneficial consequences
and valuable
effects” (75). Dooley contends that The Damnation of
Theron Ware “is a remarkable cultural document and
an illuminating philosophical critique,” in which the
author illustrates the nature of the difficulties of James’ “tender-minded”
pragmatism and “the effects, beneficial and otherwise,
of believing a lie” (74-76). According to Dooley, “Frederic
stresses two facts: religious experiences are manufactured,
and
second, one does not have to be pious to produce religious experiences”
(79). In fact, none of the central religious characters in this
novel—Theron Ware, Father Forbes, and the Soulsbys—really
believes in God, and all are, or aspire to be, “good
frauds”
(81). The essay traces the events leading to and following Ware’s
counter-conversion. Dooley examines Father Forbes’ and
Sister Soulsby’s pragmatic claims that truth is always
relative. This perspective is illustrated in Father Forbes’ attitude
toward the Catholic church and its secular function and in
Sister
Soulsby’s revelation about performance. Dooley concludes
that Frederic does not resolve the question of whether or not
a pragmatic account of religion—believing a lie if its
effects are beneficial—is a satisfactory philosophy. Frederic
leaves that for the reader to decide.
Heddendorf, David. “Pragmatists and Plots: Pierre
and The Damnation of Theron Ware.” Studies
in the Novel 22.3 (1990): 271-81.
Heddendorf’s article is a psychological study of Pierre
Glendinning, in Herman Melville’s Pierre, and
Theron Ware, in Frederic’s The Damnation of Theron
Ware,
that focuses on the downfall of the two protagonists. According
to Heddendorf,
Glendinning and Ware seem incapable of comprehending the “prescription
for practical results” recommended by their advisors,
Plinlimmon and Sister Soulsby. The “rightness or wrongness” of
the pragmatic figures of Plinlimmon and Sister Soulsby is not
at issue, argues Heddendorf; rather “the relationship between
philosophy and narrative is the point of these encounters [.
.
.] and the simple fact that neither Pierre nor Theron understands
what his would-be counselor is talking about” (272). For
Pierre Glendinning, it is a pamphlet by Plinlimmon that describes
the “irrelevance of an absolute time standard to the requirement
of everyday life” that he cannot understand because he
is
“repressing an understanding of his present extreme circumstances”
(273). As readers, Heddendorf asserts, we can see that the pamphlet
holds the pragmatic solution to Glendinning’s problems.
For Theron Ware, Sister Soulsby’s declaration that she
and her husband are “good frauds” is misleading;
Ware assumes that he too is to be a “good fraud.” Unfortunately
for Ware, he is not a very good fraud and manages to alienate
family, friends, and community because he fails to understand
Sister Soulsby’s advice. Heddendorf concludes, “In
Pierre and The Damnation of Theron Ware, the
narratives of belief, abandonment and new belief lead less happily
to a view of human beings as not licensed but condemned to believe”
(280).
