LITR 4232 American Renaissance

Sample Student Research Project 2013
Journal

Britini Pond 

Religious Influence in American Renaissance Literature

            As a literature major, one of the things that truly fascinates me when it comes to the literary works that I study is the way that the works themselves allow the readers an inside look into the practices and beliefs of the time period in which they were written. Reading works of the past allow readers to learn about the situations and circumstances, and their outcome, of things crucial to our current society, such as women’s right and the abolition of slavery. Both of these things were documented heavily during the American Renaissance period of literature and their outcome has shaped the society in which I live today – where all people regardless of race or sex are equal under the law. Literature and its works have the ability to do what history cannot do – express the intimate, sensitive and private thoughts and reactions to the circumstances of the time period. The authors of such amazing works produced during this time are pouring their emotions and feelings into their writings as expressed through the feelings of the main character, which could actually be feelings manifested by the authors themselves, readers can assume. With that being said, many of the works we have read this semester have, in some shape or form, a religious message or theme inherent in the work. In this journal I plan to, first, explore how religion is expressed throughout the works while also trying to understand why so many authors were using religion within their writing during this time. Through research I will strive to understand what society in general felt about religion and its appearance in much of the time’s popular literature. Lastly, I would like to understand how America has transformed from a time of such open religious expression to our current society which is much more subdued in its acceptance of overt expressions of religious beliefs in popular literature.

Religion is a Touchy Subject

            Over the years religion and its various forms of expression have become less and less accepted in popular culture in the United States. However, this was not necessarily the case during the literary period of the American Renaissance. Religious expression, though subdued in today’s society, was very prevalent in the literature that was produced during this time period in history, openly and in abundance. A reader can easily look into the literary history of the time and obtain a better understanding of the society’s stance on religion as a whole through the works that were produced. Religion has far reaching effects on people of all cultures and backgrounds, and the unfortunate side effect of a lack of acceptance of religious expression is that readers miss out on an opportunity for enormous learning experiences. Religious expression through literary works allows readers to see into the heart of the time period. Through this expression one can learn about the accepted practices of the times and in what way society reacted to such practices and teachings.

Religion is a touchy subject on all levels. However, where the American Renaissance is concerned, readers can conclude that one’s religious practices, and the expression of those practices, were more readily accepted during this time in United States history as the texts produced during this time suggest. The ability to see into the intimate thoughts and feelings of the authors in regards to their relationship with religion not only makes the works more relatable to many readers, but also shows just how universal religion truly is – crossing gender and class lines, providing comfort and salvation to its believers. During the American Renaissance the most underrepresented groups are finally able to express themselves in the form of the popular literature. These groups include women as well as African-Americans who had escaped the horrors of slavery and lived to tell the story of their experiences. Both groups’ writings are intriguing and reflect the culture of the time period in a way that is accurate and emotionally moving. Both of these groups of underrepresented writers express their beliefs in God, organized religion and religious practices and write openly about the salvation they have received from their faith. Readers in today’s society would find a novel written by a person from a minority group over their hardships, and how they overcame such hardships by turning to God and putting their faith in his hands, in the small corner of the bookstore dedicated to religious texts and bibles. This was not the case for authors during the American Renaissance. These works were best sellers and major hits in the community – even with their authors being out of the norm in terms of gender and skin color, and their pages being so heavily inundated with religious expression.

Historian David Robinson asserts that “for the study and understanding of American culture, recovery of American religious history may well be the most important” (Robinson 39). America was still a young country, fresh faced and discovering all it had to offer the world – including its stance on religious beliefs, practices and organizations. For many early Americans a life of religious belief and devotion was simply the way of life – it was accepted throughout the community and heavily influential in the lives of many of the major political figures and leaders of the time, not just in literature. But, in regards to the religious expression in the literary works produced during the American Renaissance, readers can conclude that women writers such as Susan B. Warner, Harriet Beecher Stowe and former slave Harriet Jacobs, were all deeply religious women. Readers can also conclude that due to the content in which their writings consisted of that their religious beliefs were largely influential in their domestic/sentimental style of writing. The aforementioned authors and their respective texts all contain similar domestic scenes involving women, children, love, hope and sadness. Yet, a common theme throughout the novels is the nurturing way in which the women characters are portrayed as well as the use of religious expression by the nurturing women figures in these works.

Susan B. Warner – Wide Wide World

 Warner’s novel Wide Wide World is considered a domestic novel and typically works of sentimentality are lumped into the same category as domestic and with Wide Wide World this connection rings true. However, Warner’s novel can also be seen as a work of religious sentimentality as well because it contains both overt religious speech and imagery, a nurturing woman figure and children, allowing it to cross the genre lines and cover much more territory within the literary community. An essay written by Linda Naranjo-Huebl makes the connection between women and their innate need to nurture those around them with the same attitudes seen in Jesus Christ. She says “in these Christian sentimental narratives, such food rituals can be interpreted specifically as enactments of the Christian sacrament of communion” (Huebl 598). Huebl is referring to the common scene of women nurturing those around them by offering them food or cooking them a meal. From the very beginning of the novel readers find out that Ellen’s mother is fatally sick. Ellen, devoted completely to her mother as most young girls are, is willing to help out in any way she can – even preparing tea for her. This kind act is an example of Huebl’s correlation between a woman’s innate need to nurture with the similar characteristics found within Jesus Christ – feeding and nurturing those around him. The description of Ellen preparing her mother’s tea takes a whole page – denoting the importance placed upon the ritual by Warner. Warner concludes the long passage by saying, “All this Ellen did with the zeal that love gives, and though the same thing was to be gone over every night of the year, she was never wearied” (13). Readers can easily see the same never ending love that is so commonly spoke of about Jesus by those within the Christian religious tradition. A woman’s want to take care of those who are in need through the use of food, tea or meals is similar to the way that Jesus feeds the hungry and metaphorically turns his body into their sustenance. Huebl asserts that, “the desire and reverence for mother was transferred to, or from, depending on one’s perspective, the figures of God and Christ” (Huebl 600). Mother and Christ were both seen as life-givers, providing sustenance to all in need through their hard times.

Though food imagery is seen heavily though out the novel, it is not the only example of religiously laced text. From the start of the piece Warner has Mrs. Montgomery say to Ellen “God sends no trouble upon his children but love; and though we cannot see how, he will no doubt make all this work for our good” (Warner 1.34). Here we see Mrs. Montgomery instilling religious values into her child. She is explaining to Ellen that no matter what happens – God is in control and will not allow us to suffer. This suggests that, at least for Warner, believing in God and the Christian religious tradition were commonly accepted ways of life and that making sure one’s children were also believers was also something that was accepted within the society of which Warner lived and penned this work. A few paragraphs later Mrs. Montgomery has Ellen read to her before bed – and she asks her to read Psalm 23. Once she has completed reading the psalm aloud, Ellen exclaims “if I only could feel these words as mamma does” (Warner 1.56). Readers can relate to Ellen’s confession because it is such a common childhood question – to question who God is, how he came to be and whether or not he truly exists. Faith is something that is constantly questioned throughout life and Warner knew that if a young girl was to read her work then she would probably have faced the same questions and obstacles in her own faith. As I have mentioned already this work itself is full of religious sentiment, sentimental/domestic situations and circumstances, but I am more interested in how Warner felt about religion. Of course, simply from the text there is no way to know this but I do think that the text itself says a lot about the author.

The authors of these works are writing about things that they feel strongly about – especially women who are, for the first time, able to express themselves to an audience of likeminded readers (other women). So I think that readers can easily assume that the feelings that Mrs. Montgomery has towards religion and her unmovable faith in the grace of God – are similar to the feelings that Warner herself may have towards religion. It is hard to imagine a person who had no religious beliefs or affiliations writing a piece of work that so eloquently displays faith and devotion to one’s faith as she does in Wide Wide World. A key line that moves me to believe this is when Mrs. Montgomery says to Ellen, “it is just so: that I wish you to trust in God. He is truer, wise, stronger, kinder, by far, than I am, even if I could always be with you” (Warner 2.32). Warner’s ability, through Mrs. Montgomery, to entice a young child such as Ellen with God and make her want to get to know him on the same level that she knows and trusts her mother, tells me that Warner is speaking from experience and not just making it up as she goes along. A non-religious person would most likely not write a character who is so defined by their faith, but I could, of course, be wrong. However, regardless of Warner’s personal religious beliefs, readers can absolutely take form this novel that the instilling of religious belief into a young child, the expression of religious beliefs within in popular literature and religion as a whole were much more accepted in the time of the American Renaissance than it is today, as this novel itself is evidence of its acceptance in the society.

Harriet Jacobs – Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

            Religion is displayed and used throughout Jacob’s work quite differently than when compared to Warner’s. Nonetheless, Jacobs use of religion still allows readers an inside look into another one of the very underrepresented groups in America during this time – the life of a slave, and even more than that the life of a slave woman. One thing that readers can not dispute when reading many of the works written by former slaves is that regardless of a lack of a standardized education, equality or fair treatment throughout their entire lives, one cannot say that the slaves of the United States during the American Renaissance were not religious people in their own right. An essay by Jason Young quotes a passage on African-American religion from W.E.B Dubois who says that it is, “the most original and beautiful expression of human life and longing yet born on American soil” (Young 47). For an African American to acknowledge this about his own culture is a testament to the history that blacks have made in the United States. This reiterates the point I made earlier in regards to literature being able to do what history cannot – explain the intimate feelings that have come to shape us as a nation to this day. In our current society many people question why there is suffering, death and atrocity in our world if God does actually exist, and if he does, how could a just God allow for such things to happen to his people. If any one group of persons has a right to question the idea of a supposed just God, it is the African-American slaves, especially those living in the southern states, because of their ill treatment at the hands of purportedly God fearing whites.

I have no doubt that many slaves probably denounced there being a God or a divine creator because of how terrible their situations sometimes were. I also have no doubt that many slaves probably questioned why they were being treated the way they were and how could God let such horrible things happen to them. That does not, however, negate the fact that many slaves – the majority – were very religious people and they did not in any way blame God for the acts of cruelty perpetrated against them at the hands of white people. In fact, where Jacobs is concerned, she mentions God in passing throughout the piece in statements such as, “There are noble men and women who plead for us, striving to help those who cannot help themselves. God bless them! God give them strength and courage to go on! God bless those, everywhere, who are laboring to advance the cause of humanity” (Jacobs 5.13). Jacob herself is not speaking of God in a way that Mrs. Montgomery might have, but she is still acknowledging his presence in life as well as acknowledging that he is a good God. She calls upon God to bless those who are helping slaves to freedom, vying for their equality and doing what they can to bring about awareness that slaves are people too. But, she does not call on God to damn those who have enslaved her or to bring them misery – this to me expresses an understanding of the kind of God she worships.

            Also we see similar instances of woman taking on the Christ role by nurturing those around her and providing them with sustenance. This is seen through Jacobs’s aunt Marthy who is well known in the community by both slaves and white’s alike for her preserves and crackers that she bakes by herself. It is her baking that not only feeds those in the community but provides extra caloric intake to the slaves who might not have been fed enough to properly sustain them – especially the children. Aunt Marthy is also selling her baked goods in an attempt to save enough money to buy her remaining children and grandchildren out of slavery. Huebl asserts that, “in the same manner that the gospels present Christ as both the nourisher and nourishment that effect the redemption of humans, Christian sentimental narratives present women who both nurture and offer their labor to facilitate the redemption of those they love” (Huebl 605). These lines are very powerful in their message – women and their love for their families closely resembles the love that Christ has for his followers. Food is just simply an object of a woman’s nurturing love and nature that is expressed through her want to provide for those around her.

Conversely we also see examples of the food/Christ relationship not working out so much in the slave narratives when the slave owners are the one controlling the food. When the owners would keep adequate nutrition, deny their slaves meals if they misbehaved, or only feed them enough to survive and not to sustain them – they completely defy the relationship that was previously mentioned of Christ being a nurturer and women being Christ-like through their want to feed those they love. Huebl says “food diminishes, is withheld, and is even used to punish” (Huebl 616) in direct contradiction to Christ who multiplies food to feel the masses. Jacob’s does not overtly express her religious beliefs in a way that is similar to Warner’s use of religious expression. However, Jacob’s makes small comments throughout her piece that alert the reader to the undertone of religious belief by Jacobs herself – she wants to baptize son and is happy to be able to give him a Christian name – things that would not be important to someone who did not have an understanding of the Christian religious tradition – and not only an understanding, but a respect and devotion for the same religious practice.

Religion in America Today

            As I have stated previously, the religious expression and overt religious references in popular culture and literature is becoming less and less accepted in the United States. According to a survey conducted by PewForum.org in 2007, “More than one-quarter of American adults (28%) have left the faith in which they were raised in favor of another religion - or no religion at all”. The study also concluded that at least one out of every four persons identified that they were not a part of any religious organization or practice and were not interested in becoming affiliated. This, also according to the study, is more than double than in previous surveys. I cannot even begin to come to a conclusion as to why this drop in religious interest has happened. But looking into history America has gone through its periods of high religious involvement to low involvement before – it is a cyclical pattern. Perhaps the vast amount of works produced during this time being so heavily inundated with religious reference and overt religious expression, the culture simply got tired of reading the same things. This is purely conjecture but it is plausible. For example, a few generations from now the zombie craze that is taking over the popular culture industries will no longer be in such high demand because of how much of it has been produced recently. Or perhaps our culture has just became so much more technologically advanced in the last few decades that we have become too educated to believe in something such as divine creator or a God. Though I do not know the exact reason such a decline has occurred I do know that it has. When one looks at works produced in the American Renaissance versus works produced in today’s society the amount of works that contain overt religious references and expression today is drastically lower.

Conclusion

            In this journal I wanted to better understand why the authors writing during this time in literary history chose to write works that were so heavily influenced by religion. I also wanted to better understand how the society reacted to this expression and how they felt about religion. I believe that the authors of this time were writing works with a lot of religious material because of how universal religion is. Religion allows people of all kinds to relate n a way that is also very intimate to the individuals respectively. Two people who may come from completely different styles of living can relate in their understanding that there is something higher than them in this world. This example can be seen between Harriet Jacobs the character and Mrs. Montgomery. Jacobs lived the life she told about – yet knew underneath that there was something larger at play within her life. Mrs. Montgomery has never been a slave but she has faced her own trails and still puts her complete faith in God. Regardless of the women’s differences they can now relate to one another in their common belief in something higher than themselves. Religion is one of the few topics that has the ability to influence many other parts of human life, this is a testament to religions universal effects and influences.

The religious views held by the society during the time of the American Renaissance were expressed openly and in abundance in literature. This is because a person’s religious beliefs have the ability to influence them in many ways, even creatively. Authors may call on their devotion to God or their faith to get them through a strenuous situation or to give them guidance on something as small as completing a book. The people are responsible for making such works best sellers so one can assume from book sales that the people within this time period in history were not negatively affected by the religious elements in many of the times popular literature. They enjoyed reading these works and these authors became vastly popular – much of their work still remaining to this day. The people who lived during this time were more likely to be able to relate to piece of literature than people would be able to today. I also found that the expression of religious beliefs during this time was also very universal – all admitting the same thing, but going about it in different ways. Wide Wide World expresses the characters beliefs very boldly and blatantly, but was very popular in its time. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was conversely very subtle in its mentioning of God – more of a quiet reminder every now and then, rather than a constant reminder but also was very popular amongst the community. The literature that was published during the American Renaissance does for history what history cannot do for itself, it gives the facts of the past a much more intimate, relatable and realistic feel. It turns these time periods that we can only speak about into real places with real people. The literature is what makes these time periods more than facts and dates – but rather a look into the people who inhabited this land before us and how they lived their lives.

Works Cited

Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. http://religions.pewforum.org/reports/. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Naranjo-Huebl, Linda. "“Take, Eat”: Food Imagery, The Nurturing Ethic, And Christian Identity In “The Wide, Wide World,” “Uncle Tom's Cabin,” And “Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl”." Christianity & Literature 56.4 (2007): 597-631. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 4 Nov. 2013.

Young, Jason. "A Mingling Of Heathen Rites": Representing Black Religion In The Souls Of Black Folk." Philosophia Africana 7.2 (2004): 47-58. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.

"Great Star" flag of pre-Civil War USA