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A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Continuing Studies PRESENCE OF MIND : THE WRITINGS OF MARILYNNE ROBINSON A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The School of Continuing Studies and of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Liberal Studies By Angela F. Weston, B.A. Georgetown University Washington, D.C. October 29, 2012 Copyright © 2012 Angela F. Weston All Rights Reserved ii PRESENCE OF MIND: THE WRITINGS OF MARILYNNE ROBINSON Angela F. Weston, B.A. MALS Mentor: Michael Collins, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Marilynne Robinson is arguably one of America’s best contemporary authors. Winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for her novel Gilead and of the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction for her novel Home , Robinson is often recognized for her graceful diction and the interfusion of theology into her fiction. Many scholars focus on recurring themes in her writing, such as grace, nature, compassion, family, or expressions of femininity. But the questions remain to be asked: Can we understand Robinson’s works without a theological framework? Is there any connection between the content and the form of her novels? How do the ideas expressed in her nonfiction find expression in her novels? Researching such questions in Robinson’s writing is possible because her thoughtful and provocative body of work is contained in three novels and four nonfiction books. Careful reading of her entire corpus does indeed reveal there is one common thread woven through all her works. Interviews with Robinson and analyses of her works support this conclusion. This common thread extending across all Robinson’s writing is her belief in the existence of and a high valuation of the mind . This thesis explains the importance Robinson puts on the mind. Her perspective of the mind is revealed in her nonfiction, primarily in two ways. First, Robinson iii critiques those who would deny the mind’s existence by explaining human experience as a result of conditioning or instinct. Second, Robinson expects that the mind be accounted for in many areas of life including the arts, the sciences, the academy and education, theology, ecology, altruism, philosophy, and political discourse. Robinson’s humanism and theology are derived from her view of the mind. Robinson’s valuation placed on the mind having been made evident, this thesis proceeds to demonstrate, both through its text and through substantive comments at the beginning of footnotes, how Robinson’s perspective influences her fiction. Her choice of narrators for her novels; her aim as an author to create characters with their own voices; her foregrounding of characters’ perceptions; and her portrayal of memory, mystery, and mercy are all aspects of a mindful human life. Ultimately, Robinson’s fiction highlights the role our minds play in understanding and living within reality. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To Dr. William O’Brien for introducing me to the works of Marilynne Robinson. To Dr. Michael Collins for his patience, encouragement, and guidance in completing this thesis. To Anna Carrington for great conversations about Robinson’s writing, especially her nonfiction, and for helpful feedback on Chapter One. To Stephanie Burkhardt for more great conversations about Robinson’s novels and for reading and providing input on the drafts of Chapter Two, Chapter Three, and the Conclusion. You are a wonderful sounding board! To Janet Weston, Kristina Isenhour, and Kimberly Thomassen for sharing their expertise at catching details. Your edits made this paper better. To all my family and friends who encouraged and supported me through the thesis writing process and who graciously allowed me to absent myself from activities to get this project completed. Thank you! And to Marilynne Robinson, a woman and writer for whom I have the utmost admiration and respect and whose works − from Mother Country to essay compilations to Home − have had a profound impact on my own mind. Thank you for challenging me, giving me beautiful experiences, and sharing a part of yourself through your books. v TABLE OF CONTENTS COPYRIGHT................................................................................................................................................ii ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................... v CHAPTER ONE: ROBINSON’S PERCEPTION OF THE WORLD......................................................... 1 A RESPECT FOR SCIENCE .........................................................................................................................3 CRITIQUING PARASCIENCE .......................................................................................................................6 TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF MIND ......................................................................................................... 13 REGARDING THE SOUL ........................................................................................................................... 16 TURNING TO THEOLOGY ........................................................................................................................ 18 CONCLUSION : ROBINSON ’S HUMANISM ................................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER TWO: POINT OF VIEW IN ROBINSON’S FICTION ......................................................... 29 ROBINSON ’S POINT OF VIEW .................................................................................................................. 31 FIRST PERSON IN HOUSEKEEPING AND GILEAD ....................................................................................... 34 THIRD PERSON PROXIMAL NARRATION IN HOME .................................................................................. 36 CAPTURING CONSCIOUSNESS ................................................................................................................. 38 GIVING A CHARACTER HIS VOICE .......................................................................................................... 46 PROJECTING OUT OF THE SOLITARY SELF IN HOUSEKEEPING ................................................................. 52 PERCEPTION IN GILEAD .......................................................................................................................... 55 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER THREE: FUNCTIONS OF MIND: MEMORY, MYSTERY, AND MERCY....................... 58 MEMORY ................................................................................................................................................ 59 Memory: Haunted Housekeeping..................................................................................................... 61 Memory: Gilead’s Legacies .............................................................................................................. 66 MYSTERY ............................................................................................................................................... 70 Mystery: Mystifying Sylvie in Housekeeping.................................................................................... 70 Mystery: Jack Boughton, Man of Sorrow ......................................................................................... 72 MERCY HONORS THE SOUL .................................................................................................................... 74 Mercy Lived Out ............................................................................................................................... 77 Mercy’s Source: Imagination ........................................................................................................... 80 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 82 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................................... 84 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................................................... 88 vi vii CHAPTER ONE ROBINSON’S PERCEPTION OF THE WORLD It seemed almost domestic, and yet there was a potency of loneliness about it like a dark spirit lurking in it, a soul that had impoverished this crude tabernacle to stand in the place of other shelter, flesh. ~ Marilynne Robinson, Home I first encountered Marilynne Robinson’s writing through reading her novel Home, and I was moved to tears by her interweaving of simply beautiful prose 1 and powerful theological themes. Robinson’s writing has also moved many critics, earning her the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for the novel Gilead, the Orange Prize for Fiction for Home , and the publication of many articles about her works. The Winter 2010 issue of Christianity & Literature was given entirely to analyses of her fiction. In a letter from the guest editor of the issue, R. Scott LaMascus comments that Robinson’s “stories and characters not only delight and instruct but also deeply move us on matters of Christian faith.”2 Indeed, many commentators on Robinson tend to highlight the influence of her theology on her writing or
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