ABSTRACT “A Woman That Feareth the Lord, She Shall Be Praised”: An
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ABSTRACT “A woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised”: An Ethical-Critical Analysis of Theological Rogues in Mark Twain’s Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc and L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables Series Natalie Ann Terry, M.A. Director: Joe B. Fulton, Ph.D. This thesis uses ethical criticism to examine the transformative nature of the interaction between authors, characters, and readers, focusing on Mark Twain’s Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc and L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. By presenting socially transgressive figures in a sympathetic manner, Twain and Montgomery encourage a reevaluation of cultural and religious standards. The authors accomplish their goals by utilizing the form of Sunday school books while drastically altering the content, challenging readers’ expectations and urging ethical reform within the texts, as well as within the various historical audiences. “A woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised”: An Ethical-Critical Analysis of Theological Rogues in Mark Twain’s Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc and L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables Series by Natalie Ann Terry, B. A. A Thesis Approved by the Department of English ___________________________________ Dianna M. Vitanza, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by the Thesis Committee ___________________________________ Joe B. Fulton, Ph.D. ___________________________________ D. Thomas Hanks, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Kimberly R. Kellison, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School May 2008 ___________________________________ J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2008 by Natalie Ann Terry All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... v DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. viii CHAPTER ONE .............................................................................................................. 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................. 8 Non-Conformity and “Good Girls” in Mark Twain’s Fiction ..................................... 8 CHAPTER THREE ......................................................................................................... 41 Imagination and Religious Non-Conformity in L.M. Montgomery’s Novels ............. 41 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................ 80 Imagination and Incarnation: The Interplay of Author, Character, and Reader ......... 80 CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................................114 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................114 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................117 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe an enormous amount of gratitude to those who have taught, mentored, and otherwise helped me during my academic journey. First, I am forever indebted to my thesis director, Dr. Joe B. Fulton, for his keen insights and helpful comments throughout the writing process. I also extend hearty thanks to my committee members, Dr. D. Thomas (Tom) Hanks and Dr. Kimberly Kellison, for their advice and encouragement. Many of the professors I have encountered during my eight years at Baylor continue to amaze me with their teaching abilities, scholarship, and care for students. Among them are Dr. Ralph Wood, Dr. Sarah Ford, Dr. Nancy Chinn, Dr. James Barcus, Dr. Kevin Gardner, Dr. Wendy Allman, Dr. Richard Russell, Dr. Scott Moore, Dr. Donald Greco, Dr. Brent Froberg, Dr. Paul Larson, and Dr. Charles Weaver. While I never had the pleasure of taking a class from Dr. Christopher Kearney, Mrs. Virginia Kearney, Dr. Michele Henry, Dr. Douglas Henry, Dr. Philip Donnelly, or Dr. Elizabeth Palacios, I am grateful for their guidance and wisdom which they shared with me in the William Carey Crane Scholars Program and the Gamma Beta Phi National Honor and Service Society. I extend my thanks to the English Department, which has nurtured my intellectual growth for the past six years, and especially to Dr. Dianna Vitanza, Chair, and Dr. Robert Ray, Director of the Graduate Program, for their leadership and assistance. Dr. Mary Lynn Klingman, Director of the Baylor Writing Center, and Mrs. Jerrie Callan, Director of Freshman Composition, have provided me with many skills to iv become not only a better teacher and scholar but also a better human being, for which they have my eternal gratitude. This thesis could not have been completed without the help of Eileen Bentsen and Janet Sheets, two of the most talented reference librarians Baylor could ever hope to have, as well as the entire team of Interlibrary Services staff members. Thanks are also due to Melinda Sanson in Information and Technology Services, who kindly helped me for nearly three hours with formatting. Lois Avey and Amber Adamek, our Administrative Assistants in the English Department, and Sandra Harman and Sherry Sims in the Graduate School assisted me with many various and sundry tasks and forms associated with the thesis, and their patience and knowledge are much appreciated. Two years ago, Neda Salem, Administrative Assistant for the Mark Twain Project at the University of California at Berkeley, faxed me a copy of Twain’s letter to Montgomery, for which I am grateful. I must also say “thank you” to all of the wonderful teachers and professors I have had, from St. Alban’s Episcopal School through Midway ISD to Baylor University, and especially to two of my former English teachers. Mrs. Jan Robertson formally introduced me to Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in the fifth grade, and Mrs. Sandra Hansen convinced me to try L.M. Montgomery’s Emily and Anne books during our reading contest in seventh grade English. I greatly appreciate my fellow graduate students in the English Department at Baylor, especially Erin Werley, Ginger Stelle, Lydia Cooper, Yolanda Gonzales, Stephen Schuler, Kathleen Miller, Evan and Bethany Getz, Ellen Condict, Elisabeth Wolfe, Laura Schrock, Bethany Lam, Bethany Bear, Jason Davis, Rebekah Hall, Rachel Webster, Mary v Kolner, and Jordan Gibson, for their helpful feedback, collegial spirit, and sincere friendship. Katie Calloway, Kenna Lang, Crystal Rose, Justin Raab, Corrina Gura, Sarah Branstetter, Lauren Rich, Natalie Butler, Jonathan Carosh, and Ian Berghorn have my thanks for their friendship, encouragement during the writing process, and their tips on researching and formatting. Mary Cunningham, longtime family friend, graciously helped me with the task of making copies of my thesis in preparation for the oral defense so that I could spend more time with my father during his battle with cancer. Last, but certainly not least, I owe my thanks to my family. Aunt Doris, Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Larry, and my cousins Noelle, Rider, Gabe, and Joseph all expressed enthusiastic interest in and support of my work. My grandmother, Mella Terry, always offered an encouraging word every time she asked me about the work’s progress. My deepest gratitude is to Mom and Dad, who have constantly made sacrifices in order to give me the best education and experiences possible, and who never missed so much as a single recital or PTA event, and to my sister, Allison, who has given me support in all my academic endeavors and continues to challenge me to live life to the fullest. vi DEDICATION To my parents, Bob and Dorothy Terry who instilled in me a passion for learning and who loved me enough to give me both roots and wings vii CHAPTER ONE Introduction Mark Twain and L.M. (Maud) Montgomery may share readers, but they rarely share critics. This seems rather odd, given the fact that both authors wrote many books for children and shared similar visions of an “ideal” child-life. Their careers overlapped at the turn of the century, and they shared cultural and literary influences. Both were Presbyterian, but neither was wholly satisfied with the denomination. Certain aspects of Calvinism rankled each of them, yet neither would condone forays into less-structured branches of Christianity. Both held Christian Scientists in contempt, and both retained strong anti-Catholic sentiment until death. The two authors enjoyed reading children’s literature, sharing a passion for the work of Louisa May Alcott, Lewis Carroll, and George MacDonald, among others, and both were familiar with T. De Witt Talmage’s sermons, which neither of them liked as adults. Twain and Montgomery experienced extreme suffering in life, often related to their family situations. During their active writing careers, both Twain and Montgomery suffered the death of a child, the experience of which changed the authors’ lives forever, and not for the better: both are described by biographers as being depressed at the end of their lives.