Hope Leslie by Catharine Maria Sedgwick Essay -- Hope Leslie Catharine

fancy Leslie by Catharine Maria SedgwickAmerican Puritans in the seventeenth century were known for their fire for personal godliness and doctrinal correctness. In addition to believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total depravity of man, and the complete dependence of valet beings on divine grace for salvation, they stressed the importance of personal religious experience. In her novel Hope Leslie, Catharine Maria Sedgwick critiques the idea of Puritanism and shows its deficiencies through the natures of Everell Fletcher, Hope Leslie, and Magawisca. A weakness of Puritanism that Sedgwick identifies is the idea that communal emotion and authority should feature precedence over the desires and emotions of the individual. Some examples of this criticism are seen through the character of Everell Fletcher who is born and raised a Puritan however does not so easily conform to the pressures being placed upon him by both the in the public eye(predicate) and his fa mily. The Puritans messed the Indians as a sav shape up people whom they were to conquer and convert. At age fourteen, Everell is certainly aware of this view, and yet he not only befriends, but arguably falls in love with Magawisca, an Indian servant in the Fletcher house. His mothers concern over this is seen in a earn she writes to her husband addressing the issue of Everell and Magawiscas mutual affection for one another(prenominal) it is for thee to decide whether it be not most wise to remove the maidservant from our dwelling. Two young plants have sprung up in close neighbourhood, whitethorn be separated while young but if disjoined later their fibers are all intertwined, one, or perchance both, may perish. (33). Despite Mrs. Fletchers desire for Everells personal contentmen... ... halo that encircled the pilgrims head and not mark the dust that sometimes sullied his garments (156).In this text, Sedgwick identifies one of her qualms with Puritanism. She points out that Puritans view things that bring happiness as sin and things that are challenging and life-threatening as obligations. She argues that Puritans lost the true meaning of Gods tenderness but are still seen as perfect examples of godliness. In her defy Hope Leslie Catharine Maria Sedgwick forces the reader to understand and judge some of the 17th century Puritans ideas, two being the idea of communal interests being of much importance than personal interests and the idea of youth being completely subject to adults. Through the characters of Everell, Hope, and Magawisca, Sedgwick brings to light the often overlooked shortcomings of Puritanism.