Home > The Damnation of Theron Ware Summary & Study Guide

The Damnation of Theron Ware | Introduction

The Damnation of Theron Ware (London, 1896) by American novelist Harold Frederic—also published as Illumination in England the same year—is set in the fictional village of Octavius in upstate New York in the 1880s. Octavius, which is based on Utica, New York, as Frederic knew it as a boy and young man, has a strong Methodist community, and also a large Catholic minority made up of Irish immigrants. The Reverend Theron Ware, a young, ambitious Methodist minister is sent to Octavius, where he is disappointed to find an ignorant, narrow-minded congregation. Not long after his arrival, he meets three people who will have a profound effect on his mind and emotions: a learned but worldly Catholic priest who is well schooled in Biblical study associated with the “higher criticism,” a Darwinian scientist, and a free-thinking, and very attractive, young Catholic woman who idealizes art and beauty. Ware’s ordered and settled world is thrown into confusion by these new, unfamiliar intellectual influences, and his faith in the simple dogmas of Methodism collapses.

This dramatic tale of a young minister seduced by ideas and infatuated with a beautiful woman presents a vivid portrait of the intellectual forces in late-nineteenth century America that were challenging the traditional verities of religion. Although the novel has not been accorded a place amongst the very highest achievements of American fiction, it has nonetheless attracted enthusiastic readers for more than one hundred years.

 

The Damnation of Theron Ware Summary

Part 1

The Damnation of Theron Ware or Illumination begins at the annual conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, where the Reverend Theron Ware is disappointed that he has been assigned to the poor village of Octavius. He and his wife Alice soon discover how difficult life is going to be for them there. At a meeting with the church trustees, Loren Pierce, Erastus Winch and Levi Gorringe, Ware is told that Alice should not wear flowers in her bonnet, and that his sermons should be full of fire and brimstone, not book learning. Ware also discovers that the trustees hold mortgages on the church property, and that two of them charge an illegally high rate of interest. They also want to charge him for a new sidewalk, but Ware refuses to pay.

Walking home one day, Ware encounters four workingmen carrying a badly injured fellow-worker named MacEvoy. Ware follows them to MacEvoy’s house, where he meets Father Forbes, a Catholic priest who administers Extreme Unction to the dying man. Ware is impressed by this Catholic ritual, which is explained to him by a young red-haired woman, Celia Madden.

Ware later visits Forbes, who invites him to stay for dinner with his friend, Dr. Ledsmar. Ware enjoys the ensuing scholarly discussion, which opens his mind to new ideas. Later that evening, he meets Celia again, in the Catholic church. She is friendly towards him, and Ware is intrigued by her.

Part 2

After two months in Octavius, Ware is troubled by the fact that a dominant minority in his church is hostile to him. He is apprehensive about the approaching Quarterly Conference, and wants to ask for a salary increase. He consults Gorringe, whom he feels is an ally, and the lawyer hints that he would help Ware out if he had money troubles. It is clear that Gorringe also has a liking for Ware’s wife, but Ware chooses not to notice the fact.

Ware occupies himself reading Renan’s Recollections of My Youth, a book lent to him by Ledsmar, in which Renan tells of how he lost his religious faith. The book makes a deep impression on Ware, and he feels that meeting Ledsmar and Father Forbes was a turning point in his life.

Sister Soulsby arrives. She is an expert at raising money to pay off church debts. With her husband, she plans a series... » Complete The Damnation of Theron Ware Summary