Thesis advisor: Dominic Doyle / Thesis advisor: Matthew Potts / It will be argued that the Word became incarnate in the world to lead us back to God the Creator, and this exitus and reditus is given and received in human language. In like manner, the words of great literature can direct our attention and reinvigorate the modern cosmic imaginary with a Christian imagination, instructing the reader to engage in a dive into the particulars of his or her concrete life. In mining those details, s/he can attain insights. We will call this trek of inquiry a via litteraria — connecting our lives with the life of God, by way of literature. To that end we will focus on the work of the American Christian writer of fiction and essays, Marilynne Robinson, who is a prime example of this via litteraria. / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

<p>This essay investigates the phenomenon of <em>seamlessness</em> in Marilynne Robinson’s novel <em>Housekeeping </em>and seeks to show that seamlessness is decisive for shaping the prevailing atmosphere in the text and contributes to the sense of the power of the invisible that is central to the work.</p><p>[1] Marilynne Robinson, <em>Housekeeping</em> (London: Faber & Faber, 2005; first published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1980). In parenthetical documentation, hereafter abbreviated H.</p>

This essay investigates the phenomenon of seamlessness in Marilynne Robinson’s novel Housekeeping and seeks to show that seamlessness is decisive for shaping the prevailing atmosphere in the text and contributes to the sense of the power of the invisible that is central to the work. [1] Marilynne Robinson, Housekeeping (London: Faber &amp; Faber, 2005; first published by Farrar, Straus &amp; Giroux, 1980). In parenthetical documentation, hereafter abbreviated H.

Thesis (MA)--University of Montana, 2009. / Title from author supplied metadata. Contents viewed on December 21, 2009. Includes bibliographical references.

It is the intent of this project to show that Marilynne Robinson's novel Gilead might be profitably read within the context of the rabbinical exegetical tradition of midrash. It examines Gilead as a midrashic retelling of the Abraham story in the Bible, and shows how reading it in this light illuminates some of the key theological and social concerns at play in the novel. Midrash offers a unique model for reading Gilead because it combines elements of intertextuality, narrative theology and formal exegesis. Since midrash provides the framework for such a reading of Gilead, the first chapter discusses some of the theoretical issues surrounding the practice of midrash. The second chapter traces elements of the Abraham story from Genesis as retold in Gilead. Finally, the third chapter discusses the theological and social implications of reading Gilead as a midrashic retelling of the biblical story, thereby revealing Robinson's theology which emphasizes the holiness of the everyday.

A Congregationalist by choice and a Calvinist by tradition, Marilynne Robinson has a theological background that significantly influences the development of her fictional characters, especially in her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Gilead. Much has been written about Robinson's particular brand of Calvinism—by both Robinson herself and other literary critics—which tends to be far more hopeful about grace, agency, and the beauties of the natural world than traditional interpretations allow. Little, however, has been written about how the trajectory of Congregationalism as an organizational force in the national narrative influences the decisions of and relationships between her fictional characters. Gilead depicts three generations of Congregationalist ministers whose personalities, preaching styles, and interpersonal relationships reflect and parallel the history of Midwestern Congregationalism in the United States from the abolitionist period to the mid-twentieth century—at which point, Robinson claims, Congregational influence all but disappeared. Robinson develops these characters in ways designed to dramatize and critique Congregationalism's various responses to the cultural and historical pressures of slavery, war, denominationalism, and the proper relationship between a minister and his congregation. In the novel, John Ames III becomes a reconciliatory figure in a tradition fraught with interpretational extremes: the scriptural literalism of John Ames I and the scriptural relativism of John Ames II. He is not, however, a perfect balance of such interpretations, but rather exemplifies characteristics of "both and neither." In depicting the three ministers this way, Robinson critiques, defends, and reshapes contemporary understanding of Puritan influence on American history just as she demonstrates how that history shapes the relationships among the characters. Ultimately, Gilead is both a supplement to and an extension of Robinson's nonfiction writing (The Death of Adam, Absence of Mind, and When I Was a Child I Read Books), which also attempts to revise current interpretations of Calvinist thought and rekindle contemporary interest in early American religious influence.

Thesis advisor: Judith Wilt / Experience as an English major, a bookseller, a publishing intern, and a reader has formed questions in my mind about why people read what they do. My interest is focused in two particular "categories" of literature that vie for readers' attention: book clubs and literary awards. Because my skills are in literary interpretation and not societal or industrial analysis, I explored this supposed dichotomy by reading and comparing books from each category. In the "book club" books (My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards), I found a remarkable familial structure at the core: a daughter with a medical condition; a mother struggling to cope emotionally; a father who distances himself through work and offers profound symbolism via a hobby; an older brother who rebels; an outside couple, professionally involved in the action and romantically involved in each other. The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction-winning books, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson and Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, stretch farther with voice, style, and imagery. I found them intellectually and personally more satisfying. In addition pursuing academic interests, I also grew to better understand the variety of purposes for which we read. Though I concluded that if all four novels were to be labeled, they should simply be named "middlebrow," I came to appreciate different writers' strengths — research, personal experience, mastery of language — even when they do not match my personal criteria as a reader. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: English. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

In this essay, I examine the role of material culture in Marilynne Robinson's novel Housekeeping (1980) to understand how the prominent presence of material culture introduces complex questions about the relationships among objects, reality, and the self. By recognizing objects' fluidity of meaning, Housekeeping offers its characters a way to see their individuality and conceptions of reality in a similar state of flux. Significantly, it is in the act of recognizing that the socially accepted uses of objects are not necessarily "natural" parts of existence, and, like elements of the natural world, the meanings and uses of these items are susceptible to change and decay that an individual is able to recognize that the self is similarly fluid and moldable, which creates room for both imagination and for the possibility of change.

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