A Story and critique of Christian way of life in the end of 19th Century in the West
A book which I had read long time back, I happen to reread
now. It is amazing to realize how many things that escaped my notice then, have
come to my mind now! By the end of 19th century Christianity in the
Western world was in disrepute. The veracity of the Bible was being questioned,
especially after the release of the book “On the Origin of Species by means of
Natural Selection” by Charles Darwin in 1859. The creation of the world and all
there is in it as narrated in Genesis chapter 1 was doubted and evolution of
the species by the survival of the fittest, including that of human beings came
as the alternative theory to creation. If the beginning itself was wrong, then how to
believe the other matters written in the Bible? That became the skeptic's
question. Many novels and books were written describing the morals and daily
life of those professed Christianity, especially in high positions in the
churches and elsewhere deepened these questions. Sigmund Freud’s theory of
Psychoanalysis written in 1905 also shook the world to its foundation with
regard to how we looked at the mental and psychological disorders.
The book I am talking about is “The way of all flesh,” by
Samuel Butler, written in 1882. The story is about three generations of
Pontifexes. John Pontifex (1727-1811) was just a carpenter, poor and ordinary,
who also used to build organs and played the organ in the local church in
Paleham. His only son George Pontifex when he was only 15 years old was taken
by his aunt (mother’s sister) and uncle to live with them in London and assist
him in his business of publication. He worked hard, earned the trust of his
uncle and on their death, he inherited the publication business and became rich
at a very young age. He married well and had four children, three girls and two
boys. When his wife died in child birth, he did not marry again. John was his
eldest son, then was born Theobald in 1802, two elder girls Eliza and Maria and
the last girl was Alethea.
George Pontifex was rich but loved money. His way of
controlling the children, especially the boys was to throw at their face how
hard he had to work to make his riches and how he is not going to throw away it
on them unless they proved worthy of it. He thrashed both his boys at least
twice a week if not more. I suppose that is what all the fathers did during
that time! You are never to spare the rod and spoil the child. What is written
in the Bible was never questioned. The first sign of self-will in a child was
to be broken in the childhood itself so that he or she grows to be an obedient
child. They are to be obedient till their 21st year and thereafter
they are free to do what they pleased as long as they did not want the money of
their father, if he happened to be rich. That was the philosophy of life then.
George gave his boys expensive education and expected them to make their own
living and not be a drag on him and his money. The Damocles’ sword over their
heads was if they didn’t do well, their father will not leave a single penny to
them.
John the eldest was smarter and managed to do well and took to
George’s business. Theobald was shy and timid and was not very smart, with the
result though he was educated at Cambridge, George wanted him to become a
clergyman. He could only mildly protest to the father and with the threat of
disinheritance, he quietly became ordained as a clergyman in 1825, though he
disliked the profession. He married after a long engagement Christiana, the
daughter of the Rector whom he helped in the church activities, only after he
got employment as Rector in Battersby in 1831. George had objected to him
marrying a penniless girl four years elder to him, but reconciled and settled
him in life with 10,000 pounds. They settled down and beget children of their
own.
Theobald was not fond of children, but he had three children,
Ernest the first born, Joey and then Charlotte. He started to teach Ernest to
read and write at the age of two and when the child made mistakes he was
whipped. When he was three years old, Ernest couldn’t pronounce ‘c’ so kept
saying ‘tum,’ for ‘come,’ and scolding him that he was deliberately doing this
Theobald whipped him soundly. Christina never interfered in these punishments
saying her husband is an exemplary father and that he is taking this trouble over
the child only for the child’s good. Then they had family prayers, regularly
every day, after the daily whipping and screaming and the crying. Again the
idea was self-will must be destroyed in childhood itself so that they boy grows
up as an obedient and manageable son. The boy suffered like this every day till
he was 12 years old when he was sent to a school.
The grandfather, George being happy to get the first grandson
in Ernest left him 2500 pound, which he had taken from his father Theobald’s
share, to be given to Ernest on his 21st birthday. This angered
Theobald even more. George on his death left 20,000 pounds each to his three
girls and 17,250 pounds to Theobald and the rest to the eldest son John. While
he was in the school his unmarried aunt Alethea took interest in him and wanted
to adopt him as her own. But she died early and left some 20,000 pound for
Ernest but under the management of the narrator of the story, to be given to
the boy only on his 28th birthday, as she was not sure he would have
learnt to manage the money wisely before that. The narrator happens to be a
friend of Theobald, having born in the same year and an admirer of Alethea, and
also the god-father of Ernest.
Having been under the thumb of the father, Ernest was not
developed in his personality, but was weak and was pleased with anyone who said
a few good words about him and preferred the company of the servant class and
the poor whom he considered equal to him. He had been told umpteen times by his
parents that he was worth nothing and that it was his luck or grace of God that
he got such a good father who looked after him and educated him. With such deep
insecurity and low-self esteem, the boy took up vows as a clergy man when he
completed his studies and went and lived in a poor locality to bring the poor
and the suffering to Christ. His grandfather’s deposit of 2500 pounds had grown
into 5000 by the time he became 21 years old, but he lost it all by entrusting
it to a friend who duped him and disappeared with the money. He also got
embroiled in a case of assault of a girl living in that place in a shackle, and
was sent to jail for six months for no fault of his own.
By then he had become so angry with his father that when he
came out of the prison penniless, he wanted to have no dealings with him at
all. However nemesis caught up with him. Immediately after his release he met
the pretty servant girl who had worked in his house when he was a boy and by
the end of an hour, had proposed to her and married her soon after. They
started to live in another poorer tenement and started to sell second hand
books and clothes to make a living and got two children also. It took him some
time to discover that his wife was an alcoholic and that she was spending up his
hard earned money for liquor without his knowledge. He was shattered when he
came to know of this; for once more he had been taken for a ride. Fortunately
for him he came to know that she was legally married to the coachman of his
father a few years before his own marriage to her and got her to admit it and
got out of his marriage to her, which was in any case can not be legally
recognized. He made arrangements for some money to be granted to her weekly and
left the children under the care of a couple who were willing to bring them up
along with their own kids for a small amount.
In all these debacles it was the narrator and the friend of
his aunt who had stood by him and helped him out. On his 28th
birthday, the amount of 20,000 pounds deposited by his aunt had grown into
70,000 by wise investments and was transferred to him by the narrator, as was
desired by his aunt. Bitten not twice but thrice, that too seriously, our hero
Ernest decided not to marry again and not to mingle with people of any class,
low or high, and took to writing and travelling, safe occupations. His daughter
married her childhood friend in the family where she grew up, and Ernest
settled her well and bought motorized boats to both his son and his son-in-law
to set them on their livelihood. He was even blessed with a grandson. When his mother
was ill and dying he went and stayed in their Battersby house for a week till she
died. He also visited his father at least once a year till he died, overcoming his
hatred for his father.
So all is well that ends well? I am not so sure. I have just
narrated the story so far. We are yet to get onto the criticism of the life of
Christians, especially the clergy, and its effect on the children, the next
generation. We will do that in the next episode. So till then, read the story, enjoy
it and keep mulling over it in your mind.
Good bye and God bless you.
