The Minister's Wooing

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by Harriet Beecher Stowe


  1 NEREID: Sea nymph, any of the fifty daughters of Nereus in classical mythology.

  2 FISHERMEN OF GALILEE; Several of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen from the lake of Galilee.

  3 “THE EARNEST OF OUR INHERITANCE ... POSSESSION”: Ephesians 1:14.

  4 EMPEROR CHARLES V: Holy Roman Emperor (1500-1558) and King of Spain as Charles I. He failed to unite the Catholics and the Protestants.

  5 MARTIN LUTHER: A German monk (1483-1546), who initiated the Reformation and founded Protestantism.

  6 “SPIRIT ... UTTERED”: Romans 8:26.

  CHAPTER XXIII

  1 “THEY HAD ACCUSTOMED THEMSELVES ... EDWARDS THE YOUNGER”: A reference to the cerebral and intellectual nature of Puritanism. Edwards the younger is Jonathan Edwards, Jr. (1745-1801). The ninth child of the well-known theologian, Edwards Jr. was also an influential minister and theologian.

  2 “UNDER GOD’S WRATH AND CURSE”: Such language indicates the tension within Puritanism over the relationship between God and humankind. While most Puritans, such as Jonathan Edwards, saw God as an inherently wrathful father, Mary and Mrs. Marvyn come to accept Candace’s notion of a loving Christ. In his work for slaves and in his writings, Dr. Hopkins seeks to elevate the ideal of a God of Mercy rather than a God of Wrath.

  3 DAVID BRAINERD: A Presbyterian missionary (1718-1747) who served briefly the Delaware Native American tribes.

  CHAPTER XXIV

  1 CASSANDRA: Daughter of King Priam of Troy. Apollo loved her and gave her the gift of prophecy, but later, in anger, determined that no one would believe her prophecies.

  2 “A LAMB AS IT HAD BEEN SLAIN”: Revelations 5:6.

  3 “WEEPING ... MORNING”; Psalms 30:5.

  4 DEBORAH, HULDAH, AND ANNA: All biblical prophetesses: Deborah, Judges 4-5; Huldah, II Kings 22:14; and Anna, Luke 2:36.

  CHAPTER XXV

  1 “AS SORROWFUL ... ALL THINGS”: II Corinthians 6:10.

  2 UZZAH: Biblical son of Abinadab who drove the Ark of the Covenant. He touched the Ark and God smote him dead. See II Samuel 6:3-7.

  3 MA BELLE ROSE BLANCHE: My pretty white rose.

  4 TANT PIS: Too bad.

  5 MIGNONNE: Sweetie.

  6 BIEN SÛR: Of course.

  7 A BAYARD, A SULLY, A MONTMORENCI: Bayard probably refers to Pierre Terrail (1473-1524), a French hero renowned for his knightly character. Interestingly, however, there was also a James Asheton Bayard (1767-1815), an American politician who secured understanding with Jefferson in the Jefferson-Burr disputed election of 1800. Sully most likely refers to Maximilien de Duc de Sully (1560-1641), a French statesman who promoted a system of national improvements. Montmorenci possibly refers to the Montmorency, a distinguished French family originating in Montmorency, northern France.

  8 ENFIN,—QUE FAIRE!: And now, what to do?

  9 ANTICHRIST: Biblical opponent of Christ, disseminator of evil throughout the world. See I John 2:18. Puritans often associated Roman Catholicism generally and the pope specifically with the Antichrist.

  10 QUELLE IDÉE! MA PETITE DRÔLE!: What an idea, my silly little girl!

  11 MA REINE!: My queen!

  12 JOHN BULL: A caricature and personification of England; he was often represented as a zealous patriot in early-eighteenth-century political cartoons. Here, he signifies Mrs. Scudder’s animosity toward France, a pro-English position that she learned from her father.

  CHAPTER XXVI

  1 CALYPSO ... MENTOR: Reference to the story of Telemachus’ adventures in search of his father, Ulysses, in Homer’s The Odyssey.

  2 MA BLANCHE: Term of endearment, referring to the whiteness of Mary’s skin.

  3 TROMPERIE: Literally, deception; used here to indicate frippery, or gaudy clothing.

  4 EN BERGÈRE: Pastoral, country.

  5 MON MIROIR: My mirror.

  6 MA PAUVRETTE: My poor little one.

  CHAPTER XXVII

  1 “THEY THAT TRUST IN THE LORD ... FOREVER”: Psalms 125:1.

  2 ASMODEUS: In Jewish folklore, an evil spirit or demon; here, Stowe uses it to mean simply “magician.”

  3 NOUS VOICI: We are here.

  4 PASSABLEMENT: Tolerably well.

  5 GAUCHERIE: Awkwardness.

  6 AFFAIRES DU COEUR: Affairs of the heart.

  7 “TANTAS IN ANIMIS COELESTIBUS IRAS”: Can heavenly minds yield to such rage? From Book I (1.11) of the Latin poet Virgil’s epic poem Aeneid, which tells the story of the founding of Rome. Virgil lived c. 70-19 B.C.

  8 GRANDE PASSION: Great passion.

  9 MÉLANGE: Mixture.

  10 RAVISSANT: Ravishing, lovely.

  11 “HE FEEDETH ON ASHES ... HAND?”: Isaiah 44:20.

  CHAPTER XXVIII

  1 “WHO IS SHE THAT LOOKETH FORTH ... THEE!”: Song of Solomon 6:9-10.

  2 EH BIEN, MA CHÈRE ... FINI?: And now, my dear ... it’s all done?

  3 LA TOILETTE DE NOCES: Wedding grooming, particularly in terms of what Mary will wear.

  CHAPTER XXIX

  1 TYRE: A trading port of ancient Phoenicia, Tyre supplied masons, carpenters, and bronzesmiths to kings David (ruled c. 1000-c. 960 B.C.) and Solomon (ruled c. 960-c. 921 B.C.).

  CHAPTER XXX

  1 WASHINGTON IRVING: A prolific American writer (1783-1859) best known today for Americanized versions of European folktales, among them Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; his descriptions of the Dutch farmers of the Hudson River valley helped establish that region’s identity.

  CHAPTER XXXI

  1 MIRANDA ... PRINCE FERDINAND: A reference to Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1612-13), in which the heroine, Miranda, is in love with Ferdinand.

  2 TENEZ: Here.

  3 TANT MIEUX: Fine.

  CHAPTER XXXII

  1 “GREATNESS OF MIND ... PLACED”: From Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667), 8.557-59.

  2 JOAN OF ARC ... DOMREMY: A French peasant (1412-1431) who, obeying voices she attributed to archangels, led the French army against the English. Although her success in raising the siege of Or-leans and convincing the dauphin to be crowned at Rheims were pivotal for the Hundred Years War, she was tried for heresy by the Inquisition and burned at the stake. The transcripts of her trial were rediscovered and translated in 1840, and she rapidly became a popular heroine in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She was canonized in 1920.

  3 DAUGHTER: Theodosia Burr Alston was Burr’s only child, to whom he gave an education equal to a man’s.

  4 BURR RESIGNED HIS SEAT ... ADMIRATION: In the wake of his disastrous and fatal duel with Alexander Hamilton, Burr made a parting speech on March 4, 1805, before the Senate, referring to it as “a sanctuary.” The speech melted the hearts of the senators, who rendered him a standing ovation as he left the chamber.

  CHAPTER XXXIII

  1 ENFIN, CHÈRE SYBILLE: At last, my dear Sybille. In classical mythology sibyls were female prophets whose ecstatic utterances were inspired by Apollo. Sibyls were accorded an authority similar to that of the Old Testament prophets in the early Christian era. Here, the reference is to Mary’s status as prophetess of Virginie’s fate.

  2 TE VOILÀ ENCORE: It’s time for you to tell all.

  3 MAIS POURTANT, C‘EST DUR COMME LA MORT: But even so, it feels like death.

  4 JE NE L’AIME POINT: I don’t love him in the least.

  5 FAUT AVOUER: One must admit.

  6 ARCADIA: A prose romance published in 1593 by Sir Philip Sidney.

  CHAPTER XXXIV

  1 IL A DE LA DÉLICATESSE: It’s a fine, delicate fabric. Here, the pronoun is ambiguous and could double as a reference to the Doctor’s fine taste.

  CHAPTER XXXVII

  1 ENFIN, MARIE, NOUS VOICI: Finally, Mary, we are here.

  2 ULYSSES ... PENELOPE’S: Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, who in classical mythology was punished by Athena for his behavior in the Trojan War. For a decade he and his men wandered the globe trying to return home.

  3 TRISTE: Sad.

  4 M
ON DIEU, MON ENFANT... QUELLE IDÉE: My God, love ... what an idea.

  5 “HE THAT SWEARETH ... CHANGETH NOT”: Psalms 15:4.

  6 C‘EST LE SUBLIME DE DEVOIR: It’s the sublime of duty.

  7 MAIS C’EST ABSURDE: But it’s absurd.

  8 THESEUS ... MINOTAUR: In Greek mythology, Theseus was the first king of Athens. One of his adventures included killing the Minotaur, half man and half bull, in Crete; another reference to James’s adventures at sea.

  9 C’EST ADMIRABLE: That’s admirable.

  10 PAUVRETTE, TOUJOURS LES MÈRES : Poor little one, always the mothers.

  CHAPTER XXXVIII

  1 “HER PURE AND ELOQUENT BLOOD ... THOUGHT”: From “On the Death of Mistress Drury,” one of John Donne’s (1572-1631) Funeral Elegies.

  2 PHARISAISM: The Pharisees were a major Jewish sect, whose insistence on ritual observance of the law evoked strong denunciation by Jesus; he called them “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:27) and self-righteous lovers of display (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18).

  3 AEOLIAN HARP: Named for Aeolus, god of the winds, the aeolian harp originated in the seventeenth century. It is perhaps best known as a Romantic literary allusion, particularly in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Eolian Harp” (1795).

  4 “THEN LET THE LAST ... SKIES!”: Hymn. “China” refers to the tune, composed by Timothy Swan (1748-1842). The lyrics, titled “Why Do We Mourn Departing Friends,” are by Isaac Watts (1674-1748).

  CHAPTER XXXIX

  1 DUKE OF WELLINGTON: A British general and statesman (1769-1852), best remembered today for having defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

  2 HEROD ... HEAD: Herod Antipas (d. A.D. 39) promised Salome that he would have John the Baptist beheaded as payment for Salome’s dancing (Mark 6:17-29). John, a Jewish prophet, was a forerunner of Jesus Christ.

  CHAPTER XL

  1 A GREAT MODERN AUTHOR ... BLESSEDNESS: A reference to the Scottish essayist, social critic, and historian Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881). Book II, Chapter IX of Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus contains a passage very similar to the one quoted here. Like Stowe’s quotation from Plato (see Chapter VIII, note 2), this passage is sufficiently altered to suggest that she was either quoting from faulty memory or, more likely, that she gleaned her quotations from a reference work that tamed coarse or otherwise controversial writers for popular consumption.

  CHAPTER XLI

  1 QUEEN ESTHER: Old Testament book that recounts the deliverance of the Jews from persecution in the Persian Empire. Queen Esther, a Jewish woman married to the Persian king, was the niece of Mordecai (see Chapter IV, note 6) and was instrumental in saving the Jews from destruction. Here, the reference associates Miss Prissy’s temerity in negotiating Mary’s deliverance from her marriage promise to the Doctor with Esther’s temerity in pleading her uncle’s case to the king.

  2 EVIDENCES: A reference to the outward manifestations of James’s conversion.

  CHAPTER XLII

  1 DUEL ... HAMILTON: A reference to Aaron Burr’s duel with Alexander Hamilton on July 11, 1804, in which Hamilton was fatally wounded.

  2 NEMESIS: In classical mythology Nemesis was a goddess who delivered retribution for evil deeds or undeserved good fortune.

  3 “No FARTHER SEEK ... ABODE”: Closing lines of Thomas Gray’s ”Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” (c. 1742-50).

  4 CHTELAINE: Lady of the manor.

  5 JEFFERSON ... HAMILTON: A reference to Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, two of Burr’s contemporaries and prominent figures in early American government.

  6 PORTE-MONNAIE: Change purse.

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