Gilead: A Quest for Freedom
Uploaded by rizwan on Apr 07, 2006
The word freedom has its own definitions for different individuals. To some, freedom refers to the freedom of speech, freedom of thoughts and expressions and over all the realization of personal freedom or individuality. On the other hand for many others, freedom refers to none of these and only to the freedom of soul- that is freedom of spirituality. Marilynne Robinson in her novel “Gilead” has keenly observed and depicted these variations of freedom in human life and made two of the characters of the novel behave in a way that the thematic concept of freedom becomes very vivid and important element to the readers and also to the novel. These characters are the narrator’s brother Edward and Jack Boughton. The quest for freedom by these characters progress in the novel in a way that eventually “Gilead” becomes a novel of the free souls who did not care about what society and their families had to say to them and rather listened to their heart looking for freedom of mind and the freedom of their souls.
As described in the novel “Gilead”, Edward, the narrator’s elder brother who was ten years older than him studied in Germany and became a remarkable person of knowledge and personality in the narrator’s eyes “Edward studies at Göttingen. He was a remarkable man.” (28). He spent the early years of his life in Europe and returned with the European touch of lifestyle carrying atheism with him. This is surprising and strange to see that Edward grew up in a very religious environment where his father and his ancestors were engaged in preaching and believing God but how Edward separated himself of that long cherished family belief and faith on God. Moreover, he published “a monograph of some kind on Feuerbach” (28) who was “a famous atheist” (27) and Edward also claimed to be an atheist at any rate (29). However, the conflict begins between Edward and his father when Edward’s father expected his son to become a preacher like him and Edward refusing that wish of his father “the belief was general that he would be a great preacher” (29) and it was more shocking for his father and for others when “the congregation took up collection to put him in college and then to send him in Germany. And he came back as an atheist.” (29). Edward’s becoming a non-believer in God was shocking...