Puritan Autobiographies

Puritanism: religious culture

Reformation - set of Protestant beliefs whose dominant inspiration was the Genevan
theocrat John Calvin.
predestination ---- ['double predestination']
damnation (reprobation) to the majority of mankind, before their creation
salvation (election) of the chosen few
absolute sovereignty of God: all-powerful & perfectly just, while human beings were
wholly impotent & corrupt
anguished introspection whether they were members of the 'elect', the recipients of
'saving faith' or 'saving grace - quest for signs - map of the phases through which the
elect should pass
'Effectual calling'; 'Justification; 'Sanctification; 'Glorification'
Puritans: Protestant religious group (16th & 17th centuries)
rejected the authority of the English Church
named < theological doctrine (moral & social code developed later)
mans duty of actively serving God
responsibility towards his own conscience = ultimate authority in the interpretation of
Gods word in the Holy Scriptures
each individual - establish his own unique personal relationship with God & engage in
continuous soul-searching
refused religious hierarchy - congregation should be a democratic fellowship, with
each member establishing his or her own relationship with God without benefit of
clergy
doctrine of spiritual equality - emphasis on the individual conscience (not external
ceremonies)
stern morality: integrity, effort, industry, sense of purpose
inner, personal experience
simple life, away from temptations; virtue & morality (black & white,
sober, decent outfits) strongly ethical
opposed theatre bawdy entertainment
practical, & moral, problems of daily living
everyday social, domestic & commercial behaviour - high ideals of
integrity, of service to the community
their work ethics, favoured the growth of individualism - essential role
in the rise of capitalism
Max Weber - The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
classics of Puritan spirituality -autobiographical
John Bunyans Grace Abounding (1666)
Richard Norwoods 'Confessions' (1639-40)
Richard Baxters Reliquiae Baxterianae (1696)
George Foxs Journal (1694)
Miltons Samson Agonistes (1672)
John Bunyan (1628 1688)
humble beginnings - son of a tinker
brought up in an atmosphere of strict Puritanism
profound sense of sin
poorly educated
participated in the Bourgeois Revolution
primary pursuit: searching his soul for sin - overwhelming sense of guilt - perplexing
& disturbing problem - how to know whether one was doomed or of the Elect?
1653 - joined the Baptist Church - sectarian preacher
after the Restoration 1660 - religious outlaw - brought to trial - refused to
renounce his religious belief 12-year imprisonment
Prison Meditations; The Holy City;
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666)
spiritual autobiography
account of Bunyan's physical, mental, & spiritual anguish before he saw the
Light & was converted
conceived the idea of Pilgrim's Progress - completed in 1672
sermons - Christian Behaviour; I Will Pray with the Spirit; & A Mapp of Salvation &
Damnation
sketch of the "inward man"
conversion process = primary subject-matter of both Grace Abounding & The
Pilgrim's Progress
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners 1666
spiritual autobiography & confession - account of a religious crisis - spiritual history
of a self
conventional meditation on the authors depraved state before conversion & the
intense experiences & visions leading to his rebirth [The Confessions of St Augustine]
less an external autobiography than a spiritual record
journey - faith, repentance, justification, forgiveness & sanctification,
glorification
preconceived scheme - Calvinist programme -successive stages of conversion
valleys & peaks of conversion experience
oscillation between hope & fear, agonizing despair & exultation
record - obscure Bedfordshire tinker - changed his course from sloth & sin - became
an eloquent & fearless man of God
lack of personal detail - to universalize the piece
richly emotional work - highly charged experiences (Last Judgment & the tortures of
Hell) = as clear as the mundane experiences of daily existence
the way by which average Christians, convinced of their own sins, can be led by Gods
grace to endure the pain of spiritual crisis
The Pilgrims Progress 1678
allegory - each character & episode embodies an idea within a pre-existing Puritan
doctrine of salvation
idea of life as a journey - adventures of a devout Christian embarking on a pilgrimage
to Heaven
solitary hero, Christian progress: City of Destruction Celestial City
episodic structure - related to homiletic technique
Christians journey - simultaneously an external and an internal progress
quest - both actual and symbolic alternates moments of doubt &
confidence the peaks & valleys that form the landscape of PP: the
Slough of Despond, the Hill Difficulty, the Valley of Humiliation,
Vanity Fair, Doubting Castle, the Celestial City
allegory features encounters with religious adversaries or persecutors: superhuman
fiends, devils, giants, wild beasts, hobgoblins & hideous monsters grounded in
chivalresque fantasy
Christians pilgrimage - beset with obstacles, dilemmas, tests which he has to pass in
this journey of knowledge and self-knowledge
pilgrimage - 'progress', a mental, moral & spiritual evolution
spatial framework for the stages of salvation
Bunyan universalized his Puritanism, depicting every earnest Christians search for
salvation
Agnes Beaumont:'The Narrative of the Persecution of Agnes Beaumont' 1674
vivid snapshot of traumatic passage in a young woman's life; narrative of events
leading up to & following the death of her father John Beaumont
domestic persecution for her faith,
public trial on a charge of parricide
spiritual independence: in the face of paternal persecution or in intimidating
circumstances of her trial the puritan's inner resources - most potently displayed
use of interior dialogue
proleptic devices - dream of the fallen apple tree (her father's death)
cryptic early warnings knit the narrative with anticipation &
fulfilment
retrospectively: providential control intimated to the believer