Minister's Wooing, The

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | 700+ words | Copyright

Minister's Wooing, The, novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in 1859. It is set in Newport, a New England town, shortly after the Revolution. Aaron Burr is a minor character.

Mary Scudder has been taught by her widowed mother to follow the orthodoxy of their pastor, Dr. Hopkins. His cousin James Marvyn loves her, but, when she refuses him because he has no religious faith, he goes to sea and is reported to have died in a shipwreck. Mary becomes engaged to Dr. Hopkins, who is much older than she. Even when James writes that he has been converted by a miraculous escape from death, and then comes to resume his courtship, she announces that she will keep her promise to the minister. Miss Prissy Diamond, the friendly dressmaker, and Candace, the devout black servant, encourage James's suit, and when Dr. Hopkins learns their true feelings, he sacrifices his own happiness, making possible the marriage of the young couple.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Minister's Wooing, The." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Minister's Wooing, The." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-MinistersWooingThe.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Minister's Wooing, The." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-MinistersWooingThe.html

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