Superstition

Superstition (1824), a tragedy by James Nelson Barker. [Chestnut Street Theatre (Philadelphia), in repertory.] In a duel to protect the honor of Mary Ravensworth ( Mrs. John Duff) from the unwanted attentions of George Egerton ( Francis C. Wemyss), Charles Fitzroy ( William Wood) wounds Egerton but walks away unscathed. Rather than pleasing Mary's father, the Reverend Ravensworth ( Mr. Darley), the news angers him, since Charles and his mother, Isabella ( Mrs. Wood), have not shown the proper respect for his clerical office. Matters are made worse when the village is attacked by Indians. Charles and a man called the Unknown (John Duff) lead the attack against them, defeat them, and again walk away unharmed. Charles and his mother are then perceived as devils, and at their trial Ravensworth testifies against them. Charles is executed and his mother dies of grief. The Unknown turns out to be William Goffe—one of the men who had sentenced King Charles I to death—and also Isabella's father and Charles's grandfather. Mary is left to denounce her father for his cruelty. One of the first important American plays based on domestic history, the blank‐verse drama skillfully wove together the various events, all conspiring inexorably against the hero. One student of American drama, W. J. Meserve, has called the work “the single outstanding American play written during the first quarter of the nineteenth century.” It sometimes was given the subtitle The Fanatic Father.