Thematic Use of Religion in Willa Cather's My Mortal Enemy

Of the several thematic strains sprinkled liberally through the text of Willa Cather's novella My Mortal Enemy, one of the subtlest, and perhaps surprising, is that of religion. Using the barest of strokes, Cather uses the subtext of religion to carefully limn the underlying conflict at the novella's heart, and further explore the aesthetic expressed in Catholicism. Indeed, it would not be untoward to suggest that the purpose of the other shadings in MME (as it will henceforth be denoted) is to further illuminate the foundation of Catholicism's appeal to the protagonist, and by extension, the author.

Making an argument for Cather's fascination with Catholicism is not a difficult exercise. Later novels, such as Death Comes for the Archbishop, were heavily steeped in it, and it was an interest Cather held for years. Writing in a 1961 introduction to MME, Marcus Klein noted that "...[Cather] was not a Catholic. It was not the doctrinal Church that attracted her. But there was a magnitude in Catholicism that was sufficient to her, and a tradition in it that had preserved itself whole through much change, and a tradition so ancient as to be effectively out of time." (Cather, xvi). In light of statements made by Cather, particularly the famous quote about the world breaking in two, this would seem to be a fair and accurate statement. What is remarkable about Cather's admiration of this "magnitude" is how she was able to make a strong yet indirect expression of this in MME.

From the very beginning of MME, we are given the understanding that the Catholic faith has played a pivotal, if indirect role in the lives of our characters. Raised in the Church by her wealthy great-uncle, Myra Henshawe breaks with her uncle over her choice in husbands and gives up not only her chance at inheriting his wealth, but her faith as well. It is easy to ascribe her break with John Driscoll as a choice of love over money, but in giving up the Church, we see there is more to it. Not only has she given up the Catholic faith, but she has married a Protestant to boot, a "German free-thinker"(Cather, 70), which in itself may be a veiled reference to Martin Luther, a Protestant who was no stranger to schisms. As if to add insult to injury, the new beneficiary of Driscoll's wealth is the Church itself, in the form of donating her childhood home to a convent.

(As a side note, our introduction to Oswald is an excellent example of indicating tension through allusion. The first time he is mentioned, we learn that Oswald Henshawe is "the son of a German girl of good family, and an Ulster Protestant" (Cather, 15). Ulster is the province of Ireland that was split in 1920 to form Northern Ireland, an action that has led to over 80 years of Catholics and Protestants killing each other over political and religious differences. As MME was written in 1925, Cather was undoubtedly aware of the then-recent action, being a former journalist and a seasoned traveler, and used it effectively as subtext.)

So far, we have an intriguing setup: a woman descended from working-class Irish stock as illustrated by John Driscoll himself, who leaves the Church and her family's wealth behind to marry a man of the Protestant faith. The stage is set...and then the props disappear. For the majority of the novella, there is no overt mention of Catholic symbols or practice at all, until this passage on page 61:

"I'd love to see this place at dawn," Myra said suddenly. "When that first cold, bright streak comes over the water, it's as if all our sins were pardoned [italics mine]; as if the sky leaned over the earth and kissed it and gave it absolution [italics mine]. You know how the great sinners always came home to die in some religious house, and the abbot or the abbess went out and received them with a kiss?"

We see now that Myra, while perhaps abandoning her youthful faith for love, is returning to it in the twilight of her life. Her reliance on faith grows stronger as the last shreds of her hope and love fade; Nellie Birdseye, the narrator, notes the presence of a large crucifix by Myra's side when she visits, Myra gives Nellie money for the local priest to celebrate a mass for a dead friend, and receives the local priest for visits. In the end, for Myra at least, a symbol of her returned faith is all that accompanies her: "We found her wrapped in her blankets, leaning against the cedar trunk, facing the sea. Her head had fallen forward; the ebony crucifix was in her hands." (Cather, 82)

The fact that no mention of religion has been made for roughly half the book does not contradict Cather's use of subtext early on; rather, because of Myra's choices and later regret of those choices, it strengthens the power of the thematic thread, giving a larger dimension to the near-tragic fates of Myra and Oswald Henshawe. Overtly, the bracketing of the story with Catholic references helps to delineate the character of Myra Henshawe, and provides a framework with which to understand her.

However, there may yet be a deeper level to Cather's examination of the aesthetic, one even more indirect and interwoven than the aforementioned explicit statements. In the 1994 critical essay collection Sacred Fire: Willa Cather's Novel Cycle by Evelyn Helmick Hively, Ms. Hively puts forth a cogent argument for a novel thesis: that MME is a prime example of Gnostic fiction, and that many questions and uncertainties are addressed if looked at in that fashion. Specifically, Ms. Hively argues that MME follows a fairly strict Manichean philosophy, and presents many arguments in that vein. While a full recounting of Ms. Hively's arguments are outside the intended scope of this paper, some of the arguments include:

· frequent references, some specific, to areas of Asia Minor, where Manicheanism was born. Specifically, "...Cather helps by very pointed clues...the mention of Parthia [now Iran] eight times in the first twelve pages...Oswald's 'oriental half-moon eyes'...the comparison of Myra's hair to that of a Persian goat" (Hively, 137)

· symbolism of the moon, which was a symbol of salvation in Manichean thought. The moon is referenced frequently in MME, from an indirect reference to a statue of Diana, the Greek moon goddess to the balcony scene with Modjeska covered in "moonbeams" (Cather, 39)

· dualistic natures of people and things in MME. This is one of the major points of Hively's argument, as Manicheanism was a very dualistic philosophy. Cather uses szgyzy heavily in describing people and things; some examples include:

o "People can be lovers and enemies at the same time, you know." (Cather, 72)

o "Madison Square...had a double personality, half commercial, half social..." (Cather, 21)

o "...it was like being touched by a metal so cold that one doesn't know whether one is burned or chilled." (Cather, 6)

· distrust of relationships. Manicheanism held that solitude was necessary to reach a state of spiritual readiness, and that marriage and friendships were not acceptable. Myra's behavior toward the end seems to mirror this belief.

Ms. Hively's conclusions, while superficially unusual, are well supported by

textual citings and historical evidence, and seem to be sound. What makes Ms. Hively's assertions interesting is the fact that Manicheanism, under that name and others, has long had an adversarial relationship with Catholicism, and if accepted, casts another level of complexity upon the novel's thematic subtexts.

Due to the dualistic nature of Manichean belief and their lack of reliance on a traditional clergy structure (essentially, anyone could be clergy in Manichean sects), the Catholic Church considered any form of Manicheanism heretical, which lead to the publication of several edicts by various Christian emperors and the declaration of several heresies against various sects, including the Albigensians and the Cathari. Cather, who was familiar with classic literature and history, would most likely have been familiar with at least some aspects of this struggle (St. Augustine, a noted theologian and philosopher, was Manichean for several years before his conversion to Christianity). If Hively's assertions are accepted, the question then becomes: why would Cather choose to write a book where Catholicism is so prevalent from a heretical viewpoint?

One response would be to say that Cather was simply unaware of the contradiction, that her Gnostic viewpoint (which some could argue, in the schism between the world of her heart and the post-1922 world in which she felt increasingly uncomfortable, is a thoroughly modern one) was an unconscious one. However, this is too simplistic, and in any case, there exists evidence otherwise.

Hively suggests an answer: "In these seemingly contradictory beliefs Myra is following the same path taken by St. Augustine as he studied and accepted the creeds of Manichaeism, Neoplatonism, and finally Christianity." (Hively, 146). In other words, by looking at the issue of Catholicism through an alternative point of view, a better appreciation of the issue is achieved. This suggestion is bolstered by Father Fay's statement on page 76, where he says to Nellie, " I wonder whether some of the saints of the early Church weren't a good deal like her. She's not at all modern in her make-up, is she?"

Myra Henshawe herself provides the best substantiation for this argument: "Ah, Father Fay, that isn't the reason! Religion is different from everything else; because in religion seeking is finding." (Cather, 77). As noted by Marcus Klein in the introduction to MME, Cather herself was not a dogmatic; her interest in religion, and Catholicism specifically, was in the aesthetic it espoused, in the worldview inherent in its tradition and magnificence. Myra's words reinforce this idea, and excuse the seeming impropriety of using a heresy to examine a faith. After all, seeking, no matter the initial step, is finding.

Works Consulted

Cather, Willa. My Mortal Enemy. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.

Hively, Evelyn Helmick. Sacred Fire: Willa Cather's Novel Cycle. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1994.

"Manichaeism". Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2001. © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. http://encarta.msn.com