The Last Puritan - A Memoir in The Form of A Novel

A Memoir in The Form of A Novel

The book is titled as a memoir because, as Philosopher Horace M. Kallen wrote, Santayana’s “true image” is better seen in ‘’The Last Puritan’’ than in his autobiography, ‘’Persons and Places’’. And the novel is “far more authentic than the autobiographical books. Partly because he assumes that it’s disguised.

The Last Puritan embodies all the elements of literary psychology. Santayana was able to intertwine his philosophy with a narrative in a seamless and natural composition. In 1921, Santayana said his book would, “contain all I know about America, about women, and young men. As this last is rather my strong point, I have two heroes, the Puritan and another not too much the other way. To make up, I have no heroine, but a worldly grandmother, a mother- the quintessence of all New England virtues- and various fashionable, High Church, emancipated, European, and sentimental young ladies. I have also a German governess- in love with the hero- of whom I am very proud.”

Both of these quotes tell us a great deal about the philosophical nature of this novel. Yes, it tells a beautiful story about youth and loss, but it also projects Santayana’s deeper philosophies about himself, America, the genteel tradition, and the importance of a personal philosophy. In each of the characters the reader can find elements of the author and elements of his philosophy, primarily as it relates to his critique of America.

The story takes place in Boston where Santayana was raised. Oliver and Peter attend “public” schools, now referred to as private schools, just as Santayana did. Peter’s attempt to find meaning outside of his native country mirrors Santayana’s decision to become an expatriate. Mario’s Italian heritage can be linked to Santayana’s Italian residence, along with their shared southern European heritage. Nathaniel Alden exemplifies the mentality and traditions of Old Europe, the place of Santayana’s ancestry. A son of Spanish Catholics growing up in Protestant Boston, Santayana thought of himself as a “stranger” The chief dilemma of Oliver Alden is that he is a stranger to himself, unable to be honest with himself about what he wants and why he believes what he does.

The story is a tragedy. The subtitle for the German edition is Die Geschichte eines tragischen Lebens (the story of a tragic life) . The tragedy depicted in the novel is what Santayana saw as the tragedy of American culture—Puritanism and the genteel tradition. Santayana said this book contained all he knew about America: New England virtues, the High Church, Puritanism, and German influences.

All these things are essential for understanding what the genteel tradition is and why it is a tragedy. According to Santayana, the genteel tradition is a disconnect between tradition and practice, what Americans profess and how they act. Identifiable elements include: moral absolutism, an ego-driven perception of the universe, Calvinism (in the broadest sense of the word), transcendentalism, and “thinking disassociated from experience.” The elements of this tradition do not support the business-minded, scientific, materialistic, will-driven way in which Americans act. The result is internal conflict that causes many Americans to fail to live up to their potential and to question their happiness, worth, and life’s meaning.

The characters in ‘’The Last Puritan’’ embody elements of the genteel tradition. Nathaniel is business-minded and is committed to societal order without questioning its validity. Peter can’t find peace because his experiences around the world are in conflict with what he feels, as an American and an Alden, he ought to do. Oliver’s mother makes up rules without reason, or acts without a tradition or experience to warrant the action. Mario is an example of what life without the genteel tradition is like. He knows himself, makes decisions based on experience, and is interested in the experiences of others, avoiding the trap of egotism. Oliver, on the other hand, most exemplifies the tragedy of the genteel tradition through his Puritanism developed fully to its tragic, self-destructive end.

"Here says Santayana, is the tragedy of the Puritan: the spirit that seeks to govern and is not content to understand, that rebels against nature and animal faith and demands some absolute sanction for love. But the tragedy of Oliver was deeper than this. Your true puritans, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions, were men and women of ardors, even gaiety. Oliver was the child of a dead faith, of a marriage without love and a home without laughter. And so he could neither believe in any cause nor laugh at himself nor forget himself in love. Santayana has portrayed not the tragedy but the DEATH of puritanism."

Perhaps Santayana was too occupied with describing the genteel tradition to make clear that both it and practical America are at fault in denying to the individual the freedom of spirit and thought…although Oliver should have been a saint, but he lived in a spiritual vacuum, which was not conductive to spiritual growth.