The Minister's Wooing - Genesis of The Novel

Genesis of The Novel

In 1857, Harriet Stowe's son Henry drowned in the Connecticut River. Like the sailor James in the novel, he was unregenerate at the time of his death. Stowe had first begun to reassess the Calvinist view of salvation after watching her sister Catherine wrestle with the similar loss of an unregenerate fiancé in 1822, and her own son's death spurred further reflection. The grief and doubt experienced by both Harriet and her sister served as the genesis of the novel, and their experience finds its fullest expression in the character of Mrs. Marvyn.

Some readers, including Stowe's own grandson Lyman Beecher Stowe, proclaimed the book to be an assault on Calvinism. Stowe did indeed question the establishment in which she had been raised, but it is evident from her journals that she was not seeking to launch a full attack. Indeed, she expressed a profound respect and admiration for both Calvinist theology and the individuals who grappled with its doctrines. Her stated intent was instead to point out certain flaws and to spread tolerance.