The Damnation of Theron Ware

American author Harold Frederic’s novel The Damnation of Theron Ware (1896), also referred to as The Illumination in Britain, tells the story of a young Methodist pastor in nineteenth-century upstate New York who questions his assumptions and vocation. Using literary realism, the book explores an array of contemporary political, philosophical, and theological issues facing provincial America at this time in history, including ascendant debates over women's rights, religion versus science, and tradition versus reform. As determined by Publishers Weekly, Frederic's novel was the fifth best-selling book in the United States in 1896.

Theron Ware is a young Methodist minister in the fictional upstate New York town of Octavius, which the author reportedly modeled after Utica, New York in the Adirondacks. Frederic describes Theron as "ambitious beyond his limited abilities, foolish, spineless, and self-deluding." Theron and his wife, Alice, struggle to maintain financial solvency while balancing the considerable duties of maintaining the congregation, duties that are both time-consuming and expensive. Theron is a likable pastor, though the trustees of the church chastise him for using too many big words, potentially driving members of the congregation to the Catholic Churches across town.

At one of these Catholic Churches, is a priest named Father Forbes. After witnessing Forbes giving a man his last rites, Theron, intrigued, wonders why there is so much animosity between Catholics and Protestants, including Methodists. Despite Alice's inherent dislike of Catholics, he spends increasingly more time with Forbes. One day, Theron visits Forbes's house to borrow some books. There, he meets Dr. Ledsmar, an elderly nonreligious man who also lends some books to Theron. Ledsmar, who dismisses the organ music played in church and calls all art "decay," possess ideas that both repel and fascinate Theron.



On the way home, Theron hears Celia Madden, the organist at Forbes's church, playing beautiful music on the organ. Attracted to the music, he finds himself entering a Catholic Church for the first time in his life. He and Celia talk a bit about music, and Celia tells Theron that she could never be friends with Dr. Ledsmar because he hates art and music so much. Back at home that night, Alice complains that the next door neighbors are practicing the piano too loudly. Though Theron doesn't say it out loud, he enjoys the sound of the piano next door.

Over the next few weeks, Theron is too busy with his own church to see Forbes, Celia, or Dr. Ledsmar. In a rare moment of respite, he does get a chance to read some of the books he borrowed from Dr. Ledsmar. He enjoys them so much, he lies to Alice when she asks him to come to bed, telling her he has a headache. Longing for a life that allows him more independent thought than the strict church trustees allow, Theron considers abandoning the ministerial field. The only one of the three trustees Theron seems to admire is Levi Gorringe, who is not a professed Methodist.

Meanwhile, the Wares enlist Sister Soulsby, a professional church fundraiser to help raise money for the congregation and to alleviate the family's financial burdens. Though he is a little put off by Sister Soulsby and her husband, Brother Soulsby's aggressive tactics and formidable ability to separate people from their money, Theron is grateful that they are able to raise enough money to secure an extra $100 a year for his salary.



As Theron begins to feel alienated from Alice, who is growing closer to Gorringe, he finds himself wandering near Father Forbes's church, hoping to encounter Celia. They meet up, and she plays the organ for him before inviting him to a private room she has at a church. Inside the room are candles, sculptures, and a piano. Theron accepts a cigarette from Celia, even though he doesn't smoke. He subtly hints that he would like to join her in her bedroom sometime; Celia appears receptive to this idea, though they two before engaging in any sort of bedroom-related activities.

Following this encounter, Theron feels reborn. One day, he wanders into a picnic run by Father Forbes's church where he drinks beer for the first time. Theron and Celia retreat to the woods but are caught by Theron's gardener. Fearing what people will say about them, Celia merely kisses Theron goodbye and leaves it at that.

Theron can't stop thinking about the kiss. Perhaps as a misplaced way of projecting his own guilt, Theron becomes convinced that Gorringe and Alice are having an affair. He is also paranoid about the gardener, who recently sold Gorringe $30 of flowers, a transaction into which Theron reads all sorts of unspoken suspicions. After a rather disastrous dinner with Father Forbes, during which Theron betrays his both growing obsession with Celia and his desire to leave the church, Forbes asks his housekeeper to ban Theron from the premises.



This leads Theron to believe that Forbes and Celia are engaged in a sexual relationship. After learning that both parties may be in Albany, Theron heads there on a train. After watching Forbes leaver her hotel room, Theron confronts Celia. Celia tells him that their kiss was a goodbye kiss and that he is reading too much into it. Then Forbes returns and says that he is not engaged in a relationship with Celia, but rather, they have come to Albany so Celia can meet a friend to get her mind off of how much Theron's stalking has upset her.

Defeated, Theron makes his way to the residence of the Soulsbys. There, he confesses to having taken money from the church to pay for his trip to Albany. The Soulsbys are surprisingly understanding, and while they no longer wish him to be employed with the church, they arrange for him to get a job in real estate in Seattle. When Theron tells Alice about the job and his intention of going into politics, Alice makes it clear that their marriage is over.

In the end, the novel is a heartbreaking look at how obsession and delusion ruin one man's livelihood, friendships, and marriage.