TWO AGING CLERGYMEN FACE CRISES WITH DIFFERENT OUTCOMES IN LATER LIFE

摘要

We learn from three novels by Marilynne Robinson, Gilead, Lila, and Home, that depict crises in the lives of two aging clergyman, how different their results can be. Reverend John Ames was 67 when he first laid eyes on Lila, a much younger woman from a very deprived background. He showed so much kindness and understanding of her past that after many years she was finally able to trust him. They have a young son, Robby. Ames’s old age, therefore, is relatively peaceful despite his failing heart. In contrast, his best friend, Reverend Robert Boughton, who is declining fast in his early seventies, cared for by eight children, is unable to come to terms with his erratic middle-aged son, Jack. As a result Jack finds him impossible to talk to and instead pursues his unhealthy way of life. At the end, Boughton lapses into early dementia.