'The Minister's Wife': an exploration of literature as theology with a focus on the theology in Marilynne Robinson's Gilead trilogy

This creative writing thesis investigates the suitability of fiction as a literary form, for the contemplation of reformation theology. A practice-led research project, this thesis comprises two components of equal value: a creative writing artefact and an exegesis. The creative artefact, ‘The Minister’s Wife’, is in dialogue with the theology apparent throughout Robinson’s Gilead trilogy, (Gilead (2004), Home (2008), and Lila (2014)), and is a palimpsest of Gilead, implementing the literary devices Robinson employs to write a contemporary Australian novel, with a focus on theology.

This exegesis interacts with the growing body of scholarship on Robinson’s work. To date, Robinson has published six books of essays and four novels. Both her fiction and non-fiction are known for their strong Calvinist influence. Much of the existing scholarly debate surrounds Robinson’s fidelity to Calvinism as represented in her fiction, particularly through the character of the Reverend John Ames, the protagonist-narrator of Gilead. Many of the views Robinson expresses in her essays are shared by Ames. This exegesis seeks to fill the gap in the scholarship, identified by Andrew Ploeg (2016), who argues that many scholars talk about Robinson’s theology in broad terms, but not enough attention has been given to her theology per se. This exegesis therefore interrogates Robinson’s theology as presented in her non-fiction, and represented in her fiction, in order to understand how the bent of her theology shapes the narrative arc of her fiction, which will inform my creative writing practice as I seek to write a novel with theological concerns. This investigation concludes that on the issue of perception, Robinson moves in the same direction, but beyond Calvin. On the issue of personal holiness, Robinson diverges from Calvin, and that Robinson rejuvenates Calvin’s theology of aesthetics by writing her fiction from an apologetic of beauty.

Throughout this exegesis, I argue that the interdisciplinary space of literature as theology has proven the more effective mode for theological discourse for Robinson, and I provide examples of how my creative artefact is in dialogue with Robinson’s theology. I also demonstrate that the literary devices Robinson employs in Gilead to discuss theology, are creative writing practices transferrable to the contemporary Australian literary context.