Vol. 58 No. 3 (2010)
Research Article

Names in Marilynne Robinson's Gilead and Home

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  • Susan Petit
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/002777310X12759861710466

Published 2010-09-01

Keywords

  • LITERARY ONOMASTICS,
  • LINGUISTIC INVENTION,
  • HP LOVECRAFT,
  • TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERATURE,
  • AMERICAN LITERATURE,
  • WEIRD FICTION,
  • HORROR FICTION,
  • TERATOLOGY
    • ...More
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Copyright (c) 2010 Maney Publishing

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Abstract

Abstract

The titles of Marilynne Robinson's complementary novels Gilead (2004) and Home (2008) and the names of their characters are rich in allusions, many of them to the Bible and American history, making this tale of two Iowa families in 1956 into an exploration of American religion with particular reference to Christianity and civil rights. The books' titles suggest healing and comfort but also loss and defeat. Who does the naming, what the name is, and how the person who is named accepts or rejects the name reveal the sometimes difficult relationships among these characters. The names also reinforce the books' endorsement of a humanistic Christianity and a recommitment to racial equality.

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References

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