Saturday, October 8, 2011

Is Rev. Philip Bentley really guilty of having an affair with Judith in As For Me and My House?

Based upon the structure of the novel, this question is almost impossible to answer with any degree of accuracy. The fact that Mrs. Bentley writes using a first-person narrative makes it impossible to verify the accuracy of her claims. Although she heard Judith laughing in the woodshed and witnessed her pregnancy afterwards, there is no actual proof that Phillip was involved. Instead, his changing attitude could have been a result of Mrs. Bentley's intensifying relationship with Paul.


The fact that Mrs. Bentley suspects an affair generally causes the reader to have the same impression. The guilt she sees in Judith and Phillip, however, could be what she wants to see rather than what actually occurred.


Hope this helps =)

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