Such Is My Beloved

Such Is My Beloved

  • Submitted By: mattack
  • Date Submitted: 12/11/2013 12:47 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 2409
  • Page: 10
  • Views: 45

Such is My Beloved by Morley Callaghan deals with Father Dowling’s mission to save the souls of two prostitutes during the Great Depression. Scholars have examined the ways in which Callaghan approaches his novel to create compassionate characters who have genuine experiences. Daniel Aaron in his article, “Morley Callaghan and the Great Depression,””, argues Callaghan’s treatment of social issues in this period is exceptional because his character’s anxieties are felt rather than presented. He recognizes the possibility of lurking joys and enters calmly and smoothly into social issues, something an undertaking contemporary authorsundertaking contemporary authors have struggled to achieve. Aaron attributes Callaghan’s style as the reason the novel has “dateless relevance of serious art”. (Aaron 35) . Through Aaron’s work, readers gain a sense of appreciation for Callaghan’s style. Malcolm Ross’ essay, “Introduction,””, argues Callaghan’s style grants him the ability to create a character that can stand in ironic tension with the traditional Catholic symbols in the novel. Through this ironic tension, we Ross sees the differences between the Church in this world and of this world. Both scholars discuss similar aspects of the novel and Callaghan’s effective eloquent style but, only Ross’ argument is effective and provides a comprehensive examination of the noveltext.
Aaron argues that because the style of Callaghan’s writing, he creates a novel that “has the dateless relevance of serious art” (35). To explain this, he places Callaghan’s style into context through by analyzing a collection of Canadian short stories published in Voices of Discord to illustrate the literary trends of the 1930’s. He specifies the authors of this time possessed a preoccupation presenting stories of the abused and humiliated classes falling into inescapable patterns. He notes noted these stories are “usually related in a sardonic or hardboiled style often affected by left-wing...

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