Mrs. Darwin’s Dilemma

A well-heeled woman lives happily with her beloved husband and their children in a Christian fundamentalist community. Her husband writes a widely hailed book that undermines her fundamentalism. What if the faithful become so angry they drive her and her young children from their home? What if she is forced to live with her husband’s ‘weird’ friends in a tolerant community that welcomes her? What if they make her feel secure and right at home? What if they politely question their own wisdom and invite her to question hers? In no mood to defend dogmas, she does just that. What if they strengthen the pride she feels in being Mrs. Darwin? What if she actually had many doubts? What if her well-hidden truth-seeking impulses were as strong as her need to believe? What if she becomes ashamed of her weakness when she meets an American slave, who has suffered terribly but who is strong enough not to embrace unbelievable dogmas just for comfort? What if her own reasoning process convinces her that her husband is right? Does she have the strength to conquer her strong pride and admit she was wrong to her perpetually right husband? If so, what replaces her faith?

Everyone who has had a religious experience confidently believes that atheists would be converted, had they shared it. If all of the faithful experienced what Mrs. Darwin does and still have their faith, could their truth-seeking impulses need a friendly boost?