1st Edition

Nineteenth-Century American Literature, Religion, and the Search for Grace

By Heather Ostman Copyright 2026
196 Pages
by Routledge

196 Pages
by Routledge

Nineteenth-Century American Literature, Religion, and the Search for Grace explores selected texts by four major American authors: Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sojourner Truth, and Kate Chopin. This monograph presents a nuanced analysis of the relationship between these authors and religion. While they critique organized religion and challenge the premise of doctrine and the... Read more

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

1 Nineteenth-Century America, Literature, Religion, and the Search for Grace

2 Whitman and the Politics of Mysticism

3 Hester as a New Religion in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter

4 Narrative of Sojourner Truth and the Personal Relationship With Divinity

5 Kate Chopin’s Religious Vision in At Fault

6 Conclusion

Index

Biography

Heather Ostman is Professor of English, Humanities Curriculum Chair, and Humanities Institute Director at SUNY Westchester Community College in Valhalla, NY. She has previously taught at Vassar College and Fordham University. Dr. Ostman is the author of six books, and she is the editor of five essay collections. In 2024–2025, she served as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute. Her work has been supported by two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as funding from the American Council of Learned Societies and the New York Council for the Humanities. She serves as president of the Kate Chopin International Society.