Should The Private Memoirs And Confessions Of A Justified Sinner?

The Romantic period has been described as the “greatest single shift in the consciousness of the West” (Berlin, 2000) and it is widely accepted among scholars as being a period during which many previously held ideas, values and attitudes were challenged. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, published anonymously in 1824, is a text through which James Hogg highlights and critiques many of the major shifts in consciousness that occurred during the Romantic period- specifically regarding issues of religious extremism and an understanding of the human mind. Due to this, it is not a difficult task to view Hogg’s novel as a commentary about the nature of evil. Utilising satire, ambiguity and double narrative structures, Hogg
Through the incorporation of juxtaposing doubles, Hogg is able to contrast two sides of an issue. This is exemplified upon being introduced to the temperamentally opposite brothers George and Robert- two characters so at odds with one another that the reader is essentially handed the hero and the villain of the story on a silver platter. Not only are the brothers’ temperaments in opposition but their religious views differ greatly, too. Consequently, Robert- being the antagonist of the novel and a religious fanatic- is immediately linked with Hogg’s portrayal of what is ‘evil’ in the story. It is through this connection, and through Hogg’s highly critical depiction of Scottish Calvinism- specifically, of the Calvinist doctrine of predestination- that the novel explores the idea that ‘evil’ could be define as being synonymous with religious extremism. Throughout the text, religious fanaticism is portrayed as being corrupt, twisted and is used as an instrument of the utmost evil. Robert’s belief that “no bypast transgression, nor any future act” (Hogg, 48) can alter his preordained destiny as one of the Saved allows him to justify his sins with the excuse that he is doing God’s work- his ‘divine’ motives cause him to stalk, murder and ultimately succumb to
In stark contrast to the extreme views of characters such as Lady Dalcastle, Reverend Wringhim and Robert, Minister Blanchard instead defines religion as the “bond of society on earth and the connector of humanity with the Divine nature” (Hogg, 55). Blanchard acknowledges that while religion is a “sublime and glorious thing” (Hogg, 55), there is “nothing so dangerous to man as the wrestling of any of its principles, or forcing them beyond their due bounds” (Hogg, 55). It is through Minister Blanchard that Hogg warns his audience of the inevitable “destruction” (Hogg, 55) and “chaos” (Hogg, 55) that comes as a result of having absolute faith in one’s beliefs, to the “extent that [it] overthrows all religion and revelation together” (Hogg, 55). It is through his comparison of the naturally ‘evil’ Robert Wringhim and the naturally ‘pure’ Minister Blanchard that Hogg questions to what extent we are responsible for our own