Sister The Play Doubt

Doubt Paper One of the strongest feelings many face is doubt, uncertainty. There is vulnerability people associate with having doubts. Doubt: a parable is a play that shows the effects of this feeling on a range of people at different places in their lives. When uncertain about the truth, they become vulnerable, leaving their faith shaken. Doubt: a parable illustrates how doubt can completely corrupt all persons causing them to overcompensate for that vulnerability. Despite the background of doubt in each character’s life, whether they are innocent or fully exposed, it causes everyone to become more vulnerable in their faith.
Sister James begins the play as an innocent nun who avoids thinking the worst of people. At the end of the play, Sister
Aloysius and Sister James were sitting together reflecting over Father Flynn’s move to a new church. During the conversation, Sister James revealed the internal effects of the doubt when she states “Because I can’t sleep at night anymore. Everything seems uncertain to me” (58). It becomes evident that Sister James had been deeply affected by the doubt Sister Aloysius had placed in her mind. That doubt has caused her to question everything from her passion to teaching history to her faith in Father Flynn. She has lingered in her uncertainty allowing it. When she faced this test, she found the faith she had before wavering. Not only did she become vulnerable to questioning her perceptions about others, but she became vulnerable to doubting her abilities and the person she needed to be religiously. Although the innocent are susceptible to developing uncertainty, it does not mean that even those that appear certain do not have their doubts.
Throughout the story, Sister Aloysius is portrayed as guarded and harsh. She appears certain that Father Flynn has been taking advantage of this boy since the beginning of the story. Despite this façade that Sister Aloysius puts up, in the last line of the play she admits “I have doubts! I have such doubts!” (58). In this moment, she shows just how vulnerable she really is because of doubt she has deeply hidden away. Sister Aloysius gave power to her certainty to try to overpower her doubts. The sister had experience with doubt in her past, leading her to trust her gut feeling and pursue what she saw right. There was a great vulnerability in following this feeling without solid assurance, but she persisted to the final moment. She shows that even those who have been hardened by years of exposure to doubt, they are still just as vulnerable because of it. Doubt is shown as a powerful bond that it has universal effects for all who experience it.
The play starts out with Father Flynn preaching to the congregation about the key issue: doubt.
Near the end of his message Father Flynn says a profound statement that could sum up the theme: “Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty” (6). Every character displays some of the effects of doubt. Sister James becomes vulnerable after she first allows doubt to enter her mind regarding the words of Sister Aloysius. She becomes vulnerable in her faith in not just others, but herself. The young woman allows the doubt to corrupt her previously established opinions and ideas on her life. Sister Aloysius had become reserved because of her prior experiences with doubt. Although she tried her best to appear confident, she left the play admitting to the vulnerability doubt gave her. It forced her to accept the unknown and work with what felt like the best possible decision. Both women show that at any stage, vulnerability of faith comes with doubt.
All of the characters in the play are forced to deal with doubt in their life. They may be just encountering it, or have grappled to live with it for years. Those doubting are left with their faith in a vulnerable state. Faith is something that has developed over time, but can easily become broken and completely corrupted in an instant. Doubt: a parable leaves the reader with a sense of how strong a feeling doubt truly is and the impacts it can have on any
life.