The Last Puritan by George Santayana

First published: 1935

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Social realism

Time of plot: Early twentieth century

Locale: Connecticut, Massachusetts, and England

Principal characters

• Oliver Alden, the last Puritan
• Peter Alden, his father
• Harriet Alden, his mother
• Fraulein Irma Schlote, Oliver’s governess
• Jim Darnley, Oliver’s friend
• Rose Darnley, Jim’s sister
• Mario Van de Weyer, Oliver’s cousin
• Edith Van de Weyer, another cousin
• Bobby, Jim’s illegitimate son

The Story:

Young Peter Alden has been educated in the United States, but he leaves Harvard before completing his studies and goes abroad with a tutor. After he comes of age and receives his inheritance, he wanders aimlessly about the world, studying occasionally. He is in his early middle years before he completes any one course. Licensed to practice medicine, his practice is limited to himself, for he has burdened himself with many ills, some real but most imaginary. At one point he consults Dr. Bumstead, a psychiatrist whose main concern is Peter’s money. Dr. Bumstead convinces Peter that a home and a wife would be the best treatment possible, and, as a consequence, Peter marries the doctor’s daughter, Harriet. They have one child, Oliver.

Little Oliver is a Puritan from the beginning. He accepts things as they are, never complaining, never wondering why. He has no child playmates because his mother fears that other children might be dirty or vulgar. Furthermore, Oliver hears no stories, songs, or prayers, as Mrs. Alden is determined that he not be filled with nonsensical ideas. Oliver’s father, who spends most of his time traveling, is no more than a polite stranger to his son.

Fraulein Irma Schlote, a German, becomes Oliver’s governess, and from her he has what little brightness there is in his childhood. On their long walks together, Irma instills in Oliver his first feelings of a love of nature and a love for the German language. Even with Irma, however, Oliver remains a stoic little Puritan. If he is tired or his foot hurts as they walk, he feels there is no use to complain—they have come for a walk, and they must finish that walk. One must do one’s duty, even if it is unpleasant. As he grows older, Oliver comes to hate human weakness with the hatred of a true Puritan.

When Oliver is fifteen, he goes to high school, where he excels in scholarship and in athletics because it is his duty to do everything that the school demands. During one holiday season, Oliver joins his father on his yacht. There he meets Jim Darnley, the yacht’s captain, who had been a British sailor before he became involved in a scandal. Jim is an entirely new type of person in Oliver’s world. Oliver knows that the sailor is worldly and has no sense of duty, but strangely enough, Oliver comes to consider Jim his dearest friend.

After his graduation from high school, Oliver joins his father and Jim in England. There, while visiting Jim’s family, he learns to respect Jim’s minister father and to enjoy the company of Rose, Jim’s young sister. He learns also that Jim has an illegitimate child, Bobby, who lives with Mrs. Bowler, his tavern-keeping mother.

While in England, Oliver also meets his distant cousin Mario Van de Weyer, a worldly young man who is dependent on his rich relatives for his education and livelihood. Oliver is puzzled by Mario, who has nothing, not even much real intelligence, yet is happy. Oliver, who has everything, is not consciously happy; he merely lives as he feels it is his duty to live.

Before they leave England, Oliver’s father commits suicide because he has come to believe that Oliver needs to be free of him and—as much as possible—of his mother as well. Rather than see the boy torn between his conflicting duties to both parents, Peter takes his own life.

Back in the United States, Oliver enters Williams College. While playing football, he breaks his leg, and in the infirmary he is visited by his cousin Mario and another cousin, Edith Van de Weyer. Mario is attending Harvard on Oliver’s money, and he seems to feel no reluctance about living extravagantly on his cousin’s bounty. Oliver begins to think of Edith as a possible wife. Like his father, he does not consider love an important element in marriage, but he feels it is his duty to marry and have children.

In his last year of college, Oliver transfers to Harvard University. There he spends a great deal of time with Mario until his cousin is forced to leave college because he has been caught with a young woman in his room. When Oliver goes to Edith’s home to tell her what has happened to Mario, he finds that Edith’s family members have already heard the story from Mario and have forgiven him. Oliver also learns that Edith has great affection for Mario, but because Oliver thinks a match between himself and Edith a sensible one, he proposes to her anyway, forgetting to mention love. Edith refuses him; she knows that marriage with Oliver would be a dutiful experience only, and she wants more than duty.

When he has finished college, Oliver takes a cruise around the world. He then settles in England and lives for a time near Jim Darnley’s family. War is coming closer, but Oliver feels no duty toward either side. Mario the romantic, in contrast, enlists at once. The war becomes more personal for Oliver when he learns that Jim has been killed. Jim’s death seems to him proof of war’s useless waste. More practically, Jim’s death means that Bobby and Rose are now Oliver’s responsibility.

When the United States enters the Great War, Oliver feels that it is his duty to go home and join the armed services. He enlists in the U.S. Army, and after his training, he is sent to fight in France. Before he goes to the front, he writes to Rose Darnley and asks her to marry him at once, so that she will receive benefits as his widow if he is killed. Rose, like Edith, wants love, and she refuses to marry him. She knows, too, that Oliver should never marry, because love should be unreasoning and illogical at times, conditions that Oliver can never accept.

After Rose’s refusal, Oliver seems free for the first time. No one needs him any longer. Jim is dead, and Mario is in the army and provided for in case of Oliver’s death. Oliver has also made sure that Bobby is secure financially. Edith is engaged to be married, and Rose is provided for in Oliver’s will. All of his life he has acted in accordance with duty—in his parental relations, in school, and in the army. At least he will not be a dutiful husband. Now he need be true only to himself. That night he sleeps peacefully.

Oliver is killed while in the service, but not in battle. He is a post-Armistice casualty, the victim of a motorcycle accident. His will tells the story of his life. He has left ample, but not extravagant, provisions for Mario, Rose, Mrs. Darnley, Fraulein Irma, and Bobby. He has left the bulk of his fortune to his mother because he believed it his duty to provide for her.

Oliver Alden lived his life as a true Puritan, doing what must be done without flinching, taking little pleasure in worldly things, yet not withdrawing from the world. He did not believe in Puritanism, for he knew that those who live selfishly are often happier than he had been. He was not a prig. He had been a Puritan in spite of himself, and for that reason, perhaps, the last true Puritan.

Bibliography

Kirby-Smith, H. T. A Philosophical Novelist: George Santayana and “The Last Puritan.” Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1997. Describe Santayana’s various literary styles, argues for the significance of his philosophical writings as a form of literature, provides a psychological portrait of the author, and defends him against the often harsh attacks of literary critics. Chapters 8 and 9 provide an analysis of the novel.

Lachs, John. George Santayana. Boston: Twayne, 1988. Provides a useful framework for the interpretation of Santayana’s life and philosophical works. Includes an informative chronology and bibliography.

Levinson, Henry Samuel. Santayana, Pragmatism, and the Spiritual Life. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992. Discusses the philosophical issues at the core of The Last Puritan. Describes the novel as an exploration of the failure of Romantic, Emersonian philosophy to teach action as the basis for enlightenment.

McCormick, John. George Santayana: A Biography. 1987. Reprint. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 2003. Detailed, readable biography surveys Santayana’s life and writings. Includes discussion of The Last Puritan.

Price, Kenneth M., and Robert C. Leitz III, eds. Critical Essays on George Santayana. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1991. Collection of scholarly essays includes nine contributions that discuss The Last Puritan. Useful for serious students of Santayana’s works.

Singer, Irving. George Santayana, Literary Philosopher. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000. Examines Santayana’s writings, demonstrating his ability to turn personal alienation into the creative elements that recur in his work. Chapter 3 provides an analysis of The Last Puritan.