A Month of Sundays: Analysis of Major Characters
"A Month of Sundays" delves into the complexities of the Reverend Thomas Marshfield, a 41-year-old minister grappling with personal and professional turmoil. As the narrator, Tom reflects on his life, including his troubled marriage to Jane, affairs with parishioners Alicia Crick and Frankie Harlow, and his challenges with faith and identity. Sent to a recovery center for clergy, he spends his time writing entries that resemble sermons, while suspecting that his writings are being secretly monitored by the center's matron, Ms. Prynne, with whom he ultimately has a brief affair.
Major characters include Jane Marshfield, Tom's middle-aged wife who struggles with her husband's infidelity; Alicia Crick, the church organist whose affair with Tom leads to significant repercussions; and Frankie Harlow, another parishioner who becomes involved with Tom but also embodies a strong religious faith that complicates their relationship. Meanwhile, Gerald Harlow, Frankie's husband and the deacon board chairman, remains oblivious to the truth of his wife's affair, while Ned Bork, the assistant minister, serves as Tom's rival within the church. Through these characters and their interwoven stories, the narrative explores themes of morality, redemption, and the burdens of leadership within a faith community.
A Month of Sundays: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: John Updike
First published: 1975
Genre: Novel
Locale: Primarily the American Midwest
Plot: Religious
Time: The 1970's
The Reverend Thomas (Tom) Marshfield, a forty-one-year-old minister and the narrator. Tormented by questions about his religious belief, his marriage, and his place in life, Tom has been discovered in affairs with parishioners and has been sent for a month to a recovery center for troubled clergy, where he is required to spend each morning writing. Tom, in thirty-one chapters, examines the thoughts and actions that led to his disgrace and recounts his youth as the son of a clergyman; his years at seminary, where he met his wife, Jane; and his affairs with Alicia Crick and Frankie Harlow. True to his profession, he composes each Sunday's entry as a sermon. Throughout, he is convinced that his writings are being read surreptitiously by the center's matron, Ms. Prynne, with whom, by the novel's end, he has a brief affair.
Jane Marshfield, Tom's wife and the daughter of one of his divinity school professors. Middle-aged and the mother of two sons, she struggles to behave decently and sensitively in an unsatisfying marriage. She and Tom are said to have come to look alike.
Alicia Crick, the organist in Tom's church, in her late twenties, divorced, and the mother of two children. She has an affair with Tom and confesses it to Jane. When Tom fires her, she tells the story of Tom's many affairs to Gerald Harlow, the chairman of the board of deacons, thereby precipitating Tom's expulsion.
Frances (Frankie) Harlow, a parishioner in Tom's church and the wife of the chairman of the board of deacons, whom she despises. Middle-aged, with somewhat fading attractiveness, and the mother of two children, she succeeds Alicia as Tom's mistress. Her firm religious faith causes Tom to be impotent with her.
Gerald Harlow, a bank executive and chairman of the board of deacons, efficient, businesslike, and most interested in the social benefits of his marriage. He delivers word of Tom's banishment. Although he suspects Frankie's affair with Tom, he allows himself to be convinced that his wife is faithful.
Ned Bork, the assistant minister in Tom's church. In his early thirties, bearded, and liberal in theology and politics, he is Tom's nemesis. He is apparently more popular with the congregation than is Tom. He has an affair with Alicia but refuses Tom's guilt-ridden encouragement to begin one with Jane.
The Reverend Marshfield, Tom's father and a former minister. Now senile and in a nursing home, he confuses Tom with other figures from the past and in his sometimes obscene ramblings implies that Tom's mother had an affair.
Ms. Prynne, the manager of the rehabilitation center. Large, unattractive, and domineering, she becomes the audience for Tom's writings, although not until the end of the novel is there clear evidence that she has read them. In the last pages of the novel, apparently seduced by Tom's writing, she has a brief affair with him.
Martin Marshfield, Tom and Jane's eldest son. Sixteen years old and excellent at sports, he is a perfectionist who is embarrassed by his father's scandal.
Stephen Marshfield, Tom and Jane's younger son. Fourteen years old, handsome, and passive, he understands little of the reason for his father's banishment.
Amos, a fellow clergyman at the recovery center. Depressed by his failing ministry, he was caught attempting to burn down the church.