Moral Corruption

The inclusion of the word martyr in the title invites readers to consider the themes of moral corruption and sin. Martyrs are those who are willing to die for their beliefs, usually at the hands of unbelievers or sinners. Because their deaths live on in legend and story, the martyrs serve as examples to others of the ultimate triumph of their purity over corruption, good over evil.

Though no one actually dies in Wolff's short story, the author does ask readers to compare the martyrdom of Mary by Louise and the members of her department to the Jesuit missionaries at the hands of the Iroquois. Mary's experience during her campus visit and interview reveals the total moral corruption of the members of the history department, if not of the entire college, and the culture to which it belongs. They have come to believe that their social and...