The Nature of Forgiveness

Through August's first person point of view and the Molotschna women's discussions, the author explores the inarticulable nature of forgiveness. Because all of the characters have been immersed in the Mennonite faith for most of their lives, their immediate definitions of forgiveness stem strictly from a Biblical understanding. However, all of the Molotschna women, as well as August, have experienced trials and abuses outside the once predictable constructs of their colony. The secret meetings in the hayloft, therefore, attempt to redefine what is familiar and what is assumed about their faith, particularly in response to the men's astounding attacks. The author, therefore, suggests that to face the unfaceable, to attempt overcoming the insurmountable, the individual must challenge, must reinvent, must reshape the vocabulary surrounding her response. Though the women are well-versed in the language that defines their spiritual understandings of themselves, the Bible...