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Tokenography: Narration and the Science of Dying in Puritan Deathbed Testimonies

Tokenography: Narration and the Science of Dying in Puritan Deathbed Testimonies sarah rivet t Washington University Tokenography Narration and the Science of Dying in Puritan Deathbed Testimonies On 21 April , 1727 Mrs. Forbush of Westborough, Massachusetts, lay dying in her home. A group of neighbors and family members gathered around her bed to “look upon” a person “near expiring.” e Th local min - ister Ebenezer Parkman entered the scene. Minister and dying female saint begin to explore matters of the heart.1 Parkman’s questions grew in- creasingly probing as he asked Mrs. Forbush for “some further proof ” and “some stronger evidence” of her piety. o Th mas Forbush, the brother of the dying woman, interrupted, exclaiming: “Why we understand these things already; [we] have read in the Bible and some other books and ourselves know these things, being grown folks and come into years.” o Th mas For - bush’s protest reveals the shared knowledge of both minister and lay people witnessing the scene that Mrs. Forbush had already arrived at a clear under- standing of her faith during her life: what was left to investigate? In contrast to the Catholic tradition, Protestants could not convert on their deathbeds; the dying scene marked merely a summation of a http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Early American Literature University of North Carolina Press

Tokenography: Narration and the Science of Dying in Puritan Deathbed Testimonies

Early American Literature , Volume 42 (3) – Nov 1, 2007

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Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 The University of North Carolina Press.
ISSN
1534-147X

Abstract

sarah rivet t Washington University Tokenography Narration and the Science of Dying in Puritan Deathbed Testimonies On 21 April , 1727 Mrs. Forbush of Westborough, Massachusetts, lay dying in her home. A group of neighbors and family members gathered around her bed to “look upon” a person “near expiring.” e Th local min - ister Ebenezer Parkman entered the scene. Minister and dying female saint begin to explore matters of the heart.1 Parkman’s questions grew in- creasingly probing as he asked Mrs. Forbush for “some further proof ” and “some stronger evidence” of her piety. o Th mas Forbush, the brother of the dying woman, interrupted, exclaiming: “Why we understand these things already; [we] have read in the Bible and some other books and ourselves know these things, being grown folks and come into years.” o Th mas For - bush’s protest reveals the shared knowledge of both minister and lay people witnessing the scene that Mrs. Forbush had already arrived at a clear under- standing of her faith during her life: what was left to investigate? In contrast to the Catholic tradition, Protestants could not convert on their deathbeds; the dying scene marked merely a summation of a

Journal

Early American LiteratureUniversity of North Carolina Press

Published: Nov 1, 2007

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