Charles Brockden Brown's Perplexed Thoughts Manifested In Wieland

Charles Brockden Brown is the first professional writer of America. His masterpiece, Wieland or The Transformation (1798) is a gothic novel about how a religious fanatic kills his family. Wieland is a psychological tale narrated by a young woman, which reveals Brown's dilemma and uncertainty for the post-revolutionary thoughts of America and offers us a better understanding of the colonial American society and culture. Charles Brockden Brown's perplexed thoughts manifested in Wieland and the causes of his perplexed thoughts are analyzed in this dissertation from three aspects.The first chapter is about Brown's perplexed thoughts toward religion. On the one hand, Brown shows his affirmative attitude toward Calvinism and Deism. There are two reasons for it. Firstly, America is a Puritan society, Puritanism advocates Calvinism; Secondly, Deism is the product of Enlightenment and deeply influences the intellectuals of America. On the other hand, Brown shows his negative attitude toward Calvinism and Deism. There are two reasons for it. Firstly, the evil human nature attitude of Calvinism obstructs the development of American society; Secondly, Deists oppose God's interference with human affairs, it is hard for the colonial people who are under the circumstances of Puritan living style to accept the cold God of Deism. This kind of perplexed thoughts of Brown can be seen from the attitude of the woman narrator in Wieland. On the one hand, the woman narrator believes in Original Sin; On the other hand, she trusts the scientific explanation for these mysterious events.The second chapter is about Brown's perplexed thoughts toward rational epistemology. On the one hand, Brown's attitude toward John Locke's Empiricism and Scottish Common Sense is affirmative. The cause of it is the two rational epistemologies are the results of Enlightenment and influence American intellectual minds tremendously. On the other hand, Brown's attitude toward John Locke's Empiricism and Scottish Common Sense is negative. The cause of it is that the positive attitude of the two rational epistemologies is contradictory with man's evil nature of Calvinism. This aspect of Brown's perplexed thoughts is mainly shown in the female narrator's self-condemning for her discrepancies between her thoughts and her actual behaviors.The third chapter is about Brown's perplexed thoughts toward the political ideology. Brown shows both negative and affirmative attitude toward the political ideologies of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Brown's ideological perplexed thoughts are revealed through analysing Wieland's tragical story. It is because Hamilton's political ideology is mainly based on Puritan tradition while Jefferson's political ideology is mainly based on Enlightenment rational thoughts, Brown's attitude toward both Puritan tradition and Enlightenment rational thoughts is skeptical, so his attitude toward the political ideologies of two leaders is skeptical.In the conclusion part of the dissertation, the main ideas of the three chapters are summarized. We can find that Brown is skeptical about both Enlightenment and religion, he is strongly against excessive rational or religious behavior through analyzing the causes of his perplexed thoughts. In Wieland, Brown tries to compromise rational and religious ideas, yet, gives us little suggestion for how to compromise them. We can learn Brown's dilemma and uncertainty for the post-revolutionary thoughts of America and have a better understanding for the colonial American society and culture through analyzing Brown'Wieland.