As far as I can tell Young was a big fan of William James who wrote The Varieties of Religious Experience and a 1200 page book on stream of consciousness. I pulled out parts I thought resonated with the characters and story (vol 3 pg 229). She said in an interview that she was raised in a Christian home and described it as when someone said "Devil get thee behind me!" She would whirl around to try and catch a glimpse of the devil. Another reference made in MMMD is St Augustine and the City of God. I feel she took some ideas from Weber's The Protestant Work Ethic and Capitalism, also Pilgrim's Progress, Divine Comedy, Dante's Inferno and Paradise Lost all make an appearance in MMMD. I flagged quotes or mis-quotes from the Bible as I recognized them (I grew up 50 years ago with bible studies in the - at least rural - public schools). Still working out how it all ties together in the end with who Vera chooses as her role model. I really liked your description of Moses and would only add that he seems to be in a place that to him is barren and the only thing he can grow is his hair. Enjoying all your discussions!
As far as I can tell Young was a big fan of William James who wrote The Varieties of Religious Experience and a 1200 page book on stream of consciousness. I pulled out parts I thought resonated with the characters and story (vol 3 pg 229). She said in an interview that she was raised in a Christian home and described it as when someone said "Devil get thee behind me!" She would whirl around to try and catch a glimpse of the devil. Another reference made in MMMD is St Augustine and the City of God. I feel she took some ideas from Weber's The Protestant Work Ethic and Capitalism, also Pilgrim's Progress, Divine Comedy, Dante's Inferno and Paradise Lost all make an appearance in MMMD. I flagged quotes or mis-quotes from the Bible as I recognized them (I grew up 50 years ago with bible studies in the - at least rural - public schools). Still working out how it all ties together in the end with who Vera chooses as her role model. I really liked your description of Moses and would only add that he seems to be in a place that to him is barren and the only thing he can grow is his hair. Enjoying all your discussions!