Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Kingdom of Matthias, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Patriarchy, Family, and Society
Religion, Perfectionism, and Insanity
Race, Prejudice, and Resilience
Rural Life and Urban Culture
Desire, Relationships, and Sexual Freedom
Summary
Analysis
On the day that Isabella Laisdell and Benjamin are married, another member of the household—a young woman named Catherine Galloway—is miserable. Apparently, Ann and Matthias told Catherine that she was Benjamin’s spiritual match. Since then, Catherine has been sleeping with Benjamin, assuming that they will be married. Meanwhile, Ann stops helping in the household. She sleeps late into the day and cuddles with Matthias, while Matthias scolds Isabella van Wagenen for failing to keep up with the housework. When Isabella van Wagenen complains, Matthias says that his spirit will infuse her and help her work twice as hard. She’s not impressed.
It starts to become clear that other people in the household are having sexual relationships with each other. Catherine’s misery underscores that the community’s sexually fluid behavior is dysfunctional because it’s not fully consensual. Matthias continues exploiting Isabella Van Wagenen, showing that she bears the brunt of the household’s labor. Her predicament reinforces the idea that white patriarchal communities marginalize women of color the most. Despite her oppression, Isabella Van Wagenen continues to resist, showing how resilient she is.
Themes
A few weeks pass, and Benjamin writes to Margaret, saying that her children are fine but that they won’t be returning. Isabella Laisdell’s first husband (Charles Laisdell) grows worried and heads down to Hudson to investigate. Isabella van Wagenen turns him away, but he persists, returning every day until they let him in. Eventually, Elijah offers Charles money to get rid of him, and Charles agrees. Charles leaves, and he tells everyone he knows about the strange events going on at the Folgers. Then, he files legal papers to get his wife back, even though she doesn’t want to leave.
Charles’s power to decide Isabella Laisdell’s fate shows how much power men have in this society: even the law favors his wishes and provides him with tools to achieve what he wants (namely, bringing Isabella Laisdell home, regardless of Isabella’s wishes). Others, like Benjamin (and even Isabella Laisdell, who wants to stay in the cult now that she’s in a relationship with Benjamin) keep exposing that their sexual desire—rather than their religious commitments to Matthias’s rules—are primarily influencing their actions.
Themes
Charles Laisdell takes Isabella Laisdell back to Albany against her will. She doesn’t tell Margaret about her brief marriage to Benjamin. Meanwhile, in Hudson, Matthias decides that Benjamin should marry Catherine, and he weds the pair. The local villagers are angry about the situation at Mount Zion and begin harassing Matthias. They unsuccessfully try to expel Matthias from Benjamin’s home. By March 1834, Ann believes that she’s pregnant with a holy child. Catherine is also pregnant, but she has a miscarriage. Matthias forces Catherine to go back to work only a few days after her miscarriage.
Charles successfully leverages his legal power to forcibly remove Isabella from the cult, exposing once more that women have very little power in this society. Matthias’s behavior reveals the same, as he forces women like Catherine to work even when they are ill. Matthias shrewdly pairs Benjamin and Catherine, knowing that they’re more likely to keep following his orders if their sexual needs are met. Meanwhile, the group’s infamy grows as the surrounding community notices the cult’s rejection of social norms.
Themes
That year, a family of four arrive from Albany and join the cult. The father (Mr. Thompson) doesn’t really believe that Matthias is a prophet, but he likes the idea of a society in which men are completely in charge. The mother, Elizabeth Thompson, wonders if Ann sleeps with Benjamin when Matthias travels to New York to preach. Ann admits that she does, with Matthias’s blessing. A few weeks later, Mr. Thompson decides that there’s too much wife-swapping going on, and he doesn’t want to lose Elizabeth to another man, so he packs up the family to leave. He flees with his children and comes back several days later for Elizabeth.
Mr. Thompson’s behavior continues to expose that, like several other cult members, religion isn’t his primary motivation. He joins the cult because he finds its patriarchal structure attractive, though he leaves out of disgust with the group’s sexual permissiveness—this fluidity offends traditional patriarchal norms.
Themes
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When Mr. Thompson returns, Elizabeth explains that Matthias locked her in a room while he was trying to decide if she should be matched with Benjamin or Elijah. On June 1st, 1834, a forlorn Benjamin winds up in his town church. He looks in on two colleagues who express their concern about his situation and Ann’s safety. Benjamin gets drunk with his colleagues. That night, Benjamin storms back to Mount Zion to seize Ann and leave, but Ann refuses. She talks with Benjamin in private, and he gives up on his attempt, looking subdued.
Matthias’s treatment of Elizabeth continues showing that he has no respect for women and suggests that much of the cult’s sexual fluidity is nonconsensual. However, Ann’s loyalty to Matthias shows that this isn’t always the case, while her husband is left without recourse.
Themes
The next day, Benjamin returns to the village and tells the locals that his plan failed. The angry villagers storm Mount Zion to expel Matthias. Matthias shaves his beard to avoid detection, and he flees. Ann is heartbroken. Benjamin takes Ann to bed, happy that he's finally got her back. The next day, Elijah decides that the spirit of God has now entered his body, and he'll take charge of the family. Ann, Benjamin, and Isabella Van Wagenen refuse to accept this, and they immediately flee to New York, leaving Elijah, Catherine, and the cult’s children behind. A few days later, Elijah sheepishly follows.
Benjamin continues to show that his romantic desires—rather than his religious commitments—primarily motivate his actions. It’s only after Ann rejects him that he gathers the local villagers to dismantle the cult. Elijah, on the other hand, genuinely believes (albeit briefly) that he has become a divine figure. Isabella is the only character who remains relatively consistent in her beliefs, as she is critical of others’ religiously justified whims.
Themes
By mid-July, the group returns to Mount Zion (without Benjamin, who’s traveling for work). Elijah starts having seizures, and he believes that he’s possessed by devils. He cries out for Ann while fumbling at his crotch, saying that she can expel the devils by sleeping with him. The others have to restrain him. On July 28, Matthias feeds the group blackberries for dessert, though he declines to eat any himself. Ann only has one or two berries. Elijah eats a full bowl. The next day, Elijah falls deathly ill. Matthias bans any doctors or medicine, saying that only prayer will help Elijah. By August 5, Elijah is dead. He dies in a pool of his own vomit and feces.
Elijah’s mental and physical condition continues to deteriorate, exposing the debilitating effects of his delusion. The fact that Matthias and Ann avoid the berries suggests that they may have poisoned them. This further implies that Matthias is so consumed with being the only man in charge that he murders Elijah for threatening Matthias’s power and authority in the cult. Ann, meanwhile, seems to be so consumed with her desire for Matthias that she goes along with his plan, showing, as before, that sexual desire motivates her actions.
Themes
It turns out that Benjamin transferred the deeds of his home to Elijah at some point in the last year. With Elijah dead, the country treasurer arrives to seize the property for Elijah’s heir: his daughter Elizabeth. Matthias initially refuses to hand over the deeds. Eventually, Elizabeth agrees to let Matthias and his followers stay at Mount Zion, so Matthias gives her the deeds. Matthias warns his followers that anyone who opposes him will meet a similar fate to Elijah’s. Meanwhile, the coroner orders an autopsy on Elijah’s body: it suggests that Elijah was poisoned.
Matthias’s behavior suggests that his actions are driven by a lust for power and material wealth rather than strictly religion. Matthias’s threats also reinforce the fact that he rules the cult with fear tactics, somewhat like the shaming environment in which he grew up. Matthias, however, has raised the stakes, threatening to kill people who disobey him, not just shame them. He appears far less concerned with encouraging the community’s wellbeing and more concerned with maintaining his position of authority.
Themes
Matthias and his followers retreat to New York City. Ann, who’s six months pregnant, continues sleeping with both Benjamin and Matthias. She grows conflicted about which partner she loves more. Sensing Ann’s growing reconnection with Benjamin, Matthias grows hostile towards her. The group argues for several days until Ann admits that she’s happier with Benjamin. Benjamin jumps in and offers Matthias a large sum of money ($630) to leave. Matthias accepts the money and leaves to go and buy a farm for his “Kingdom.” As soon as Matthias leaves, Benjamin contacts the police and says that Matthias stole $630 from him.
Ann’s behavior shows that her personal desires rule her actions: she’s enamored with the cult and committed to its cause when she’s attracted to Matthias, but her commitment to Matthias’s religion wavers when her feelings for him start to wane. Benjamin, too, seizes the opportunity to dismantle the cult purely so that he can resume his romantic relationship with Ann. Matthias’s acceptance of Benjamin’s money also suggests that his motives aren’t strictly spiritual. The $630 that Benjamin offers Matthias is equivalent to almost $20,000 today.
Themes
Meanwhile, Isabella Van Wagenen takes the cult’s remaining children to Albany to leave them in Margaret’s care. When Isabella arrives, she is shocked to see Matthias there. Matthias realizes that there’s a warrant out for his arrest, so he gives Margaret $50 to look after the children that Isabella dropped on Margaret’s doorstep, and he flees. But before he can get out of Albany, the police arrest him. By now, Matthias is charged with defrauding Benjamin Folger and murdering Elijah Pierson.
Isabella continues showing her strength and resilience: even when the cult falls apart, she doesn’t grow despondent. Instead, she takes practical action to ensure the children’s safety. Margaret, as before, resumes her duty to her children when Matthias fails. Both women are doing the actual work of taking care of others, while men like Matthias act selfishly and erratically. The juxtaposition of their responsible actions against Matthias’s dysfunctional behavior suggests that while women often bear the brunt of patriarchal excesses, they also tend to assume responsibility for the fallout of men’s behavior.
Themes
When the police interrogate Matthias, he proclaims that he’s a High Priest and that all his followers willingly gave them his money. The story becomes a tabloid sensation in the penny press, and the whole city reads about it. Meanwhile, Isabella Van Wagenen urges Margaret to help Matthias, and Margaret petitions two prominent and well-respected lawyers (Henry B. Western and N. Nye Hall) to defend Matthias in court. Surprisingly, they agree. It's likely that Margaret wants to get Matthias cleared so that she can divorce him and take half of the money he’s collected from his followers.
Isabella, as before, continues revealing her resilience and practical thinking in the face of obstacles: she is clearly not a woman who gives up or becomes easily discouraged. Margaret exposes how adept she is at functioning in society by seeking lawyers and making pragmatic choices to ensure her own financial security. Both women’s behavior reinforces the idea that women are far more competent in social and institutional matters than their male-privileging society assumes.
Themes
Western and Hall obtain a statement from Isabella Van Wagenen claiming that Benjamin willingly gave Matthias his money. In retaliation, Benjamin releases a statement saying that Matthias’s story is a lie. He also claims that Isabella and Matthias poisoned Elijah. Isabella swiftly accuses Benjamin of slander and begins collecting testimonies about her trustworthiness from her former employers. The trial ends up being delayed for months, because the judge gets influenza.
In order to protect himself and Ann, Benjamin shifts blame onto Isabella. He assumes that people will favor his story because his society is prejudiced against Black women. However, Isabella continues showing how tough and resourceful she is: she refuses to back down and immediately takes action to protect herself. Her ability to leverage institutional systems like the law to defend herself is formidable, especially given how difficult it is for women (and especially women of color) to do so in this society.
Themes
There’s a press frenzy over Matthias in the months leading up to the trial. Some papers brand Matthias as a fraud and a swindler. Others say that Matthias has a mental disorder, and he’s simply insane. Others still, question aspects of their society that could have triggered or permitted such events to unfold. Some blame the rapid increase in commercialism in the United States. Conservatives weigh in, blaming the individualism and egalitarianism that’s taken hold of 19th-century American society. Some even say that Matthias is a conservative man who was pushed to the brink in his efforts to restore society’s patriarchal order.
The press frenzy over Matthias revisits the ambiguity over Matthews’s sanity. Some of the press suspect that Matthias just wants to be rich and powerful and uses religion as a vehicle to get what he wants. Other members of the press think that he is deranged and really believes the ideas he peddles. The press response also suggests—as the authors hinted at the outset—that the rise of individualistic, trade-based urban culture displaces poor, white, rural men who are used to having patriarchal power in small farming-based communities. Matthias’s actions thus symbolize the frustration of such people, and their dysfunctional attempts to reclaim what they feel they have lost.
Themes
Democrats also weigh in, saying that religious fanaticism has taken over the country. An editor named Mordecai Manuel Noah argues that Matthias’s followers all exhibited fanatical behavior before meeting him, and that made them vulnerable to manipulation. Another editor named William Leete Stone argues that the rising tide of evangelicalism (and its agenda of reform and perfectionism) allows good people to be misled by religious frauds.
The press response also suggests—as the authors have already implied—that obsessing over religious perfection hampers a person’s ability to function in society and makes them vulnerable to manipulation. In criticizing the impact of religion on society, the press subtly reveals that the United States is becoming more secular (less religious).
Themes
Sensing an ally in Stone, Benjamin and Ann Folger publish a book with Stone outlining their side of the story. Meanwhile, Isabella Van Wagenen recruits Catherine Galloway to confirm her claim that the Folgers acted consensually in the cult. All the while, Matthias preaches from his jail cell, prophesying that a great freeze is coming and he will rule the world after the thaw. In the background, the prosecution obtains evidence that Matthias beat Isabella Laisdell, so that they can also charge him with assault.
Benjamin and Ann shrewdly adjust their public image to depict themselves as victims whose excessive religious fervor made them easy targets. Their ability to adapt and fit within evolving social perspectives helps them. Matthias, meanwhile, refuses to change at all, and he only makes his situation worse. Isabella continues demonstrating her resourcefulness by gathering useful evidence to defend herself in court: she is clearly adept at functioning in this society, even though it undervalues Black women.
Themes
The trial takes four days. Matthias attends, wearing a ruffled shirt and a colorful pair of extravagant pantaloons, with Western as his lawyer. Under cross-examination, Matthias delivers wild, lengthy sermons, calling everybody in the courtroom a devil. Matthias even talks over the judge. Eventually, the judge holds Matthias in contempt of court. Then, the judge opens a hearing to inquire if Matthias is mentally fit to take the stand. Eight witnesses (including four doctors) take the stand, and they’re divided over the issue of Matthias’s sanity. The jury decides that since half of the witnesses think that Matthias is sane, the trial should proceed.
Matthias continues exposing his inability to change or modify his behavior, which works against him. The judge ruling that Matthias is sane suggests that he did intend, at least to some degree, to use his religion as an excuse to gain power and wealth. Nonetheless, the debate over Matthias’s sanity—and the fact that the witnesses are evenly divided on the question—shows that it’s really not clear to the public if Matthias is accountable for his behavior or what role his religious fervor played in his mental state.
Themes
The trial resumes, and Western argues that there’s insufficient evidence to convict Matthias of murder: the autopsy report can’t confirm that Elijah definitely died from poison. He might actually have died of food-related illness. Nonetheless, when Ann Folger takes the stand, she stresses that Matthias fed Elijah blackberries that he didn’t eat himself and then denied Elijah medical help when he fell ill. The women—including her—had to obey Matthias, so they had no freedom to help Elijah. Catherine Galloway verifies Ann’s story. Ultimately, the judge decides that there isn’t enough evidence for a murder conviction. At best, Matthias could be charged with manslaughter, but that would demand a new trial. So, the jury rules that Matthias is not guilty of murder.
Matthias’s lawyers manage to help him escape a murder conviction on a technicality. Ann’s testimony, however, reinforces the idea that Matthias probably did intend to kill Elijah, and he’s gotten away with it. Ann turns on Matthias because she no longer desires him, reinforcing the idea that her romantic urges (rather than her religious beliefs) drive her actions. Ann continues depicting herself as an innocent victim whose religious fervor made her vulnerable to exploitation, even though she actually refrained from eating too many berries herself, suggesting that she knew about Matthias’s plan and went along with it. Ann shows that she’s able to adapt and present herself in a way that her society will be sympathetic to, and this serves her advantage.
Themes
Then, the prosecution calls for Matthias to be charged with assaulting Isabella Laisdell. Isabella testifies that she went to Mount Zion willingly, and that her father (Matthias) was legally permitted to hit her as punishment for misbehavior. Her husband, Charles Laisdell, believes that Isabella was coerced, and the whipping was too severe to count as fatherly punishment. In the end, the jury rules that Matthias is guilty of assault. Since Isabella was technically married to Charles at the time, Matthias no longer had a legal right to discipline her. In the end, Matthias is sentenced to four months in prison.
Isabella’s testimony (in support of Matthias) carries little weight in court. The court takes her husband Charles’s testimony (against Matthias) far more seriously. This, and the fact that husbands and fathers are legally permitted to discipline their daughters and wives, shows that American society is still very patriarchal, especially in institutionalized contexts like law courts.
Themes
