Kingdom of Matthias
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Prologue: Two Prophets at Kirtland Chapter 1: Elijah Pierson Chapter 2: Robert Matthews Chapter 3: The Kingdom Chapter 4: The Downfall Epilogue
Themes
All Themes Patriarchy, Family, and Society Religion, Perfectionism, and Insanity Race, Prejudice, and Resilience Rural Life and Urban Culture Desire, Relationships, and Sexual Freedom
Quotes
Characters
All Characters Robert Matthews (Prophet Matthias) Elijah Pierson (Elijah the Tishbite) Isabella Van Wagenen (Sojourner Truth) Benjamin Folger Ann Folger Margaret Wright (Margaret Matthews) Sarah Stanford (Sarah Pierson) Isabella Laisdell (Matthias’s daughter) Charles Laisdell Sylvester Mills Catherine Galloway Elizabeth Thompson Charles Grandison Finney Reverend Mr. Beveridge Benjamin Pierson Mordecai Manuel Noah William Leete Stone Gilbert Vale Judge Ruggles
Terms
All Terms American Puritanism Calvinism Evangelicalism Finneyite Methodism Mormonism Patriarchy Presbyterianism
Symbols
All Symbols Cult
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Kingdom of Matthias

by Paul E. Johnson and Sean Wilentz

Kingdom of Matthias Symbols

Cult

The Kingdom of Matthias documents the rise and fall of a historic cult in New York in the 1800s. The cult itself symbolizes the dysfunctional rage in men who feel ignored by a society that’s…

read analysis of Cult

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