Doubt Father Flynn Quotes

In Doubt: A Parable, Sister Aloysius accuses Father Flynn of having inappropriate relations with one of the young boys at the school; however, the author purposefully keeps the validity of these claims vague. It is up to the audience to decide for themselves if Father Flynn is actually guilty of the crime he is being condemned for, or if Sister Aloysius’ claims are unsubstantiated. Despite the initial flimsiness of Sister Aloysius’ proof, Father Flynn was written to be viewed as guilty. ? ? Father Flynn’s innocence is supported mostly by the lack of evidence provided by Sister Aloysius. In the U.S. system of courts, the defendant is innocent until proven guilty and all of Sister Aloysius’ claims are based on her feelings, and nobody else, including

Though they have been much maligned and ridiculed, who among us has been so generous?” (10), implying that he agrees with Sister Aloysius. Sexism is an important theme throughout the play, specifically how Sister Aloysius’ gender hinders her credibility. The nuns are at the bottom of the Catholic Church chain of command and have to obey the roles above them, all of which are limited to men only. She struggles with these restrictions, since she knows the monsignor likes Father Flynn and is inclined to believe him over her. A common stereotype for women is that they are overly dramatic and sensitive, traits that Sister Aloysius would surely be denounced for if she went public with her accusations. Father Flynn is also very condescending toward Sister Aloysius; he “enters her office and without invitation occupies her desk - the symbol of her authority - he dramatizes the ancient tradition of male supremacy and forces us to theorize their power struggle in feminist terms,” (Cullingford

The character of Sister James functions as a stand-in for the audience. We, like her, are learning everything for the first time and do not know if Father Flynn is guilty or not. Sister James voices the thoughts that most readers would be having at the same time, such as questioning Sister Aloysius’ harsh teaching style and expressing relief when Father Flynn explains his side of the story. Doubt does a good job of establishing Father Flynn as a likable character, so, similar to Sister James, we want him to be innocent and for there to be a plausible explanation for everything. This comparison also means that the audience is framed as naive and seeing what they want to see in Father Flynn. All of this evidence points to the fact that the author wrote Doubt with the intention of Father Flynn being guilty, because of how certain characters and their struggles are portrayed. In summary, from a narrative standpoint, it makes more sense for Father Flynn to be guilty, and there are many instances in the play of suspicious actions that support this verdict. In the real world, Father Flynn would never be convicted, with only Sister Aloyius’ word as