Literature frequently deals with the issue of losing faith, which can take many different forms. The character of Geraldine Brooks' book Year of Wonders, Mr. Mompellion, suffers a severe loss of faith as a result of the disease that wreaks havoc on his neighbourhood. The verse previously mentioned emphasises this decline in faith and how it affected his mental and emotional state.
Mr. Mompellion is a devout Christian who serves as the rector of a tiny England community in the 17th century. He initially looks to religion as a source of solace and hope for his society when the epidemic attacks his community. While he and his wife Elinor put forth endless effort to aid those stricken by the epidemic, Mr. Mompellion's faith starts to waver as the death toll grows.
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Mompellion and Elinor, alone in his chamber, with his head in his hands, in the passage. She cares about him and wants to give him comfort, but she is unsure how. She turns to the Bible in an effort to find comfort in its teachings, but Mr. Mompellion's response to her reading choice is telling.
He snatches the Bible away from her and remarks that Elinor (his late wife), who could have chosen a better text, would have done so. Then he picks a passage on his own, but as he reads it, he gets upset and flings the Bible to the ground. The Bible drops to the ground as Anna tries to retrieve it but Mr. Mompellion grabs her arm. His violent outburst serves as a blatant example of his emotional and mental state.
It is understandable why Mr. Mompellion lost faith after seeing the horrors of the pandemic. He witnesses the pain and death in his town and feels unable to do anything about it. His spiritual crisis is typical of those who experience such catastrophic situations as they try to reconcile their trust in a loving God with the existence of such great