The Gates Ajar

"The Gates Ajar" by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps is a novel written in the late 19th century. It centers around Mary Cabot, a young woman grappling with the sudden death of her beloved brother, Royal, who was a soldier in the army. Amidst her profound grief, Mary reflects on concepts of love, loss, and the nature of the afterlife, questioning traditional beliefs about heaven and her connection to her brother. The opening of the novel introduces us to Mary in a state of deep sorrow, only a week after receiving terrible news about her brother's death. As she navigates her grief, she struggles with the inadequacies of societal condolences and the overwhelming silence of her home now devoid of Royal. Through her recollections, we glimpse their close bond and her longing for their shared past. Mary’s internal conflict intensifies as she questions her understanding of faith, God, and what it means to truly be "resigned" to God's will in the face of such loss. These initial chapters set the stage for a moving exploration of the themes of mortality, love, and the possibility of reconnection beyond death. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward was an early feminist American author and intellectual who challenged traditional Christian beliefs of the afterlife, challenged women's traditional roles in marriage and family, and advocated clothing reform for women.