The Beauty of Souls: Aesthetic Encounters with Marilynne Robinson

Mark S. M. Scott is associate professor of religious studies and theology at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. He is the author of several articles and books, including Pathways in Theodicy: An Introduction to the Problem of Evil.

What is beauty? What is the soul? What facilitates our apprehension of beauty in ourselves, others, and the world, and what impedes it? In The Beauty of Souls, Mark S. M. Scott explores these spiritual questions through a dynamic synthesis of theology, philosophy, and literature. Focusing on Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson's novels and essays, Scott gleans transformational insights about the life of the soul.

Scott argues that Robinson's writings spiritually sensitize her readers, preparing them for deeper levels of soul-discovery and soul-formation. Excavating Robinson's conception of beauty and its relation to the soul, Scott traces themes of perception, contemplation, growth, loss, brokenness, wonder, and redemption through Robinson's writings, particularly her magisterial Gilead saga. The Beauty of Souls guides readers through the complexity of the spiritual life in critical and creative dialogue with Robinson's signature works. It shows that Robinson's fiction does more than simply display and evoke beauty; it offers a philosophical-theological framework to discover and express the beauty of our own souls.