sailor James in the novel, he was unregenerate at the time of his death. Stowe had first begun to reassess the Calvinist view of salvation after watching her sister Catherine wrestle in 1822 with the similar loss of an unregenerate fiancé. Henry's death spurred further reflection. The grief and doubt which both Harriet and her sister had dealt with inspired the novel. Their experiences are expressed in the character of Mrs. Marvyn. Some readers, including Stowe's grandson Lyman Beecher Stowe, proclaimed the book to be an assault on Calvinism. Stowe questioned the establishment in which she had been raised, but her journals do not suggest that she intended an attack against this system. She expressed a profound respect and admiration for both Calvinist theology and the individuals who grappled with its doctrines. Her stated intent instead was to point out certain flaws and to spread tolerance. Synopsis The story is set in Newport, Rhode Island, when it was still a prosperous fishing and shipping town and not a fashionable retreat for the rich. Dr. Hopkins is a 40-year-old minister. Mary is the daughter of his hostess in town, and Hopkins soon falls in love with Mary. She, however, is still in love with James Marvyn, a sailor presumed lost at sea. Mary is very religious and, after a period of mourning, she decides to marry Dr. Hopkins. Mary has other suitors, including Aaron Burr, but she sees that even though he is the grandson of Jonathan Edwards and has been raised in Calvinism, he is mired in evil. James returns from the sea before the marriage and Dr. Hopkins knows that he cannot compete with Mary's love for the sailor. Hopkins calls off the marriage. Mary and James are free to marry and live happily. Major characters Minister Samuel Hopkins He is an apostle of Jonathan Edwards's "New Divinity." He struggles to maintain his spiritual independence and assert his spiritual authority against the wealthy members of his congregation, who observe church rules rather than living truly Christian lives. He is named for and based on the historical Samuel Hopkins, minister at the First Congregational Church of Newport in the late 18th century. But events of the story are fictional. Mary Scudder This fictional character is partly based on the author's older sister, Catharine Beecher. Mary loved a sailor who has been lost in a shipwreck and is presumed dead. She