In John Patrick Shanley’s play, the struggle for Sister Aloysius to prove—and for Sister James to believe—that Father Flynn molested Donald Muller serves as the central conflict. Father Flynn is progressive, hoping to reform the church which causes the more conservative Sister Aloysius to appear intolerant and suspicious of him simply for his radical ideas. This conflict addresses other concerns beyond abuse, such as that of the subjugation of gender in the Catholic church, which affects Sister Aloysius’s pursuit of justice and still resonates throughout contemporary pursuits of justice, as well. Shanley’s 2004 play convolutes Sisters Aloysius and James’s firm belief in the church’s patriarchal hierarchy by stymying them as they pursue justice
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By making the would-be heroine of Sister Aloysius so conservative and distant, and the supposed antagonist of Father Flynn progressive and jovial, Shanley eradicated any preconceived notion of good versus evil. Both characters were flawed, with murky intentions that the readers were never completely privy to, clouding the issue of child-abuse with the possibility of ulterior motives on the part of Sister Aloysius, and contemporary prejudgement of the person of Father Flynn. This dichotomy within the characters as well as the inaction stemming from the patriarchal hierarchy caused Sister James and Sister Aloysius to question everything they knew and believed in, fostering Sister James’s inability to fully commit to a decision, much like Shanley attempted to recreate within the audience. Doubt: A Parable obliterates the denouement that society has come to rely on, instead subverting expectations in order to make parallels to the unclear nature of the issues of gender subjugation and religious authority today, and the necessity of doubt for personal growth as well as the furthering of society as a whole. Like in the play, structures already set in place and old beliefs can cloud issues and make action difficult, like the indictment of all homosexuals as child molesters, or the viewing of priests as child molesters, or the subordination of females in the Catholic Church even today. By propagating and proliferating doubt, society will be able to grow and mature as it questions the existing order, therefore becoming able to collectively make more informed and prudent
By making the would-be heroine of Sister Aloysius so conservative and distant, and the supposed antagonist of Father Flynn progressive and jovial, Shanley eradicated any preconceived notion of good versus evil. Both characters were flawed, with murky intentions that the readers were never completely privy to, clouding the issue of child-abuse with the possibility of ulterior motives on the part of Sister Aloysius, and contemporary prejudgement of the person of Father Flynn. This dichotomy within the characters as well as the inaction stemming from the patriarchal hierarchy caused Sister James and Sister Aloysius to question everything they knew and believed in, fostering Sister James’s inability to fully commit to a decision, much like Shanley attempted to recreate within the audience. Doubt: A Parable obliterates the denouement that society has come to rely on, instead subverting expectations in order to make parallels to the unclear nature of the issues of gender subjugation and religious authority today, and the necessity of doubt for personal growth as well as the furthering of society as a whole. Like in the play, structures already set in place and old beliefs can cloud issues and make action difficult, like the indictment of all homosexuals as child molesters, or the viewing of priests as child molesters, or the subordination of females in the Catholic Church even today. By propagating and proliferating doubt, society will be able to grow and mature as it questions the existing order, therefore becoming able to collectively make more informed and prudent