Authors
Cotton Mather (1663-1728)
Biography
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Questions for Discussion and Writing
1. Read over the questions that Mather asks as he converses with these convicted men and women. Are the answers predicated in those questions? Where do we see genuine curiosity evinced, and where does Mather seem to be hoping for a particular response?
2. If you compare Mather’s ideas about evil in Pillars of Salt to his ideas in The Wonders of the Invisible World, what significant differences do you notice?
3. Pillars of Salt marks the beginning of a continuing motif in American literature and popular culture - the inquiry into the depths of the sinner or of the criminal mind. Sometimes this interest comes off as voyeuristic; at other times, it can seem a genuine meditation on the human heart. Think about narratives (plays, films, novels) that purport to present an encounter between a “good” man or woman and a condemned criminal, a psychopath, a moral monster. As literature and as entertainment, how do you sort these out.