Modern interpretations of classic books often betray a complete misunderstanding of the author's intentions and worldview. The writers came from an era that was deeply Christian, even if not known to be a great believer, and many modern readers do not understand this.
Of course, most Christians are aware of the deep spiritual significance within books such as JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, or CS Lewis's Narnia series, or the works of Dostoyevsky and GK Chesterton. However, there are many other classic books with underlying spiritual themes that can deepen and enrich our faith.
Therefore these books are great food for thought for the thinking Christian, and excellent subjects of discussion for a book club. With an added bonus - there aren't the lurid depictions of sex and violence that modern novels so often contain.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
This Shakespeare play is usually understood by modern readers to be a great 'love' story: two people who adore each other yet were unjustly kept apart due to the stupidity of their warring families.
However it is unlikely that this was Shakespeare's intended meaning. Looked at through the lens of a Christian understanding of love, Romeo's behaviour in particular is less a great example of romance, and more a warning tale of emotion-led stupidity.
This is the conclusion of Joseph Pearce, visiting Professor of Literature at Ave Maria University, in his introduction of the Ignatius Critical Edition of the play. "What Romeo calls 'love' is not really love at all – at least it is not love in the deeper and deepest sense of the word," he says of Romeo's desire for Rosaline in the first scene.
Romeo's fickle transfer of his 'love' for Rosaline to Juliet is one example of its shallow depth. "Romeo and Juliet do not know each other," continues Pearce. "They do not even know each other's names. Romeo declares his 'love' before he has even spoken a single word to his beloved. How can such love be anything but superficial, a bewitchment of the eye in response to great physical beauty? This, at any rate, seems to be the question that Shakespeare ... is asking."
Pearce has just begun a more accessible series of articles on Shakespeare, starting with Romeo and Juliet, in the online magazine Aleteia.
Therefore the play is a great vehicle to discuss one of the most important questions of life: what is love?
The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
This short novel is more modest than some of the other recommendations, but just as misunderstood. My Collins edition (2010) describes Mr Hyde as suffering from "schizophrenia". The term was not in use at the time the novel was written, and even now it is a controversial diagnosis, as it covers a wide variety of symptoms that can appear to be unrelated.
Yet even through a modern psychiatric lens, it is an incorrect description of Dr Jekyll. Schizophrenia is not an illness that demonstrates two alternate personalities as he experiences. The Collins edition further states that he suffers from the "feelings of suppression that Stevenson felt in Victorian society." As often happens, the writer imports a modern Western understanding on the book that was unlikely to be that of the author.
Instead, a Christian reading of the work fits more neatly: the battle between the new redeemed nature and the old, sinful self, as described succinctly in Romans 7 and 8. The novel was a favourite method to illuminate these Bible passages by the late pastor Tim Keller. For example, one passage where Mr Hyde laments his experience was quoted in his book 'The reason for God':
"I resolved in my future conduct to redeem the past; and I can say with honesty that my resolve was fruitful of some good. You know yourself how earnestly, in the last months of the last year, I laboured to relieve suffering; you know that much was done for others...
"[But as] I smiled, comparing myself with other men, comparing my active good-will with the lazy cruelty of their neglect... at the very moment of that vainglorious thought, a qualm came over me, a horrid nausea and the most deadly shuddering... I looked down... I was once more Mr Hyde."
Most committed Christians will recognise Mr Hyde's inner drive to be good, only to be horrified by the selfish pride that comes along with that thought, and the transportation back to the sinful self. Therefore the story is best understood as the battle for the human soul, the good and evil within, and the war with temptation, and is a rich source of discussion about these topics.
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë
Like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, modern literary interpretations of Jane Eyre tend to inaccurately impose modern ideas onto it. It is often described as a great feminist work, due to the independence and struggles of the novel's female protagonist. The assumption is that Eyre, and Brontë, disliked Victorian patriarchy just as much as today's women do.
Not so, according to the Ignatius Criticial Edition. "One of the finest novels ever written, Jane Eyre is also one of the most misunderstood masterpieces of world literature," says the series website. "Whereas most modern teaching of the text misreads or misinterprets Charlotte Brontë's devout and profoundly ingrained Christian faith and intentions, this critical edition emphasizes the semi-autobiographical dimension of the novel, exposing feminist critiques of the work as being woefully awry and illustrating Brontë's belief in the hard-earned, hard-learned blessings of sanctity and reverence."
Readers of the work can reflect on questions such as: how should a Christian cope with suffering, with unmet desires, with heartache? How can such trials be used to develop virtue?
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
When I first watched the Hollywood adaptation of this beautiful story, I left the cinema saying: 'That was a Christian film'! After sobbing my heart out at the many emotional scenes, of course.
The book is not for the faint-hearted as it is very long, though there are 'abridged' versions that leave out some of the meandering passages of the original.
But careful readers will perceive some deep theological themes in the work beyond the more obvious, such as the beautiful mercy of the priest and the subsequent conversion of Valjean. For example, the persecuting policeman Javert represents the law – Valjean must be punished for his sinful past. The priest and Valjean demonstrate the gospel of mercy and redemption. Thus, the tension between law and grace exists throughout the book.
The plight of the poor is another important Christian theme, as well as whether revolution – from which Hugo's native France suffered brutally before he was born - is an acceptable response. Whether watching the film or reading the book, there is spiritual depth to be discovered in this heart-rending work.
Heather Tomlinson is a freelance Christian writer. Find more of her work at https://heathertomlinson.substack.com/ or via X (twitter) @heathertomli
