Doctor And Mr. Ellet

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One of the many moments that struck me will reading Fanny Fern’s Ruth Hall is the exchange between the doctor and Mr. Ellet. The two men discuss who shall take care of Ruth now that Harry has passed away; the conversation comes to a close with the doctor saying, “’The fact is, Mr. Ellet, …we are both church memebers; and the churches to which we belong have a way (which I think is the wrong way, but that’s neither here nor there) of meddling in these little family matters. It would not be very pleasant for you or me to be catechized, or disciplined by a church committee; and it’s my advice to you to avoid such a disagreeable alternative; they say hard things about us. We have a Christian reputation to sustain, brother Ellet,’…” (72). In

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