Elmer Gantry · Chapter
Chapter XVI explained
Elmer Gantry works for Mrs.
What happens
Elmer Gantry works for Mrs. Evans Riddle's New Thought 'Victory Thought-power Headquarters' in New York, teaching Prosperity Classes and giving Personal Consultations. He finds the work hollow and longs for Sharon Falconer. After being fired for stealing from the collection, he starts his own Prosperity Classes, traveling from city to city but barely making a living. Desperate, he decides to seek out Frank Shallard to borrow money, hoping to return to Mizpah Seminary and the Baptist ministry.
Themes in this chapter
Manipulation and Showmanship in Evangelism
Elmer cynically uses New Thought jargon and theatrical techniques to manipulate audiences, knowing his teachings are 'pure and uncontaminated bunk.'
Hypocrisy and Corruption in Religion
Elmer steals from the collection, lies about his credentials, and exploits followers' hopes for personal gain, revealing the corruption behind the spiritual facade.
Ambition and the Pursuit of Power
Elmer's drive for success and power leads him to abandon integrity, yet his ambition is thwarted by his own incompetence and the emptiness of his schemes.
Characters to notice
- Elmer Gantry
Works for Mrs. Riddle's New Thought organization, teaches Prosperity Classes, steals from collections, is fired, starts his own failing classes, and decides to seek out Frank Shallard to borrow money.
- Sharon Falconer
Elmer longs for her constantly; her memory haunts him and makes him feel like an impostor in pulpits.
- Mrs. Evans Riddle
Proprietor of Victory Thought-power Headquarters; hires Elmer, then fires him after catching him stealing a marked twenty-dollar bill from the collection.
- Frank Shallard
Former colleague of Elmer's from Schoenheim; now has a church near Zenith; Elmer plans to visit him to borrow money.
- Dean Trosper
Dean of Mizpah Seminary; Elmer yearns to return to the seminary and seek his forgiveness.
Key passages
“He had never been sure but that there might be something to the doctrines he had preached as an evangelist. Perhaps God really had dictated every word of the Bible. Perhaps there really was a hell of burning sulphur. Perhaps the Holy Ghost really was hovering around watching him and reporting. But he knew with serenity that all of his New Thoughts, his theosophical utterances, were pure and uncontaminated bunk.”
Elmer occasionally wondered if his earlier evangelical preaching might have some truth, but he was certain that his New Thought teachings were completely fraudulent.
Highlights Elmer's self-awareness of his hypocrisy and his deliberate use of meaningless jargon.
“He determined, with the resoluteness of terror, to be loyal to any loves or associates he might have hereafter, to say in his prayers and sermons practically nothing except what he believed.”
Driven by fear of failure, Elmer resolved to be honest in his future relationships and to only preach what he truly believed.
Shows a rare moment of self-reflection and a desire for reform, though it is motivated by desperation.