The role of character in public moral argument: Henry ward Beecher and the Brooklyn scandal

The narrative perspective assumes that people may argue using premises based upon stories and dramas that have correspondence to their life experience. A central element of these stories is the characterization of their protagonists. This paper explores the importance of character by analyzing how it was utilized by the principals in the adultery trials of Henry Ward Beecher. It reveals how characterizations that were created in the literary realm were transferred to the arguments centering around the ministerial role as represented by Beecher. The successful transfer completely altered the audience’s interpretations of the events in question.