The Way of All Flesh

novel by Butler

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Article History

The Way of All Flesh, autobiographical novel by Samuel Butler, published posthumously in 1903 though written almost two decades earlier.

Beginning with the life of John Pontifex, a carpenter, the novel traces four generations of the Pontifex family, each of which perpetuates the frustration and unhappiness of its predecessor largely as a result of parental repression. Only Ernest Pontifex, the great-grandson of John, is able to break the cycle. After being ordained a minister, serving a prison term because of a naive misunderstanding, and unwittingly entering into a bigamous marriage with the family’s sluttish servant girl, Ernest providentially inherits enough money from a favourite aunt to change his life and become a writer.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.