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Malebranche was right: we are not our own light. We are not our own light!
Mrs. Hopewell reflects on Hulga's peculiar remarks, remembering a particular incident during a meal when Hulga, with a touch of accusation, questioned her, "Do you ever look inside? Do you ever look inside and see what you are not? God!" Hulga's outburst incorporated a quote from Nicholas Malebranche, a French philosopher from the late seventeenth to early eighteenth century. However, Hulga appears to misunderstand Malebranche's intended meaning.
Malebranche frequently drew upon Saint Augustine's confessions, where Augustine stated, "the soul of man, though it bears witness to the light, yet itself is not that light; but the Word of God, being God, is that true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world." Hulga, inappropriately employing Malebranche, attempts to justify nihilism and atheism, asserting that individuals are insignificant, and there is no God. Contrary to Hulga's interpretation, Malebranche's words convey the opposite message.
Malebranche posits that within each person resides a soul, which "bears witness to the light," serving as evidence of the light's existence. Essentially, Malebranche contends that the light within us—our life and human intellect—is God. Instead of endorsing atheism, Malebranche upholds theism.
Mrs. Hopewell could not say, “My daughter is an atheist and won’t let me keep the Bible in the parlor.” She said, stiffening slightly, “I keep my Bible by my bedside.” This was not the truth. It was in the attic somewhere.
Mrs. Hopewell gives this response after Manley notices that she does not have a family Bible in her parlor, a living room used to receive guests. First, she is ashamed to admit not only that Hulga is an atheist but also that Hulga won’t allow her to keep a Bible there. She lies about having a Bible by her bedside, implying that she reads it every night. The fact that her Bible is “in the attic somewhere” suggests that it is packed away in storage, where no one ever reads it. Mrs. Hopewell is a nominal Christian, which means a Christian in name only. While she has not outrightly rejected God, as Hulga does, she has no place for religion in her everyday life. She lies to Manley because keeping up appearances, even with strangers, is important in traditional Southern society.
The boy’s mouth was set angrily. “I hope you don’t think,” he said in a lofty indignant tone, “that I believe in that crap! I may sell Bibles but I know which end is up and I wasn’t born yesterday and I know where I’m going!”
Manley is indignant after Hulga calls him “a fine Christian” who “say[s] one thing and do[es] another.” In other words, she accuses him of being a hypocrite. He is not a hypocrite. Instead, he is proudly a con artist who doesn’t believe in the morals and beliefs found in the Bible. He only pretends to believe in order to sell Bibles and make money. Like Mrs. Hopewell, he uses trite aphorisms to tell Hulga his worldview: “I know which end is up,” “I wasn’t born yesterday,” and “I know where I’m going.” His final claim that “I know where I’m going” can be taken two ways. Firstly, on the surface, he clearly knows what he wants to achieve in life. He doesn’t need the Bible to provide his motivation or guide him. However, readers can also infer that Manley acknowledges his evil and that he is destined for Hell. Ironically, Manley is an atheist, yet he suggests that he knows he is fated for damnation.
