Doubt: A Parable

Sister Aloysius is a woman in her fifties or sixties, the principal of St. Nicholas School. She became a nun later in life, after she became a war widow in World War II. She believes that nuns and priests should be moral guardians for the children, and hold themselves at a distance from their students. She chides young Sister James for her enthusiasm for teaching, and for her innocence with respect to the students. She feels that something is wrong within the school, and cautions Sister James to be alert. Upon being confronted with the news that Father Flynn has had a private meeting with Donald Muller, after which the boy smelled of alcohol, she begins a crusade to punish Father Flynn and protect Donald. Despite the strict hierarchy of the Church preventing her from taking direct action, she pursues her investigation by confronting Father Flynn and Donald Muller’s mother directly. When Father Flynn insists on his innocence, she refuses to believe him, saying that she knows people, and has her certainty. When Mrs. Muller proves unhelpful to her cause, she continues to pursue the matter by telling Father Flynn that she’s contacted a nun at his old parish, a story that she later admits was a lie. She pushes him to ask for a transfer, saying she’d go to hell to “do what needs to be done” (54). After Father Flynn leaves, she becomes bent with emotion, and the play ends with her saying that she has doubt.

Sister James is a young nun in her twenties who teaches eighth grade. She came from an all-girls’ school, and is idealistic and innocent. She is easily hurt, crying when confronted by Sister Aloysius for her overly performative and enthusiastic teaching style. Sister Aloysius tells her to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior, and Sister James does tell her superior of Donald Muller’s interaction with Father Flynn. She soon says that she feels suspicion has taken her further from God, and that she has a nightmare where her reflection shows her nothing but darkness. After they confront Father Flynn, and he says that he was covering for Donald, Sister James becomes relieved, convinced of the priest’s innocence. She is further convinced when he argues with her alone that Sister Aloysius is trying to take her humanity and compassion away from her in her pursuit of virtue. The play ends with her meeting with Sister Aloysius, and establishing that the principal never got any definitive proof of Father Flynn’s wrongdoing. Sister Aloysius confesses her feelings of doubt to Sister James as the play ends.

Donald Muller is a new eighth-grade student at St. Nicholas. He is the first and only African-American student to attend the school, and has no friends. His father beats him, and students at his previous school were violent with him as well. He is found with alcohol on his breath after a private meeting with Father Flynn, and Sister Aloysius suspects the two have an inappropriate relationship. His mother implies that he is gay, and that homophobic violence is why he was in danger at his old school. 

Mrs. Muller is Donald’s mother, a woman in her late thirties. She is brought in to speak to Sister Aloysius about the principal’s suspicions regarding Donald. She asserts that she’d rather not believe them, and that she believes that on the whole, Father Flynn is a positive force in Donald’s life. She insists that her son only has to last at the school until June, when he will go to a new high school. She pleads with Sister Aloysius to keep her son out of any scandal, as she fears her husband will kill Donald if he learns of an improper relationship.